''Killers of the Flower Moon''

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SoonerP226

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Excellent. Thank you for the recommendations. I’m always on the hunt for books dealing with the more despicable aspects of our history not often described in almost all western civilization, USA, and Oklahoma history books. One of my favorites, although on a somewhat grander scale, is by Miguel Leon-Portilla called “The Broken Spears”. It’s the Aztec account of the Spanish coming to the so-called New World.
The thing I liked the best about The Heart Of Everything That Is is that it was fairly well balanced in its telling of the tale. It didn't take the "evil, land-stealing whites vs. noble savages" tone that too many do.
 

dennishoddy

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Excellent. Thank you for the recommendations. I’m always on the hunt for books dealing with the more despicable aspects of our history not often described in almost all western civilization, USA, and Oklahoma history books. One of my favorites, although on a somewhat grander scale, is by Miguel Leon-Portilla called “The Broken Spears”. It’s the Aztec account of the Spanish coming to the so-called New World.

My God, we westerners have done some truly terrible things in our search for, or maybe I should say the creation of, the more perfect society. Or read “Killer Angels” by Micheal Shaara if you like atrocity based history.


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Our history books don’t reveal the entire story about our history. Mans inhumanity against humans would be a better description.
The true story about our own land run along with the murders and killings that ensued would be good reading.
I have the Kay and Grant county historical books where the historical society’s got stories from the real people that were there and went through it.
Those folks had it rough with drought, floods, Indian raids and poor crops along with those trying to steal their stakes at the land run itself.
Truly interesting reading.

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Poke78

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Audible has it as well, me and the better half listened to it while driving to Portsmouth NH for vacay a couple of years ago!!

This is how my wife and I "read" the book while traveling to CO for vacation. Since I completed my growing up years (17 y/o through college) in Fairfax, Osage County, I was able to provide some commentary to the book with my wife based on the locations, people, and local oral history. See below...

These events were also touched upon in the movie "The FBI Story" (1959) with James Stewart as the lead.
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I was a big fan of the movie and also read the book through my mom's subscription to Reader's Digest Condensed Books initially, later the full book from the library. So when we moved to Fairfax in 1972 due to my dad's job, I started trying to learn more. I haunted the local library that summer and was quite disappointed to find very little. My next-door neighbor, also our landlord, was a long-time resident and local shopkeeper. He told me many stories of that time with the one about the house being blown up to kill headrights owners. It turned out that house stood across the street diagonally from our house and our landlord lived in our house at the time of the explosion. He and his then-young wife were showered with glass in their bed when the explosion also blew out all the windows in their home and others.

Given my early interest in this subject, I suppose I realized there was a story that needed to be told and I just didn't have the persistence of the author to track down the details he exposed in writing this book. I commend him in making all those connections to tell the story. I had even read the story of the Mullendore murder before moving to Osage County so hearing local lore on that story was also interesting, especially Sheriff George Wayman.
 

druryj

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Our history books don’t reveal the entire story about our history. Mans inhumanity against humans would be a better description.
The true story about our own land run along with the murders and killings that ensued would be good reading.
I have the Kay and Grant county historical books where the historical society’s got stories from the real people that were there and went through it.
Those folks had it rough with drought, floods, Indian raids and poor crops along with those trying to steal their stakes at the land run itself.
Truly interesting reading.

e273e6e10d4e763846de45aecff84fbc.jpg


04b2e0f5934b4f6c2b885f6b90f8e286.jpg


3018a36a9e5aade7823c4641de40cc81.jpg

This is how my wife and I "read" the book while traveling to CO for vacation. Since I completed my growing up years (17 y/o through college) in Fairfax, Osage County, I was able to provide some commentary to the book with my wife based on the locations, people, and local oral history. See below...

.

I was a big fan of the movie and also read the book through my mom's subscription to Reader's Digest Condensed Books initially, later the full book from the library. So when we moved to Fairfax in 1972 due to my dad's job, I started trying to learn more. I haunted the local library that summer and was quite disappointed to find very little. My next-door neighbor, also our landlord, was a long-time resident and local shopkeeper. He told me many stories of that time with the one about the house being blown up to kill headrights owners. It turned out that house stood across the street diagonally from our house and our landlord lived in our house at the time of the explosion. He and his then-young wife were showered with glass in their bed when the explosion also blew out all the windows in their home and others.

Given my early interest in this subject, I suppose I realized there was a story that needed to be told and I just didn't have the persistence of the author to track down the details he exposed in writing this book. I commend him in making all those connections to tell the story. I had even read the story of the Mullendore murder before moving to Osage County so hearing local lore on that story was also interesting, especially Sheriff George Wayman.

Wow. How interesting is it that some of us here have this close a connection to this particular thing, even now?

These gruesome, often covered up chapters of our history are shocking, and they certainly don’t make the early years of this country and this state look good. But in reality, they are still criminal acts carried out by a small number of people. In no way does this stain a history like the Holocaust stained Germany, for example. At least, we did have people of conviction and strong moral character to eventually put a stop to it.
 
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SPDguns

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EXCELLENT BOOK! I read it in two days. If you like Oklahoma History and true crime, this book is the best of both worlds. My Grandfather worked for the refinery in Barnsdall (Bigheart) and my father lived in the refinery housing as a child in the early '30's during the time the book depicts. I took my mother on a road trip up there a year ago just to visit his childhood home. All that is left of the refinery housing are small remnants of the foundations at the top of the hill above the refinery. Barnsdall holds a place in history as the only town with a producing oil well in the middle of Main Street. If you go there, be sure and eat in the burger joint that was an old gas station. No need for directions, you can't miss it.

And don't forget to visit Whizbang if you can find it.
 

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