North Dakota: A History

by Robert P. Wilkins, Wynona H. Wilkins

1977 · W. W. Norton & Company

The area's extreme remoteness, great size, and sparse population have shaped the North Dakota character from the beginning of settlement a century ago. Theirs was not an easy land to master; and of those who tried, it demanded strength, endurance, and few illusions, but it had rewards. Today, as world shortages of food and fuel raise new possibilities--and new problems--North Dakotans face the future with the cautious optimism they learned long ago in sod houses and cold winters on the far northern edge of their country.

From Red Hot to Monkey's Eyebrow

by Robert M. Rennick

2014 · University Press of Kentucky

You can find Paradise in Kentucky—along with many other quirky place names, and the truth (and tall tales) behind them . . . Encountering some of the uncommon geographical names in the Commonwealth of Kentucky for the first time, visitors and residents alike often assume that some clever or funny stories lie behind them. So they ask, how did Elkhorn Creek get its name? Were the roads to Red River really Hell each way? Did bugs really tussle in Monroe County? Why was everyone whooping for Larry? To be hospitable and helpful, Kentuckians have come up with convincing?if not always truthful?answers to these and other questions about how places got their names. Some of these stories were clearly not intended to be believed, though a few of them have been anyway. From Red Hot to Monkey’s Eyebrow presents some of the classic accounts of Kentucky’s oddest place names. Complete with map, index, and humorous drawings by Linda Boileau, this handy guide is a geography lover’s delight.