Even More New E-Books

We are continuing to make more of our backlist titles newly available as e-books. Here are six more brand-new releases for your reading pleasure.

Robert H. Ferrell, widely regarded as an authority on the thirty-third president, challenges the popular characterization of Harry Truman as a man who rarely sought the offices he received, revealing instead a man who—with modesty, commitment to service, and basic honesty—moved with method and system toward the presidency. Based upon years of research in the Truman Library and the study of many never-before-used primary sources, Harry S. Truman is the authoritative account of this important president.

With single-mindedness of purpose and unwavering devotion to achievement, J. C. Nichols left an indelible imprint on the Kansas City metropolitan area. His projects--including the Country Club Plaza, the first of many regional shopping centers built in anticipation of the increased use of automobiles--influenced the design and development of major residential and commercial areas throughout the United States. In J.C. Nichols and the Shaping of Kansas City, William S. Worley provides a valuable study of the man who was one of the most influential entrepreneurs in American land development.

The tremors that shook southeast Missouri from December 16, 1811, through February 7, 1812, are among the most violent quakes to hit the North American continent in recorded history. Collectively known as the New Madrid earthquakes, these quakes affected more than 1 million square miles. In On Shaky Ground, Norma Hayes Bagnall provides eyewitness accounts from people both on the land and on the river, capturing the fears of the residents through their tales about the smells and dark vapors that filled the air, the cries of the people, the bawling of animals, and the constant roar of the river and its collapsing banks.

 

At the age of twelve, Beth Taylor’s idyllic childhood was shattered by the suicide of her older brother Geoff. Raised in an “intentional community” north of Philadelphia—a mix of farm village, hippie commune, and suburb—she and her siblings were instilled with nonconformist values and respect for the Quaker tradition. With the loss of her beloved brother, Taylor began her complicated journey to understand family, loss, and faith. Written after years of contemplation, The Plain Language of Love and Loss reflects on the meaning of death and loss for three generations of Taylor’s family and their friends.

In this tale of homecoming and forgiveness, death and dying, Margaret Gibson recounts how she overcame her long indifference to a sister she had thought different from herself, recognizing the strengths of the bonds that both hold us and set us free. Interweaving astute social observations on social pressures, race relations, sibling rivalry, adolescent angst, and more, The Prodigal Daughter is a startlingly honest portrayal of one family in one southern city and the story of all too many families across America.

The Civil War in Missouri was a time of great violence and destruction. Much of the fighting was an ugly form of terrorism carried out by loose bands of Missouri guerrillas, by Kansas "Jayhawkers," or by marauding patrols of Union soldiers. This irregular warfare provided a training ground for people like Jesse and Frank James who, after the war, used their newly learned skills to form an outlaw band that gained worldwide fame. In Jesse James and the Civil War in Missouri, Robert L. Dyer reveals how the war helped create both the legend and the reality of Jesse James and his gang.



You can buy any of these e-books from Amazon, Baker & Taylor, Barnes & Noble, Chegg, Ebrary, EBSCO, Google, Kobo, OverDrive, Sony, and the Press’s own web page, where you will also find many more e-books available.

If there are any other University of Missouri Press books that you would like to be able to purchase as e-books, let us know in the comments.