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The Big Divide: A Travel Guide to Historic and Civil War Sites in the Missouri-Kansas Border Region
Ready for your next great road trip? Let a historian and journalist take you on a guided tour of the Missouri-Kansas border region - where some of the most consequential episodes in U.S. history took place. Here is where the Civil War started, as pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces battled over the fate of Kansas. Here is where African-American soldiers fought for their freedom for the first time. And this is the place that pathbreaking Americans like George Washington Carver, Harry Truman, and Amelia Earhart called home. Trip planning is easy with this guide, which is packed with themed driving tours, kid-friendly sites, and tips from two experienced history travelers. Take a ride on The Big Divide!
248 pages, Paperback
First published April 30, 2013
2 people are currently reading
446 people want to read
About the author
Diane Eickhoff
6 books33 followersDiane Eickhoff has taught in a one-room schoolhouse, worked for civil rights and women’s rights, edited textbooks, served as a public relations director, and published widely as a freelance writer over three decades. Now, thanks to her work on Clarina Nichols and the early women’s rights movement, Diane Eickhoff has added more lines to her résumé: award-winning biographer, humanities scholar, captivating performer.
Raised on her family’s farm in Minnesota, Eickhoff has lived in New York City, Chicago, and her current home of Kansas City, where she moved with her husband in 1997.
Published Works: Revolutionary Heart: Clarina Nichols and the Pioneering Crusade for Women's Rights, Quindaro Press, 2006; Frontier Freedom Fighter: Clarina Nichols and the Early Women's Rights Movement, (audiobook), Quindaro Press, 2006
Awards: Winner, First Place, Kansas Notable Book, 2007 (Kansas Center for the Book); Book of the Year Award in Biography, 2007 (Foreword Magazine); Finalist in Nonfiction, Kansas City Star and The Writer's Place Award for best books by Missouri and Kansas authors; Ben Franklin Awards, finalist, biography/autobiography, 2007; IPPY finalist, biography, 2007.
Raised on her family’s farm in Minnesota, Eickhoff has lived in New York City, Chicago, and her current home of Kansas City, where she moved with her husband in 1997.
Published Works: Revolutionary Heart: Clarina Nichols and the Pioneering Crusade for Women's Rights, Quindaro Press, 2006; Frontier Freedom Fighter: Clarina Nichols and the Early Women's Rights Movement, (audiobook), Quindaro Press, 2006
Awards: Winner, First Place, Kansas Notable Book, 2007 (Kansas Center for the Book); Book of the Year Award in Biography, 2007 (Foreword Magazine); Finalist in Nonfiction, Kansas City Star and The Writer's Place Award for best books by Missouri and Kansas authors; Ben Franklin Awards, finalist, biography/autobiography, 2007; IPPY finalist, biography, 2007.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 2, 2013
Those who forget the lessons of history ... (I forget how the rest of that saying goes.) Nevertheless, I have a feeling that it's probably a good idea to know where we came from and learn a bit about those who helped build the world we live in today. This book provides any easy way for those of us living in the Missouri-Kansas border region to appreciate history that took place in our back yard. And for others interested in history, this book provides historical information about a region of the country that is often overlooked by those living in other parts of the world.
This is a travel guide as indicated by the subtitle, but the book is so unique that I'm not sure that label does it justice. This is the first travel guide that I've come across that is arranged in chronological order. It starts with a overview of geologic history, acknowledges early native peoples, moves on to early settlers, expands on action leading up to and through the Civil War, and then reviews more recent history. All along this chronological route the book lists all the locations and sites where these things happened and where artifacts of this history can be visited and appreciated.
The authors of this book visited all 130 historic sites, monuments, museums, parks, cemeteries, and shrines that are described in this book. The sole focus of this book is on providing the reader an idea of what to expect as a visitor to these sites. So you'll need to consult other guides for information on restaurants and lodging. The authors even took their grandchildren to some of the sites to test out the kid friendly aspects of the sites. So families can rely of this book to be a helpful guide in choosing educational sites to visit that can be enjoyed by all ages.
I wonder how many people have visited all 130 sites mentioned in this book. I'm pretty sure that the authors are the only ones to have taken careful and thorough notes during all their visits. Perhaps I can set it as a goal for my retirement years to visit all the sites mentioned in this book.
This is a travel guide as indicated by the subtitle, but the book is so unique that I'm not sure that label does it justice. This is the first travel guide that I've come across that is arranged in chronological order. It starts with a overview of geologic history, acknowledges early native peoples, moves on to early settlers, expands on action leading up to and through the Civil War, and then reviews more recent history. All along this chronological route the book lists all the locations and sites where these things happened and where artifacts of this history can be visited and appreciated.
The authors of this book visited all 130 historic sites, monuments, museums, parks, cemeteries, and shrines that are described in this book. The sole focus of this book is on providing the reader an idea of what to expect as a visitor to these sites. So you'll need to consult other guides for information on restaurants and lodging. The authors even took their grandchildren to some of the sites to test out the kid friendly aspects of the sites. So families can rely of this book to be a helpful guide in choosing educational sites to visit that can be enjoyed by all ages.
I wonder how many people have visited all 130 sites mentioned in this book. I'm pretty sure that the authors are the only ones to have taken careful and thorough notes during all their visits. Perhaps I can set it as a goal for my retirement years to visit all the sites mentioned in this book.
May 26, 2013
We are using this book for touring Kansas and Missouri Civil War sites. It has been very helpful!
September 24, 2017
Well written, fair, and quirky guide to traveling Border War sites in Kansas and Missouri. I live on the border of Kansas and Missouri and didn't know some of these places existed! Enjoyed the write ups on the ones I had visited...very accurate. Loved the write ups on the museums and extra tips.
August 13, 2018
Used it as a tour guide for our trip to western Missouri. A great resource.
May 4, 2018
This is a great resource to look at when looking to visit historical places in the Missouri-Kansas border area. It is a travel guide, but also gives a pretty good overview of the history in the region throughout the ages. I loved the little reviews of the sites and the road-trip suggestions.
May 28, 2016
This is a wonderful book to assist with planning a vacation in the Missouri-Kansas region. I always plan my travel around historical and national park sites.
This helps fill in the gaps. I have read several historical and biographical books from this area. I appreciate the maps, telephone numbers and time of operation. I am amazed at the amount of history from this area. I received this book as a Good Reads giveaway. I wish to that the author, publisher and Good Reads.
This helps fill in the gaps. I have read several historical and biographical books from this area. I appreciate the maps, telephone numbers and time of operation. I am amazed at the amount of history from this area. I received this book as a Good Reads giveaway. I wish to that the author, publisher and Good Reads.
February 8, 2016
This was a good book about the Missouri-Kansas boarder. It's a combination of a travel guide and history book, arranged in chronological order. It's all information that could be obtained from the Internet, but it's helpful to have it all nicely arranged in one place. It's strictly devoted to tourist sites without any recommendations for hotels or restaurants. Some of the sites are simple monuments or cemeteries and not locations that most people would want to go out of their way to visit.
August 2, 2017
This is a wonderful travel guide! Diane Eickhoff manged to create a travel guide and history book that makes you want to go out and explore. From nature parks to monuments, houses, and cemeteries and so much more there is something for everyone. Luckily I have been to a few of these places of course only on the Kansas side but there are so many more places I now want to visit.
December 28, 2015
Outstanding guide to our region!
August 25, 2016
Very interesting information about the local area history, and great ideas for places to visit!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews