News and Notes
Teaching Montana History is going on hiatus for summer break--unless something time sensitive comes along that is so good I can't bear not to share it. If you are changing schools, please re-subscribe using your new address! We'd hate to lose touch.
Perhaps I'll get to see you at the ConCon celebration in June or at our August 17 workshop. Or, if your travels bring you to Helena some other time this summer, please stop in and say "hello." And of course, don't hesitate to contact me if I can help you as you prepare for your classes next fall: mkohl@mt.gov.
Finally: I'm issuing one last call to complete our annual survey and to share your favorite lesson. (Need more incentive? There are still two prizes waiting to be claimed.)
Summer Reading Recommendations
Last week I asked what you were reading this summer, or what you recommend others read. Here are the suggestions I received.
The 1972 Constitution. "Brief, easy, and extremely important reading." Missing the Teaching Montana History already? While you are at it, you may want to watch all or part of the speakers series we hosted on the fiftieth anniversary of the Con Con or attend the June 15-16 event. (Renewal Units available.)
Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War, Nathan Philbrick (2006)
The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Nathan Philbrick (2010). (I think we have a Philbrick fan.)
Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History, S.C. Gwynne (2011)
The Last Green Valley: A Novel, Mark Sullivan (2021) "A compelling and inspiring story of heroism and courage in the dark days at the end of World War II."
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, Isabel Wilkerson (2020)
Blood Meridian, Cormac McCarthy (1985)
Why Learn History When It's Already on Your Phone, Sam Wineburg (2018)
Someone asked for books on Montana agriculture and ranching. My recommendations are two memoirs: Teddy Blue Abbott's We Pointed Them North and Homesteading, by Percy Wollaston.
As for me, I've read most of the novels that the Montana Indian Education Division of OPI has created study guides for, but not all of them. My goal is to finish off the list: Wind from an Enemy Sky, here I come.
Wishing everyone a restorative summer.
