A Brief History of Nebraska

This book is a short treatment of a long history. Nebraska has been inundated by ancient seas, carved by glaciers, and settled by ancient cultures who learned to survive in a land prone to extremes of climate. As a state, Nebraska was born out of the Civil War, shaped by railroads, and built by immigrants. Settlers were drawn by promises of free land and abundant rain. They endured droughts and economic depressions. They fought for political reforms, fought world wars, and sometimes fought each other. Along the way Nebraskans chose a unique form of government and re-invented their communities under new conditions. A Brief History of Nebraska is a story of continual change, the back story of the place and people we know today.

Ronald C. Naugle is a professor emeritus of history at Nebraska Wesleyan University and chair of the Nebraska Hall of Fame Commission. He is the co-author, with John J. Montag and James C. Olson, of History of Nebraska, Fourth Edition (University of Nebraska Press), winner of the Nebraska Book Award; co-author, with Patricia Cox Crews, of Nebraska Quilts and Quiltmakers (Nebraska), winner of the Smithsonian's Frost Prize for Distinguished Scholarship in American Crafts; and editor of other books including Ham, Eggs, and Corncake: A Nebraska Territorial Diary (Nebraska).