The Great Oklahoma Swindle
Race, Religion, and Lies in America's Weirdest State
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The Great Oklahoma Swindle
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Narrated by:
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Lloyd James
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By:
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Russell Cobb
About this listen
Look down as you buzz across America, and Oklahoma looks like another “flyover state.” A closer inspection, however, reveals one of the most tragic, fascinating, and unpredictable places in the United States
Over the span of a century, Oklahoma gave birth to movements for an African American homeland, a vibrant Socialist Party, armed rebellions of radical farmers, and an insurrection by a man called Crazy Snake. In the same era, the state saw numerous oil booms, one of which transformed the small town of Tulsa into the “oil capital of the world.”
Add to the chaos one of the nation’s worst episodes of racial violence, a statewide takeover by the Ku Klux Klan, and the rise of a paranoid far-right agenda by a fundamentalist preacher named Billy James Hargis and you have the recipe for America’s most paradoxical state.
Far from being a placid place in the heart of “flyover country,” Oklahoma has been a laboratory for all kinds of social, political, and artistic movements, producing a singular list of weirdos, geniuses, and villains.
In this book, Russell Cobb tells the story of a state rich in natural resources and artistic talent, yet near the bottom in education and social welfare. Raised in Tulsa, Cobb engages Oklahomans across the boundaries of race and class to hear their troubles, anxieties, and aspirations and delves deep to understand their contradictory and often stridently independent attitudes.
Interweaving memoir, social commentary, and sometimes surprising research around the themes of race, religion, and politics, Cobb presents an insightful portrait that will make you rethink everything you thought you knew about the American Heartland.
©2020 the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska (P)2023 Blackstone PublishingListeners also enjoyed...
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Blew my mind!
- By Leila Jaafari on 10-20-20
By: Laila Lalami
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The South Side
- A Portrait of Chicago and American Segregation
- By: Natalie Y. Moore
- Narrated by: Allyson Johnson
- Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 116
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 98
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 99
In this intelligent and highly important narrative, Chicago native Natalie Moore shines a light on contemporary segregation on the South Side of Chicago through reported essays, showing the lives of these communities through the stories of people who live in them. The South Side shows the important impact of Chicago's historic segregation and the ongoing policies that keep it that way.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Eyeopening!
- By Ladybug on 09-07-16
By: Natalie Y. Moore
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Wandering in Strange Lands
- A Daughter of the Great Migration Reclaims Her Roots
- By: Morgan Jerkins
- Narrated by: Morgan Jerkins
- Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 80
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 66
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 66
From the acclaimed cultural critic and New York Times best-selling author of This Will Be My Undoing - a writer whom Roxane Gay has hailed as “a force to be reckoned with” - comes this powerful story of her journey to understand her Northern and Southern roots, the Great Migration, and the displacement of black people across America.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Not Just Black History -- It's All Of Our History
- By Ardee on 08-22-20
By: Morgan Jerkins
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The Address Book
- What Street Addresses Reveal About Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power
- By: Deirdre Mask
- Narrated by: Janina Edwards
- Length: 8 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 251
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 203
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 205
An exuberant and insightful work of popular history of how streets got their names, houses their numbers, and what it reveals about class, race, power, and identity. When most people think about street addresses, if they think of them at all, it is in their capacity to ensure that the postman can deliver mail or a traveler won’t get lost. But street addresses were not invented to help you find your way; they were created to find you. In many parts of the world, your address can reveal your race and class.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Simply OK
- By CJFLA on 07-18-20
By: Deirdre Mask
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Stealing Home
- Los Angeles, the Dodgers, and the Lives Caught in Between
- By: Eric Nusbaum
- Narrated by: David Owen Nelson
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 355
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 301
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 299
Dodger Stadium is an American icon. But the story of how it came to be goes far beyond baseball. The hills that cradle the stadium were once home to three vibrant Mexican American communities. In the early 1950s, those communities were condemned to make way for a utopian public housing project. Then, in a remarkable turn, public housing in the city was defeated amidst a Red Scare conspiracy.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Once Upon a Time at Dodger Stadium
- By James Gamble on 03-06-21
By: Eric Nusbaum
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Mitch, Please!
- How Mitch McConnell Sold Out Kentucky (and America Too)
- By: Matt Jones, Chris Tomlin - contributor
- Narrated by: Matt Jones, Chris Tomlin
- Length: 17 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 370
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 339
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Story5 out of 5 stars 335
They say all politics is local. In 2020, Mitch McConnell will have served five full terms as a US Senator. Thirty years. The Senate Majority leader's power is as undeniable as it is infuriating, and the people of Kentucky have had enough. Led by Matt Jones, they (and they alone) have the power to oust him from office. How did Jones, a local boy turned attorney turned sports radio host come to shine the brightest light on McConnell's ineptitude?
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5 out of 5 stars
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Amazing
- By Danielle Purcell on 04-10-20
By: Matt Jones, and others
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The Dead Are Arising
- The Life of Malcolm X
- By: Les Payne, Tamara Payne
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 18 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 614
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 532
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Story5 out of 5 stars 529
An epic biography of Malcolm X finally emerges, drawing on hundreds of hours of the author's interviews, rewriting much of the known narrative.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Much more depth than the Haley book.
- By CapitalHeel on 11-03-20
By: Les Payne, and others
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Viral Justice
- How We Grow the World We Want
- By: Ruha Benjamin
- Narrated by: Ruha Benjamin
- Length: 13 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 55
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 48
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Story5 out of 5 stars 46
Long before the pandemic, Ruha Benjamin was doing groundbreaking research on race, technology, and justice, focusing on big, structural changes. But the twin plagues of COVID-19 and anti-Black police violence inspired her to rethink the importance of small, individual actions. Part memoir, part manifesto, Viral Justice is a sweeping and deeply personal exploration of how we can transform society through the choices we make every day.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Fantastic book!
- By Avie Kearney on 05-21-23
By: Ruha Benjamin
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The Shanghai Free Taxi
- Journeys with the Hustlers and Rebels of the New China
- By: Frank Langfitt
- Narrated by: Frank Langfitt
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 135
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 120
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 121
In this adventurous, original book, NPR correspondent Frank Langfitt describes how he created a free taxi service - offering rides in exchange for illuminating conversation - to go beyond the headlines and get to know a wide range of colorful, compelling characters representative of the new China. They include folks like "Beer", a slippery salesman who tries to sell Langfitt a used car; Rocky, a farm boy turned Shanghai lawyer; and Chen, who runs an underground Christian church and moves his family to America in search of a better, freer life.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Too political
- By dah551 on 06-26-19
By: Frank Langfitt
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On Juneteenth
- By: Annette Gordon-Reed
- Narrated by: Karen Chilton
- Length: 3 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 594
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 533
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 530
Weaving together American history, dramatic family chronicle, and searing episodes of memoir, Annette Gordon-Reed’s On Juneteenth provides a historian’s view of the country’s long road to Juneteenth, recounting both its origins in Texas and the enormous hardships that African Americans have endured in the century since, from Reconstruction through Jim Crow and beyond.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A short but compelling combination of history and
- By BK on 05-18-21
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The Book of Gutsy Women
- By: Hillary Rodham Clinton, Chelsea Clinton
- Narrated by: Hillary Rodham Clinton, Chelsea Clinton
- Length: 14 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 623
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 533
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 529
Hillary Rodham Clinton and her daughter, Chelsea, share the stories of the gutsy women who have inspired them - women with the courage to stand up to the status quo, ask hard questions, and get the job done.
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4 out of 5 stars
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More encyclopedia than book
- By Fountain of Chris on 10-09-19
By: Hillary Rodham Clinton, and others
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After America
- Get Ready for Armageddon
- By: Mark Steyn
- Narrated by: Mark Steyn
- Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 701
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 622
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 622
In his giant New York Times best seller, America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It, Mark Steyn predicted collapse for the rest of the Western World. Now, he adds, America has caught up with Europe on the great rush to self-destruction. What will a world without American leadership look like? It won’t be pretty—not for you and not for your children. America’s decline won’t be gradual, like an aging Europe sipping espresso at a café until extinction. No, America’s decline will be a wrenching affair marked by violence and possibly secession.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Facts
- By Peter on 11-11-11
By: Mark Steyn
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The Forgotten
- How the People of One Pennsylvania County Elected Donald Trump and Changed America
- By: Ben Bradlee
- Narrated by: Kiff Vandenheuvel
- Length: 7 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 40
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 35
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 35
In The Forgotten, Ben Bradlee, Jr., reports on how voters in Luzerne County, a pivotal county in a crucial swing state, came to feel like strangers in their own land - marginalized by flat or falling wages, rapid demographic change, and a liberal culture that mocks their faith and patriotism.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Wow
- By Walter on 11-05-18
By: Ben Bradlee
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Ida B. the Queen
- By: Michelle Duster
- Narrated by: Michelle Duster
- Length: 3 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 60
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 55
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 55
Ida B. Wells committed herself to the needs of those who did not have power. In the eyes of the FBI, this made her a “dangerous negro agitator”. In the annals of history, it makes her an icon. Ida B. the Queen tells the awe-inspiring story of a pioneering woman who was often overlooked and underestimated - a woman who refused to exit a train car meant for White passengers; a woman brought to light the horrors of lynching in America; a woman who cofounded the NAACP.
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3 out of 5 stars
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I was expecting something different
- By L on 02-01-21
By: Michelle Duster
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Black Birds in the Sky
- The Story and Legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre
- By: Brandy Colbert
- Narrated by: Brandy Colbert, Kristyl Dawn Tift
- Length: 5 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 315
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 269
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 269
In the early morning of June 1, 1921, a White mob marched across the train tracks in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and into its predominantly Black Greenwood District - a thriving, affluent neighborhood known as America's Black Wall Street. They brought with them firearms, gasoline, and explosives. In a few short hours, they'd razed 35 square blocks to the ground, leaving hundreds dead. The Tulsa Race Massacre is one of the most devastating acts of racial violence in US history. But how did it come to pass?
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5 out of 5 stars
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Incredible story and sooo well written
- By Deby on 02-17-22
By: Brandy Colbert
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Hatemonger
- Stephen Miller, Donald Trump, and the White Nationalist Agenda
- By: Jean Guerrero
- Narrated by: Frankie Corzo
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 140
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 116
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 116
Stephen Miller is one of the most influential advisors in the White House. He has crafted Donald Trump’s speeches, designed immigration policies that ban Muslims and separate families, and outlasted such Trump stalwarts as Steve Bannon and Jeff Sessions. But he’s remained an enigma. Until now. Emmy- and PEN-winning investigative journalist and author Jean Guerrero charts the 34-year-old’s astonishing rise to power, drawing from more than 100 interviews with his family, friends, adversaries, and government officials.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Deplorable on purpose
- By M. Alice Fisher on 08-15-20
By: Jean Guerrero
What listeners say about The Great Oklahoma Swindle
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- AGifford
- 12-26-23
Required reading for any Oklahoman
Outstanding historical research and story telling. The research unveils a hard pill to swallow for those who blindly love the Sooner State, but one that must be accepted as it is both factual and shameful. It is one that any true Oklahoma. Should read, and in turn, use to make the former Indian Territory into a bette place from where it originated.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- LovingMother
- 06-10-23
As a Tulsa native it’s great to finally know that truth about so many things that are hidden in plain sight.
Great book that is incredibly informative. I thought I knew so much any Tulsa’s history, but I learned so much more. I had to move East for a job but my heart is still in Tulsa! The story is read my someone who has done inadequate research into pronouncing certain things correctly and it shows.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sandra K Smith
- 03-02-23
Great Book!
This is a great book! I am from Tulsa and I learned so much from this book. Great story and a lot of facts that most people probably don't even know.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- dw
- 05-03-23
liberal rant?
I may have enjoyed the informative parts of this work more if the author was not so politically biased and at times condescending toward others who do not share his perspective.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- STEVE
- 07-01-23
I love this book but…
I love this book but…. As an Oklahoma native I know there are many other towns with intriguing stories to tell.
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