One Book South Dakota

South Dakota Humanities Council Speakers Bureau

What if everyone in South Dakota read the same book?

Since 2003, the One Book South Dakota program has encouraged everyone across South Dakota to read and discuss the same novel or memoir throughout the course of a year. Community and book groups recieve books on loan and can invite a scholar from the SDHC list to facilitate their discussion.

Many times, a One Book South Dakota event will feature a variety of experiences that relate to the book. For example, a book discussion of Buffalo for the Broken Heart might also include a sampling of bison meat or a presentation by a local bison rancher. The program encourages an interactive and comprehensive discussion of the text as it relates to our everyday lives.

Download
2012 One Book Planning Guide	2012 One Book Study Guide (Coming Soon)

2012 Selection

Dammed Indians Revisited by Michael Lawson The South Dakota Humanities Council is proud to announce that "Dammed Indians Revisited: The Continuing History of the Pick-Sloan Plan and the Missouri River Sioux" will serve communities throughout the state as the 2012 One Book South Dakota selection. In this year’s One Book, Michael Lawson astutely examines the 1944 Pick-Sloan Plan and the devastating effects on American Indian populations located near flooded areas caused by the project. The ideas central within the book remind us of the many challenges we face as South Dakotans; these ideas require us to think thoughtfully and critically about ourselves and our values.

Dammed Indians Revisted bridges SDHC’s current “American Indian Cultures” programming theme with next year’s theme, “Water.” These themes provide a platform for communities across the state to focus on issues that predominate current South Dakota discourse, issues that we are all affected by on some level. We encourage you to join in the ongoing conversation that One Book SD provides.

One Book South Dakota seeks to encourage regional conversations around a common text. In doing so, our goal is to provide a bedrock of understanding and civility over cultural issues pertaining to our state and its history. We hope your organization will take part in hosting one of these statewide discussions. For a $40 application fee, we will provide reader’s guides and copies of the book for everyone in your discussion group, as well as a scholar to lead the discussion if you would like one. What’s more, your discussion group can take advantage of our capstone One Book South Dakota lecture. Lawson will be featured at the South Dakota Festival of Books.

About the Book
Michael Lawson Author Michael L. Lawson is a partner in Morgan, Angel & Associates, L.L.C., an historical and public policy consulting firm in Washington, D.C. During a 20-year career in the federal government, he served as an historian for the National Park Service, the Smithsonian Institution's National Portrait Gallery, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Lawson earned bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and a doctorate in American history at The University of New Mexico. He is a three-time recipient of the South Dakota State Historical Society's Governor's Awards for History and has also been honored by the Western History Association and the Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society for his writing on Native American topics. Lawson has been a visiting lecturer at several colleges, including New York University, the U.S. Naval Academy, and George Washington University.

Past selections:

2011 Selection

The Journey of Crazy Horse by Joseph Marshall III

The Journey of Crazy Horse: A Lakota History
By Joseph Marshall III

The history of our state abounds with stories of struggles and perseverance, stories of impassioned individuals facing treacherous winters and impossible odds. Perhaps no person better epitomizes the struggles faced by so many in the early years of our territory than Oglala Lakota leader Crazy Horse. This iconic hero is best known for his prowess on the battlefield, yet a closer look at his life reveals a complex figure made up of much more than the war stories and heroic legends. It captures the life and times of one of our state’s most revered men, providing insight into the historical contexts that formed his character, beliefs, and later shaped him into a leader.

Penguin | 2004 | 294 pages | Paperback

2010 Selection

The Art of Mending

What Is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng
by Dave Eggers

What Is the What is the epic novel based on the life of Valentino Achak Deng who, along with thousands of other children—the so-called Lost Boys—was forced to leave his village in Sudan at the age of seven and trek hundreds of miles by foot, pursued by militias, government bombers, and wild animals, crossing the deserts of three countries to find freedom. When he finally is resettled in the United States, he finds a life full of promise, but also heartache and myriad new challenges. Moving, suspenseful, and unexpectedly funny, What Is the What is an astonishing novel that illuminates the lives of millions through one extraordinary man.

Random House | 2006 | 535 pages | Paperback

2009 Selection

The Art of Mending

Buffalo for the Broken Heart
by Dan O'Brien

For twenty years Dan O’Brien struggled to make ends meet on his cattle ranch in South Dakota. But when a neighbor invited him to lend a hand at the annual buffalo roundup, O’Brien was inspired to convert his own ranch, the Broken Heart, to buffalo. Starting with thirteen calves, “short-necked, golden balls of wool,” O’Brien embarked on a journey that returned buffalo to his land for the first time in more than a century and a half. Buffalo for the Broken Heart is at once a tender account of the buffaloes’ first seasons on the ranch and an engaging lesson in wildlife ecology. Whether he’s describing the grazing pattern of the buffalo, the thrill of watching a falcon home in on its prey, or the comical spectacle of a buffalo bull wallowing in the mud, O’Brien combines a novelist’s eye for detail with a naturalist’s understanding to create an enriching, entertaining narrative.

Random House | 2001 | 262 Pages | Paperback

2008 Selection

The Art of Mending

The Master Butchers Singing Club
by Louise Erdrich

Having survived World War I, Fidelis Wadvogel returns to his quiet German village and marries the pregnant widow of his best friend, killed in action. With a suitcase full of sausages and a master butcher’s precious knife set, Fidelis sets out for America. In Argus, North Dakota, he builds a business, a home for his family—which includes Eva and four sons—and a singing club consisting of the best voices in town. When the old world meets the New—in the person of Delphine Watzka—the great adventure of Fidelis’s life begins. Delphine meets Eva and is enchanted. She meets Fidelis, and the ground trembles. These momentous encounters will determine the course of Delphine’s life, and the trajectory of this brilliant novel.

Harper Perennial | 2005 | 388 Pages | Paperback

2007 Selection

The Art of Mending

The Whistling Season
by Ivan Doig

In the unforgettable fall of 1909, Rose Llewellyn and her brother, Morris Morgan, bring west with them “several kinds of education”—none of them of the textbook variety—and life is never again the same in Marias Coulee, Montana.

Harcourt | 2007 | 345 Pages | Paperback

2006 Selection

The Art of Mending

Gilead
by Marilynne Robinson

Twenty-four years after her first novel, Housekeeping, Marilynne Robinson returns with a story about fathers and sons and the spiritual battles that still rage in America’s heart. In the luminous and unforgettable voice of Congregationalist minister John Ames, Gilead reveals the human condition and “manages to convey the miracle of existence itself.”

Picador | 2004 | 247 Pages | Paperback

2005 Selection

The Art of Mending

The Work of Wolves
by Kent Meyers

When fourteen-year-old Carson Fielding buys his first horse—a run-down, wild-eyed roan—from the wealthiest rancher in his South Dakota boarder town, he learns a hard lesson about dealing with powerful men. Years later, Carson grudgingly agrees to work for the rancher, training his horses and teaching his wife, Rebecca, to ride. Carson and Rebecca fall in love, angering her vengeful husband, who sets off a cruel chain of events that shocks even the most hardened residents of the town. With the help from friends at the nearby Lakota Indian reservation, Carson challenges the ranchers’ rule, fiercely determined to protect what he holds most dear.

Harcourt, Inc. | 2005 | 407 Pages | Paperback

2004 Selection

The Art of Mending by Elizabeth Berg

The Art of Mending
by Elizbeth Berg

It begins with the sudden revelation of astonishing secrets—secrets that have shaped the personalities and fates of three siblings, and now threaten to tear them apart. In renowned author Elizabeth Berg’s moving new novel, unearthed truths force one seemingly ordinary family to reexamine their disparate lives and to ask themselves: Is it too late to mend the hurts of the past?

Laura Bartone anticipates her annual family reunion in Minnesota with a mixture of excitement and wariness. Yet this year’s gathering will prove to be much more trying than either she or her siblings imagined. As soon as she arrives, Laura realizes that something is not right with her sister. Forever wrapped up in events of long ago, Caroline is the family’s restless black sheep. When Caroline confronts Laura and their brother, Steve, with devastating allegations about their mother, the three have a difficult time reconciling their varying experiences in the same house. But a sudden misfortune will lead them all to face the past, their own culpability, and their common need for love and forgiveness.

Readers have come to love Elizabeth Berg for the “lucent beauty of [her] prose, the verity of her insights, and the tenderness of her regard for her fellow human” (Booklist). In The Art of Mending, her most profound and emotionally satisfying novel to date, she confronts some of the deepest mysteries of life, as she explores how even the largest sins can be forgiven by the smallest gestures, and how grace can come to many through the trials of one.

Random House | 2004 256 Pages | Paperback

2003 Selection

Peace Like A River

Peace Like A River
by Leif Enger

Leif Enger’s best-selling debut is at once a heroic request, a tragedy, and a love story, in which “what could be unbelievable becomes extraordinary” (Connie Ogle, The Miami Herald). Enger brings us eleven-year-old Reuben Land, an asthmatic boy in the Midwest who has a reason to believe in miracles. Along with his sister and father, Reuben finds himself on a cross-country search for his outlaw older brother who has been controversially charged with murder. Their journey unfolds like a revelation, and its conclusion shows how family, love, and faith can stand up to the most terrifying of enemies, the most tragic of fates.

Grove Press | 2001 | 312 Pages | Paperback

How to Apply

1. Get a group together
Any non-profit organization is eligible to apply for a reading program. Select a book to
discuss and set a date for your event. We invite you to choose this year’s One Book
South Dakota.

2. Find a scholar to lead your discussion
Contact scholars directly to see if they will lead your group discussion.

3. Apply Online

Apply 4 - 6 weeks before the program.

Our survey software is powered by SurveyGizmo

If internet access is not available, download an application form.

Mail $35 application fee to:
South Dakota Humanities Council
1215 Trail Ridge Rd., Suite A
Brookings, SD 57006-4107

4. Promote, publicize, and conduct your event
At you event, be sure to thank the South Dakota Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities for support.

5. Complete a short evaluation form and return the books

Please note: Applications must be sent 4-6 weeks in advance of your reading program.

Discussion Scholars

One of our many available humanities scholars can enhance your book club's discussion of a particular text by bringing in additional knowledge about the subject matter, outside research, or unique experiences that relate to the text at hand. Before submitting your application for funding, please confirm the details of your event with your scholar.


Dr. Kathy Antonen, Rapid City 605-381-8737 (w) kathy.antonen@sdsmt.edu (w)	Dr. Marilyn Carlson Aronson, Beresford 605-957-4371 (h), 605-336-4680 (w) mcarlson@iw.net (h), mcarlson@national.edu (w)	Dr. Kathleen Danker, Brookings kathleen.danker@sdstate.edu (w)

Lana Dannenbring-Eichstadt, Wessington 605-354-3589 (h) lana.dannenbring@k12.sd.us (w)	Lawrence Diggs, Roslyn 605-486-4536 (w) me@ldiggs.com (w)	Rod Evans, Aberdeen 605-725-2611 (h) rodevans@nvc.net (h)

Greg Garon, Timber Lake 605-865-3390 (h) garong@yahoo.com (h)	Joyzelle Gingway Godfrey, Lincoln, NE 402-470-3810 (h), 402-613-7813 (c), jyzlle@windstream.net (h)	Candy Hamilton, Rapid City 605-718-1505 (h), 605-407-8488 (w), hamcandy@gmail.com (h)

Belinda Joe, Crazy Horse 605-245-2453 (h) bfjoe@hotmail.com (h)	Dr. Barbara Johnson, Aberdeen 605-229-5988 (h) prairielitdocbj@aol.com (h)	Dorothy Liegl, Pierre 605-220-4100 (c) strictlyliegl@msn.com (h)

Dr. John Miller, Brookings 605-692-7680 (h) john.miller@sdstate.edu (w)	Dr. John Nelson, Madison 605-270-2116 (h) john.nelson@dsu.edu (w)	Jean Patrick, Mitchell 605-996-2110 (h) jean@santel.net (h)

Dr. Don Simmons, Mitchell 605-995-2937 (h) dosimmon@dwu.edu (w)	Donovin Sprague, Rapid City 605-716-9745 (h) donovin.sprague@bhsu.edu (w)	Ken Steinken, Rapid City 605-348-4895 (h) kensteinken@juno.com (h)

Dr. James Sullivan, Yankton 605-857-1093 (c) jsullivan@mtmc.edu (w)	Bob Swanhorst, Sioux Falls 605-335-8143 (h) btswan@sio.midco.net (h)	Nancy Veglahn, Sioux Falls 605-331-3809 (h) nveglahn@iso.midco.net (h)

Gary Westgard, Watertown 605-882-5733 (h) vivigard@midco.net (h)	Dr. Norma Wilson, Vermillion 605-624-9279 (h) norma.wilson@usd.edu (w)