Plains Folk: North Dakota's Ethnic History (North Dakota Centennial Heritage Series) [Hardcover]

William Sherman (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1988 | ISBN-10: 0911042350 | ISBN-13: 978-0911042351

Plains Folk was seven years in the making. The combined effort of scholars who specialize in North Dakota matters: three historians, an anthropologist, a political scientist, and a sociologist. Over forty different national groups are discussed: their origins, personalities, customs, successes and failures, even their festivals and their foods. Is North Dakota a melting pot? A mosaic? A patchwork quilt? Which group was the largest? The most patriotic? Prestigious? What happened during the land boom years? World War I? The Dirty Thirties? You'll find the answers in this volume. You'll find some surprises: Gypsies, Blacks, Japanese, Bulgarians, Syrians! You'll get a good look at the state's Jews, Poles, French, Ukrainians. Included are new perspectives on the German Peoples who came from both the homeland and eastern Europe; there are also new insights into the settlers of Norwegian and British Isles backgrounds. It is a basic source book, with hundreds of illustrations, dozens of maps and tables, census data and an extensive index.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 500 pages
• Publisher: North Dakota Inst for (October 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0911042350
• ISBN-13: 978-0911042351
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 9.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,100,318 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars An absolute classic; a must for your library, October 29, 2011

By 

Bruce Oksol "oksol" (San Antonio) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Plains Folk: North Dakota's Ethnic History (North Dakota Centennial Heritage Series) (Hardcover)

Open the book and begin reading anything that catches your eye. You will be blown away by the history these folks have captured. History of small ethnic groups including the Amish,the Mennonites, the Syrian-Lebanese, and on and on and on.

More than 400 pages of small font; at a larger font, this book would have required two volumes. If in Williston, ND, pick it up at Books on Broadway. The book is not available from Amazon except through resellers.

5.0 out of 5 stars Everything You Needed to Know about the Settlement of North DakotaFather Sher, August 19, 2011

By 

John R. Aker "exeter" (Charlottesville, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Plains Folk: North Dakota's Ethnic History (North Dakota Centennial Heritage Series) (Hardcover)

Father Sherman and his colleagues have done a magnificent job of research, analysis and compilation in the highly readable history of my home state. For example: who knew there were German enclaves in Russia (and the Ukraine)with a total population numbering in the tens of thousands? And that many of these Russo-Germans immigrated to the US in the late 19th and early 20th centuries? Many of these immigrants settled in ND along with, Norwegians, Swedes, Danes, Germans, English, etc. And that they tended to settle together in their own little communities, spoke their own language, and built their own churches? All this is here and more in this comprehensive, huge volume. A must for anyone grown up on the prairie.

5.0 out of 5 stars Plain Folks Reviewing Plain Folk, January 9, 2011

By 

Delbert B. Mitchell "dmitchc121" (Las Vegas, Nevada United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Plains Folk: North Dakota's Ethnic History (North Dakota Centennial Heritage Series) (Hardcover)

This book was given to a neighbor friend who is from Fargo, North Dakota, but I had a chance to flip through the pages before giving the book up. The book appears to be very well organized, and from what I could gleen from the pages and photographs, it is structured well to represent all aspects of the lifestyles within the various counties and cities of early North Dakota. If you're from North Dakota, and are interested in early history of that state, as well as the ethnic history, I recommend this book. A great coffee table book.