If you are a registered user of the Nebraska Talking Book and Braille Service (TBBS) and would like to order any of the books from the following list, please a) click the checkbox next to the books you would like to request, b) fill out the mailing information at the end, c) then click the send order button.

Biography of the most scandalous of frontier justices of the peace—a seedy fellow who lived by his wits and handed down some weird decisions. Some strong language. Narrated by Dick Shasteen. (5 hours, 51 minutes)

In 1877, Chief Standing Bear's people, the Ponca, were removed from their ancestral lands in Nebraska's Niobrara River valley to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). When his only son dies in 1879, Standing Bear undertakes a 600-mile journey back to Nebraska in order to bury him. This action sets the stage for a federal trial to determine whether or not Native Americans were entitled to equal protection under the law, and had they been deprived of their property, homeland, and even their lives without due process. Narrated by Alice Timm. (10 hours, 42 minutes)

Two lawmen set out to protect the West's first cow town, Abilene, Kansas, from lawless cowboys that arrived with the Texas cattle herds. The first lawman, Bear River Tom Smith, preferred to use his fists. His successor, Wild Bill Hickok, used his smoking guns. Contains violence. Narrated by Bonnie Quinn.

A collection of essays concerning the Midwest. Includes memoirs, as well as travel writing, and natural history. The author describes the inner character of the Midwest, as revealed by history, shaped by nature, and lived by its inhabitants. Contains some strong language. Narrated by Marjory Gloe. (11 hours, 45 minutes)

Horrific account of life on the western Great Plains during the darkest years of the Depression, when drought and wind storms produced blinding black blizzards, crop failure, and even death. Based on interviews with survivors, diaries, and newspaper accounts, this book chronicles the dust bowl years of the 1930s that terrorized communities and the determination of those who stayed. Narrated by Judy Hanefeldt. (11 hours, 35 minutes)

James J. Kimble chronicles the Nebraska scrap metal drive of 1942 that was developed by Omaha World-Herald publisher Henry Doorly. The Nebraska drive was so successful it provided the template for a national drive that would yield millions of tons of scrap metal to aid in arms production during World War II. Narrated by Connie Healey.

Related the adventures of Hugh Glass (1780-1833), who was by turns, a pirate, a captive of the Pawnee, and a mountain man who dragged himself 2,000 miles after being left to die in the wilderness. 1976. Narrated by Joe Schroer. (6 hours, 7 minutes)

Mrs. Grace Snyder (1882-1982) told Nellie Snyder Yost about having grown up on the high plains of Custer County, Nebr. and living in western Nebraska all her life; a full life in which, "I have been blessed by having no time on my hands". 1963. Narrated by Joanne Boeckman. (14 hours, 32 minutes).

Covering a period of 15 to 20 years during the late 1800s and mostly focusing on the activities of noted horse thief, Kid Wade, Hutton expands his scope to include all vigilante activity in the lower and middle Niobrara region. This volume tries to present an unbiased factual study. Hutton does not depict the vigilance committees as always right or always wrong, nor does he attempt to glamorize or create sympathy for the thieves. Narrated by Mike Pearl. (8 hours, 0 minutes)

Nebraska's pioneer food tells us much about how our forebearers lived, and in compiling this cookbook the aim was to achieve a balance between recipes and descriptions of the way of life the pioneers exemplified. Narrated by Ida Carr Tyson. (5 hours, 20 minutes)

Southern-belle and sharp-shooter Ena Raymonde knew she had found her new home when she stepped off the train at McPherson Station in southwest Nebraska. Based on journals and letters from the 1870s, this biography presents the life of a frontier woman who crossed paths with Buffalo Bill Cody, Texas Jack Omohundro, Doc Carver, and other legends of the Old West. 2003. Narrated by Judy Hanefeldt. (8 hours, 46 minutes)

Fifty years ago, a young girl opened a cardboard box in her basement. Long forgotten, it contained her father’s World War II uniform, vintage photos, semaphore flags, and other WWII keepsakes. The box opened up a world of pain and joy to author Barbara Eymann Mohrman as she set out on a personal journey to trace her family history, and inadvertently, unspoken Eymann family secrets. This is the story of hard-scrabble life in rural Oakdale, Nebraska (population 561) starting in the heyday of the 1920s. Chriss Eymann, a newly arrived Swiss immigrant and his wife, Hattie Mae, raised ten children on the Dust Bowl-ravaged plains during the 1930s in the depths of the Great Depression. But their greatest sacrifice was yet to come—when they sent four young sons off to war in the South Pacific and Europe. The mother’s flag with its four blue stars proudly displayed the family’s precious contribution to the war effort. The story traces in detail and vintage photos from 1930 to 1947 the anguish, danger, and their everlasting hope with some surprising family news that brings the story full circle. 2013. Narrated by Scott Young. (9 hours, 2 minutes)

Jules Sandoz, Jr., Mari Sandoz's brother, fills out the story of their family life, dominated by Papa, in western Nebraska in the early 1900s. A frail boy who clung to the skirts of his German grandmother, Jules, Jr., had to learn lessons of survival early. He was beaten up by his schoolmates, and did not speak English well; but with his brother, James, he helped feed the family by hunting and trapping. Eventually he found the strength to stand up to his father. 1989. Narrated by James Stilwell. (3 hours, 33 minutes)

Albert Benton Snyder (b. 1872), an old-time cattleman, reminisces about his years as a cowboy working the range in western Nebraska, Wyoming and Montana. As told by A.B. Snyder to Nellie Snyder Yost. 1951. Narrated by Joanne Boeckman. (6 hours, 44 minutes)

A portrait of Buffalo Bill Cody as husband, father, neighbor and citizen during the years he made North Platte, Nebr. his home and headquarters. 1979. Narrated by Dick Daleki. (18 hours, 33 minutes).

The American cowboy emerges from these pages as a recognizable human being with little resemblance to the picturesque inventions of the horse opera. Ramon F. Adams, a highly respected authority on the Old West, talks straight about what the cowhand really did and thought. His cow-punching, broncobusting, trail driving; his rodeo riding, poker playing, socializing; his horse, guns, rope, clothing, sleeping bag; his eating and drinking habits; his attitude toward God, women, bosses; his unwritten code of conduct--everything about this vanished breed is told with absorbing authenticity, in the rich and varied lingo of the range. 1961. Narrated by Ann Kelley. (11 hours, 57 minutes)

Fifty-one vignettes present Nebraska history from the point of view of those who lived their lives on the Great Plains. Topics include ice harvesting, Chautauqua, mail-order brides, World War II, television, and Big Red. 1981. Narrated by Brian Rockey. (5 hours, 22 minutes)

The record of a young woman, school teacher, and wife on the Nebraska and Colorado frontiers. An intensely feminine account homesteading in the raw, new land, and of the hardships of pioneer life, reported with gaiety and courage. Part of the Pioneer Heritage series. Introduction and notes by Donald F. Danker. 1959. Narrated by Ruth Kraatz. (5 hours, 39 minutes)

Albert Jerome Dickson was fourteen-years-old in 1864 when he left LaCrosse, Wisconsin, in a small caravan of covered wagons headed for Montana Territory. Thousands of emigrants had preceded him on the Oregon Trail, but none ever described the journey in sharper detail. 'Covered Wagon Days' recreates the daily progress of Dickson's party, which included his guardians, Joshua and Rebecca Ridgley. The logistics of such a trip, the sights along a trail marked by ruts and fresh graves, the rigors of camping, the encounters with Indians and returning pilgrims and vigilantes running after road agents--all figure in Dickson's memoir. The payoff for the Ridgleys is not the gold being discovered in the mountains near Virginia City but a fine farm in Gallatin Valley. As vivid as any novel about the Oregon Trail and pioneering in the Northwest, Covered Wagon Days, first published in 1929, is based on journals and materials that were edited by the author's son, Arthur Jerome Dickson. Introduction by A.B. Guthrie, Jr. 1989. Narrated by James Stillwell. (4 hours, 51 minutes)

A partly autobiographical work which tells of the Moss family's experiences homesteading in the Sandhills of Nebraska and their struggle to make a good life for themselves. For high school and adult readers. 1979. Narrated by Budd Duvall. (11 hours, 23 minutes)

Fascinating stories of fearless men and women who penetrated the far west. These pioneers attempted to assault the Missouri River--the longest, if not the most treacherous river in America--for reasons ranging from monetary profit to sheer excitement and high adventure. 1988. Narrated by Marjory Gloe. (9 hours, 48 minutes)

Part Cherokee, part White, Henry Starr (1873-1921) boasted that he had robbed more banks than any man in America, yet blamed Society for forcing him into a life of crime. Pictures conditions in the Indian Territory following the Civil War. 1976. Narrated by Budd Duvall. (4 hours, 48 minutes)

Essie Elizabeth Davis, née Buchanan (1882-1966), niece of President James Buchanan, is one of thousands of women who traveled and worked and built the West. A vivid story of the Nebraska cattle country. 1964. Narrated by Peggy Johnson. (2 hours, 17 minutes)

To most Jewish immigrants New York was America. Not many ventured as far as North Dakota at the turn of the century. Sophie Trupin writes of her father and other Jewish farmers who came to the northern plains: "Each was a Moses in his own right, leading his people out of the land of bondage—out of czarist Russia, out of anti-Semitic Poland, out of Romania and Galicia. Each was leading his family to a promised land; only this was no land flowing with milk and honey—no land of olive trees and vineyards." Dakota Diaspora adds a little-known chapter to the saga of the settlement of America. In a series of vignettes Sophie Tmpin recalls her childhood in "Nordokota," where her father built a sod house and farmed a quarter-section of rocky land before opening a butcher shop in the town of Wing. Against that background plays out the perennial conflict between her father; who had escaped the violent anti-Semitism of his native Russia and found here a man's freedom and dignity, and her mother; who felt "trapped, betrayed and helpless in this desolate land," far from her roots in the Old Country. But out of the struggle to bring in the harvest, survive the blizzards, and maintain a kosher home, a warm family life developed, as well as a sense of community with Jewish neighbors on scattered homesteads. 1988. Narrated by Phyllis Narveson. (3 hours, 56 minutes)

Caught in the blizzards of 1948-49, the author began collecting notes on the impact of the extraordinary winter before it ended. Hundreds of thousands of livestock perished in the killer storms, and seventy-six people died. Story of that winter is told in terms of daily heroism, endurance and generosity of people on the High Plains. 1991. Narrated by Sher Brophy. (4 hours, 13 minutes)

This book describes Roosevelt's routine labor and extraordinary adventures, including a stint as a deputy sheriff pursuing three horse thieves through the cold of winter. Whether recounting stories or cowboy fights, or describing his hunting of elk, antelope, and bear, his book expresses his lifelong delight in physical hardihood and tests of nerve. (6 hours, 57 minutes)

Special edition of Nebraska's leading agricultural publication celebrates its 150th anniversary. This historical edition recounts Nebraska Farmer's beginnings and chronicles the dramatic changes in the state's farming and ranching industries. Included are reprints of articles from the Farmer's archives. Narrated by Judy Hanefeldt, Dick Shasteen, and Gail Barnard.

Included are cave legends, snake superstitions, weather lore, tales of strong men who rival Paul Bunyan, stories of Indian lovers' leaps, and the legends of Weeping Water and Lincoln Salt Basin. A section on old Nebraska folk customs provides a wealth of information about holiday observances, literary and debating societies, and various social traditions. 1989. Narrated by Phyllis Narveson. (10 hours, 7 minutes)

A selection of short tales about a folk hero of the Great Plains, a Swede in the Paul Bunyan tradition. 1948. Narrated by James Shelley. (3 hours, 35 minutes)

This collection of Nebraska pioneer folklore is taken largely from the Nebraska Folklore Pamphlets issued by the WPA Federal Writers' Project in the 1930s. Contents include songs of trail and prairie and of the Farmers' Alliance, white man's yarns and Indian tales, pioneer Nebraska folk customs, sayings, proverbs, beliefs, children's games, cooking, and cures. Compiled by Roger Welsch. 1984. Narrated by Cathy Hawkins. (14 hours, 42 minutes)

Whimsical zoology at its best this carefully researched book presents the first scientific look at these mysterious and elusive creatures. 1982. Narrated by Craig Keplinger. (2 hours, 58 minutes)

Were our forefathers liars? "You bet they were," says Roger Welsch, "and damned fine ones at that." The proof is in Catfish at the Pump , a collection of the kind of humor that softened the hardships of pioneering on the Great Plains. From yellowed newspapers, magazines, and forgotten Nebraska Federal Writers' Project files, the well-known folklorist and humorist Roger Welsch has produced a book to be treasured. Here are jokes, anecdotes, legends, tall tales, and lugubriously funny poems about the things that preoccupied the pioneer weather extremes; soil quality; food and whiskey; an arkload of animals, including grasshoppers, bed bugs, hoop snakes, the ubiquitous mule, and some mighty big fish; and even sickness and the poverty that would inspire black laughter again in the Great Depression. Catfish at the Pump proves abundantly that the art of story telling was practiced diligently by our plains ancestors. Roger Welsch, who brought out Shingling the Fog and Other Plains Lies in 1972 (reprinted by the University of Nebraska Press in 1980), now issues this "book about lies and liars," knowing full well that "underlying the pioneer sense of humor is a profound respect for truth." 1982. Read by Roger Welsch. (4 hours, 46 minutes)

In this collection of Missouri River lore, the author tells tall tales about a ghost ship, a Missouri River mermaid and other improbable personalities and events. The son of a one-time riverboat man, the author knows the Missouri well. He spins his literary whoppers out of a love for the river itself. Narrated by Trina Sollars. (3 hours, 26 minutes)

Founded in 1866 by German immigrants, Norfolk, Nebraska grew up along the banks of the North Fork of the Elkhorn River. Today the city is the jewel of Northeast Nebraska and the state's third largest retail area. The history of the community traces its growth from a Native American campground to a bustling city. Narrated by Judy Hanefeldt. (1 hour, 30 minutes)

A general survey of ghostly sites in Lincoln, this expanded edition describes some of the most famous hauntings of the midwest- the story of the ghost at the C.C. White building and the spirit at penitentiary field. 2013 New Edition. Award winner. Narrated by Judy Hanefeldt. (4 hours, 8 minutes)

Two residents of Yankton, South Dakota, detail the building of Meridian Bridge, which crosses the Missouri River and connects Yankton with Cedar County, Nebraska. Through newspaper stories, historical correspondence and interviews they examine the planning, construction and impact of the bridge that was completed in 1924. 2001. Narrated by Dan Howell. (16 hours, 23 minutes)

Life in a small Midwestern town, seen primarily through the loving eyes of a middle son who survives polio, the loss of a friend, and later copes with his mother's final illness. A Walton-style collection of stories featuring the school music teacher, a Norwegian bachelor farmer, and other memorable characters; about the author growing up in the 1950s, leaving home, but never forgetting his roots. Some strong language. Narrated by Margaret Polk (British Accent). (6 hours, 27 minutes)

Anecdotal accounts of life in North Platte, Nebraska, 1920s-1950s, when it was known as the wildest, wooliest town in the Midwest. Humorous descriptions of attempts to clean up Nebraska's "Little Chicago" and change its reputation as a haven for vice. Contains some descriptions of sex. Narrated by Tami Works.

The author tells of her own early experiences in Lincoln, shortly after the turn of the century. The book previously appeared in the form of short articles which were published in Lincoln's SUNDAY JOURNAL AND STAR. 1983. Narrated by Ann Kelley. (4 hours, 35 minutes)

This work contains 58 short topical chapters on Nebraska history which present a unique history of the state. Part of the Great Plains Photography series. 1995. Narrated by Jim Hewitt. (7 hours, 43 minutes)

With the urging of U.S. Senator George Norris, Nebraskans voted in 1934 to trade their bicameral, partisan legislature for one that is unicameral and nonpartisan. The senator argued that a unicameral body would be more responsive to the people. With seventy years of experimentation behind it, Nebraska's Unicameral still has many supporters and some detractors. The author interviews current and former state senators and legislative observers to consider how well the unicameral experiment has lived up to its progressive vision. Narrated by Judy Hanefeldt.

Nebraska's senior senator presents strategies for dealing with America's most pressing problems, including economic, foreign policy, security, and leadership. He challenges the underlying assumptions that have steered our course of action in Iraq and offers assessments regarding Israel and Palestine, China, the global economy, and rebuilding our military. In order to overcome the current partisan impasse, he makes a case for a new independent party or bipartisan ticket. Narrated by Dick Shasteen.

"Progressive" novelists, poets, essayists, and professors describe what it is like for them to live in conservative "Red" states and often feel out of step with the predominate political culture. While sometimes expressing anger or frustration, these individuals search for ways to close the political divide between the left and the right, or at least understand it. Narrated by Alice Timm.

The 1968 Omaha Central High School basketball team made history with its first all-Black starting lineup, nicknamed the Rhythm Boys, and was considered the heavy favorite to win state championship. In early March, third-party presidential candidate George Wallace visited Omaha on a campaign stop. By the time he left, racial tensions were ignited and star center Dwaine Dillard was in jail. A true-life drama of civil rights plays out amidst a city on the brink of riot, with the state's largest high school united by basketball but caught between angry political factions. Narrated by Brad Muerrens. (8 hours, 30 minutes)

Tabbed the best team in 125 years of collegiate football, the 1971 Nebraska Cornhuskers dominated their opponents on both sides of the football. Nebraska claimed its national championship with a 38 to 6 victory against Alabama in the Orange Bowl. Narrated by various readers. (3 hours, 20 minutes)

When Title IX was enacted in 1972, the University of Nebraska volleyball program, like many across the country, received a fraction of the funding and attention given to the school’s mighty football program. The players had to organize a run from Lincoln to Omaha to raise money for uniforms. The women were asked to wait their turn to use the weight room. Today the Nebraska women’s volleyball team is one of the sport’s most decorated programs—with more career wins than any other program and five NCAA National Championships—and draws standing-room-only crowds at home games in the 8,000-seat Devaney Center. Nebraska Volleyball is the first book to recount how volleyball took hold at Nebraska, through Pat Sullivan, the team’s first coach; through such early figures as Cathy Noth, a decorated player and later an assistant coach into the 1990s; through Terry Pettit, who coached the team for twenty-three seasons and led it to its first National Championship in 1995; and through John Cook, who took over as head coach in 2000. John Mabry highlights the small Nebraska towns that have sent some of the best players to the program and helped build statewide support for the team. Public television helped too, with its power to broadcast games early on and thus build a following across the state. The success of Nebraska’s volleyball program is one of the greatest stories in sports. As Karch Kiraly, head coach for the U.S. National Women’s Volleyball Team, said: “If you want to learn about women’s college volleyball, your first stop has to be Lincoln, Nebraska.” Foreword by Jordan Larson. 2023. Narrated by Scott Young. (5 hours, 59 minutes)

Special collector's edition of Sports Illustrated, highlighting the 1994-95 Nebraska Cornhuskers' national championship season. 1995. Narrated by Phyllis Narveson, Mike Wight, and Jim Shelley. (2 hours, 36 minutes)

More than 40 years after the dismembered bodies of Edwin and Wilma Hoyt were found near McCook, Nebraska in 1973, author James W. Hewitt uncovers new details about the crimes that shocked the small town. Harold Nokes, later convicted of the murders, gives the author his first and only interview. 2015. Narrated by Connie Healey. (5 hours, 9 minutes)

The 1972 murder of Raymond Yellow Thunder was a graphic reminder of conflict between some members of the Oglala Lakota Pine Ridge Reservation and some members of bordering communities, such as Whiteclay and Gordon. The context for this modern-day tragedy include the history of Black Hills incursions, the Ghost Dance, Wounded Knee and the second Wounded Knee, and the American Indian Movement. The author explores the painful nuances of misunderstanding and prejudice that have plagued this blended region. Some strong language. Narrated by Michael Cartwright.

After her uncle's suicide, the author investigates his stunning claim that military police may have executed their own men during the occupation of Japan following World War II. Contains descriptions of violence. Narrated by Janene Sheldon. (6 hours, 45 minutes)

Authorities responding to a brush fire on the outskirts of Omaha make a grisly discovery. Three human bodies were burning. Omaha police detective provides an insider's account of an investigation that involved murder, money, and a Mexican drug cartel. Riveting account describes an intense investigation on the part of the homicide unit, crime lab, and DNA analysts that ultimately resulted in successful prosecution within federal court. Contains violence and strong language. Narrated by Alice Timm. (8 hours, 10 minutes)

Eli Stutzman was born and raised in one of Ohio's strictest Amish communities, but behind the peaceful facade was a quietly tormented rebel. After the suspicious death of his pregnant wife, Stutzman abruptly severed his ties with the Amish. Taking his young son Danny with him, he embarked on a cross-country spree of compulsive pickups, rampant drug abuse, and violence. Strong language, violence, and explicit descriptions of sex. 1990. Narrated by James Shelley. (13 hours, 30 minutes).

Story of 14-year-old Caril Fugate's involvement with Charles Starkweather in a series of murders in 1958 and her life in prison since then. 1974. Narrated by Budd Duvall. (12 hours, 15 minutes)

One Omaha winter day, in November 1978, when Debora Harding was just fourteen, she was abducted at knife point from a church parking lot. She was thrown into a van, assaulted, held for ransom, and then left to die as an ice storm descended over the city. Debora survived. She identified her attacker to the police and then returned to her teenage life in a dysfunctional home where she was expected to simply move on. Denial became the family coping strategy offered by her fun-loving, conflicted father and her cruelly resentful mother. It wasn't until decades later, when beset by the symptoms of PTSD, that Debora undertook a radical project: she met her childhood attacker face-to-face in prison and began to reconsider and re-imagine her complex story. This was a quest for the truth, that would threaten the lie at the heart of her family, and with it the sacred bond that once saved her. Dexterously shifting between past and present, Debora Harding untangles the incident of her kidnapping and escape from unexpected angles, offering a vivid, intimate portrait of one family's disintegration in the 1970s Midwest. Written with dark humor and the pacing of a thriller, Dancing with the Octopus is a literary tour de force and a groundbreaking narrative of reckoning, recovery, and the inexhaustible strength it takes to survive. 2020. Narrated by Connie Healey. (00 hours, 00 minutes)

It was one of the most terrifying times in Nebraska's history. The year a young Air Force Airman went on a killing spree, leaving two young boys dead and a community gripped by fear. Now, dramatic and chilling new evidence comes to light exposing the sinister thoughts running through the mind of John Joubert--the man behind the Nebraska killings. Former TV news anchorman, investigative reporter and three time Emmy winner Mark Pettit returns to the case to write the final chapter in his best-selling, and now newly updated A Need to The True-Crime Account of John Joubert, Nebraska’s Most Notorious Serial Child Killer. In the spirit of Truman Capote’s “In Cold Blood,” Pettit delves into the Joubert case to tell the dramatic story from all angles as a non-fiction novel. In a series of exclusive, face-to-face interviews with Pettit, Joubert admits to a string of violent crimes and another killing that sends investigators into a frenzy ending with Joubert being convicted for a third murder and ultimately executed in Nebraska’s electric chair. Now, 30 years after the murders in Nebraska, Pettit uncovers shocking new evidence from Joubert’s prison records that proves the killer was fantasizing about committing more violent crimes. Never-before-seen death row drawings made by Joubert while he waited to be executed once again send a chill through Nebraska and those touched by Joubert’s horrific crimes. In the updated version of his book, Pettit opens his investigative files to the public and for the first time, shares handwritten letters Joubert wrote to the journalist while in prison. Pettit also reveals aspects of Joubert’s personality gleaned during the exclusive interviews and details from the death row discussions that have never been shared publicly. Explicit descriptions of sex, strong language and violence. 1990. Narrated by Jerry Zimmerman. (5 hours, 18 minutes)