This account of the author's journey proceeds from his birthplace in Broken Bow, Nebraska, eastward across the Midwest to New York State and back into time as he carries out genealogical research on his family. His findings along the way give rise to diverse reflections, from courthouse architecture to the financial and social stresses of "proving up" land claims. The reader becomes a traveling companion, a party to thought-provoking and fascinating discourse on the history that is our common heritage, as well as the stages of birth, growth, death, and then attenuation in the memory of our descendants. "Kem Luther's Cottonwood Roots moves across the American land toward revelations that illumine all our ancestries." -William Least Heat-Moon, author of Blue Highways and PrairyErth.
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Kem Luther holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Chicago and an M.Sc. in Computer Science from the University of Toronto. Cottonwood Roots is his first book.
In order to trace his genealogical roots, Luther (computer science, Sheridan Coll., Canada) has gone on a journey from Broken Bow, Nebraska, to the state of New York. The narrative of Luther's search for his ancestors is not a typical genealogical history but reflects the author's background in philosophy and computer science. Allusions to mathematical modeling, databases, actuarial tables, and probabilities delineate his point of view. While he touches on the births, lives, and deaths in his family, Luther also examines such varied topics as the Amish, Millerites, gene pools, and the Civil War. He writes about the popularity of genealogical research during the 1930s and 1940s in Buffalo: "Genealogists, it would seem, sometimes inhabit the same decadent, twilight space as philosophers." The metaphor of "cottonwood roots" refers to a family history at once stable and adjustable. Recommended for most libraries.
- Vicki L. Toy Smith, Univ. of Nevada, Reno
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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