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Look What’s New in our Museum Stores
As
the weather turns colder and you begin to stay inside during the evenings, you
might be searching for a nice little book to cozy up with. Both the Iowa Museum
Store at the State Historical Building in Des Moines and the Trails West Gift
Shop at Western Historic Trails Center in Council Bluffs have new books on the
shelves to keep avid readers happy.
Mary
Lu Larson, store manager at Trails West, recommends The Fate of the Corps
by Larry E. Morris. This extensively researched book details the lives of the
other 32 members of the Corps of the Discovery following their return in 1806.
The author arranges the material chronologically, starting with the first man
to be released from service (John Colter) and proceeding to the last one to die
(Patrick Gass).
Megan Carson at the Iowa Museum Store has these new books on the shelves:
The
Elemental Prairie, Sixty Tallgrass Plants, Essays by John Madson, Watercolors
by George Olson. Two dedicated prairie reconstructionists teamed up to create
a beautiful coffee table book for the nature lover in us all. Sixty full-page,
color plates of common and not-so-common prairie plants, complimented by John
Madson’s eloquent essay "The Running Country." $34.95, hardcover.
Iowans
of the Mighty Eighth: Wartime Experiences As Told to Charles D. Taylor.
480-page labor of love presenting first hand recollections of more than 300 Iowa
World War II veterans of “the greatest air armada ever assembled.”
Includes photographs of the men lost during the war and the survivors, as well
as photographs and illustrations of German and Allied Aircraft from WWII. $39.95,
hardcover.
Steel
Trails of Hawkeyeland: Iowa’s Railroad Experience by Don L. Hofsommer.
An illustrated history of railroads in Iowa focusing on the importance of railroads
not only economically, but politically, socially and culturally. "It is more
than a study of a single, albeit significant American state. Hofsommer superbly
relates local events to the national picture. His is a ‘one-of-a-kind’
volume.” — H. Roger Grant, noted Iowa railroad historian and author.
$75, hardcover.
Greetings
From the Lincoln Highway: America’s First Coast-to-Coast Road by Brian
Butko. From the initial concept of a cross country road to its building and early
adventures, Butko retells the story of every Iowan’s favorite highway. Illustrated
with maps, historic photos and colorful antique postcards, a gem for your favorite
automobile history buff. $29.95, hardcover.
For more information on these and other fine gifts available for purchase, call the Iowa Museum Store at (515) 283-1757 or the Trails West Gift Shop at (712) 366-5077.

