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Dakota Circle paints an accurate and beautiful picture of the plains. It is very much unlike the other books we have read this semester. The other books seemed dry; Dr. Isern is a talented storyteller. He wrote this book in such a way that it felt like you were having a conversation with him rather than reading off statistics. He wrote about the harsh winters on of the plains. He retold stories of the brave school teachers who lead their children out into the perilous weather. They are all hailed as hero’s when their stories are told, unfortunately not all of them got to retell them themselves. Then he went on to talk about the Dakota Heat emergency candles called the “Mytee Glo”. They seemed so rudimentary when he explained how they were made but I guess it doesn’t matter just as long as it keeps you from freezing to death. When he moved on to talk about the nylon jackets I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself. I remember going to the small town where my dad grew up to visit my grandparents; back then I thought it just a big retirement home because the only people that live there anymore were all elderly it seemed. But, I can remember seeing every old man in a nylon jacket and a mesh baseball cap perched on top of their head; it was never pulled down all the way, just barely hanging on to the top of each bald noggin. Another favorite part of mine was when he explored the topics of folklore and American Legends. I can remember my first experience with folklore. It’s a touchy subject for my cousins who got so scared they had to change their pants, but nothing more than a story to tell the younger generations to the rest of us. I for one will always be up for a good scary story. Moving on toward the end of the book he starts talking more about the food of the plains. This defiantly gave my salivary a workout. The talk about all the syrups, jams, and fish was sensory overload! I’m not much of a cook but I’m very interested in sending those recipes to my mom!

I think the reason why I enjoyed this book so much was because I could relate to the places and habits that Dr. Isern explores in the book. I found my self finding places and names and thinking “I wonder if they know my grandpa?” and “I wonder if that’s so-and-so’s grandpa.” I very much enjoyed reading this book. He is a storyteller and I think that’s why he was so successful in writing this book.