Books
Oklahoma Hall of Fame Publishing has produced more than 180 books celebrating Oklahoma's rich history and heritage, making Oklahoma Hall of Fame Publishing the leader in publishing Oklahoma's history.
All titles are available for purchase through Scissortail Gifts, the gift store at the Oklahoma Hall of Fame | Gaylord-Pickens Museum. You can visit us in person or order online. Titles are hardback unless otherwise noted.
For questions, call 405.235.4458 or by emailing gmc@oklahomahof.com. For wholesale orders, please call 405.523.3202.
CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULT BOOKS
Angie Debo: Daughter of the Prairie
By Patricia Loughlin -- $9.95
Angie Debo was a child when her parents moved to Marshall, Oklahoma Territory. She arrived in Marshall ten years after the Run of 1889. During her lifetime she was a teacher, curator, pastor, librarian, historian, and author.
Debo wrote about the...
moreBill Wallace: Author of Adventure and Animal Stories
By Jane McKellips -- $9.95
Bill Wallace, an award-winning author of children’s books, was known worldwide for his writings. Readers thrilled at the adventurous situations in which he sometimes placed his characters. Some of Bill’s other books were funny with animals as the main characters....
moreDust Storm
By Jane McKellips -- $16.95
During the 1930s, severe and extended drought struck the Southwest and central plains, Oklahoma in particular. Dust and sandstorms were common and gave rise to the name of an era that still colors stories of that time and place. Of course, it was not one dust...
moreFearless Flight: The Amazing Adventures of Wiley Post
By Eric Dabney and Janice Johnson -- $14.95 (Paperback)
To say that Wiley Post was an aviation risk taker would be an understatement. Living one of America’s most amazing success stories, he was a man who exceeded all expectations, overcame his criminal past, and conquered his physical...
moreIf the Fence Could Talk
By Brad Robison -- $19.95
On April 19, 1995, Oklahoma City was changed forever when the unforgivable act of one individual took the lives of 168 men, women, and children and injured hundreds more. Following the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building a fence was stretched around...
moreJordan Tang: Think…Create…Discover
By Cheryl Schuermann -- $9.95
Dr. Jordan Tang is a world class medical research scientist. His work in the laboratory is the first step to finding cures for disease. He has been at Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation in Oklahoma City for over fifty years. His biggest thrill as a scientist...
moreLeona Mitchell: Opera Star
By Gwendolyn Hooks -- $9.95
Leona Mitchell was a regular little girl growing up in Enid, Oklahoma, except that she sang in the church choir at the age of 4, performed soloes at the age of 8, and directed the choir at the age of 14. She always thought she was a good singer, even when her...
moreLove Won: The Oklahoma Standard
By Cathy and Frank Keating -- $18.95
Following the April 19, 1995, bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City, drawings and notes of sympathy, encouragement, and hope began pouring in from throughout the United States and the world. These expressions of...
moreTe Ata: Oklahoma Cultural Treasure
By Pati Hailey -- $9.95
Born in 1895 in Indian Territory, Te Ata grew up during a time when Chickasaw children were not allowed to speak their native language in their own schools. They could not tell the stories or play the games of their culture. This was true for the children of many...
moreWill Rogers: Oklahoma’s Favorite Son
By Darleen Bailey Beard -- $9.95
Will Rogers was a man like no other. Shy and humble, he grew up on a cattle ranch near Oologah, Oklahoma. At an early age, he learned how to ride a horse and throw a lariat, and eventually he became one of the most famous lariat artists of all times...
moreWill Rogers: Our American Legend
By Frank Keating -- $19.95
Oklahoma’s own Will Rogers had a love for people and adventure. During his lifetime, he was a ranch hand, trick roper, vaudeville performer, film star, journalist, author, radio personality, aviation pioneer, and star of the Broadway stage and the big screen....
moreHISTORIES OF INSTITUTIONS, MOVEMENTS, AND GENERAL RELEASES
The Beaux Arts Ball: The First 75 Years
By Bob Burke and Aimee Robb Harlow -- $39.95
The Beaux Arts Society was born from the need to sustain the Oklahoma Art Center, known today as the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. Although prominent families and art enthusiasts made possible the purchase of art and provided funds to attract...
moreThe Cameron Family and American Fidelity Assurance Company: The First 60 Years
By Max Nichols and Bob Burke -- $28.95
The compelling story of the Cameron Family and the Cameron Group of companies began in a small Oklahoma town. After decades of selling insurance for other companies, the father-son duo of C. W. and C. B. Cameron took a risk and formed their own...
moreBaseball in the Cross Timbers: The Story of the Sooner State League
By Peter G. Pierce -- $34.95
The Sooner State League operated for 11 seasons between 1947 and 1957. More than 3,000 players mounted the bottom rung baseball’s ladder leading to the dream-come-true of playing in “the show.” More than just a sports book, in 14 chapters with more than 300...
moreBroken Bow’s Black Communities and Dunbar High School: A Glimpse into the Past from a Black Perspective
By Dr. Sidney Carter -- $19.95
Broken Bow’s Black Communities and Dunbar High School chronicles Broken Bow’s early history and incorporation as a city. Early history, family life, leisure time, the black communities, and their citizens are characterized. Black churches, Dunbar School,...
moreEight Seasons of the Herefords: Red Dirt Baseball in Ada
By Peter G. Pierce -- $14.95 (Paperback)
Ada has a short but rich history in professional baseball. While only a handful of the hundreds of players who wore the Herefords’ flannels ever appeared in a Major League game, they left a fascinating human and social legacy and impact on Ada....
moreExcellence on the Hill: A History of Integris Baptist Medical Center
By Bob Burke -- $34.95
Baptist Hospital was a dream for Oklahoma Baptists for many years before it opened on Easter Sunday in 1959. It was the first medical facility located outside Oklahoma City’s downtown area. Built on a hill that is the highest geographical point in the capital city,...
moreExplosion of Prosperity
By Jerry Isbell and Bob Burke -- $24.95
Old Hochatown. Once a sleepy Choctaw Indian village, it became an isolate haven for white settlers in the 20th century. Nearby on the Mountain Fork River, Beavers Bend State Park was built by a government make-work program during the Great Depression...
moreGetting Grilled by Wade Christensen: The First Gentleman of the State of Oklahoma
By Ronnye Perry Sharp and Bob Burke -- $29.95
Wade Christensen is Oklahoma’s first First Gentleman. When he and his wife, Governor Mary Fallin, occupied the governor’s mansion in January, 2011, Wade brought the legacy of generations of Oklahoma heritage to his new position. He grew up in...
moreHardwood Heroes: Great Oklahoma Basketball Coaches
By C. Renzi Stone and Bob Burke -- $12.95 (Paperback)
Oklahoma’s impact on the art and science of coaching basketball is great. Oklahoma coaches have not only produced winning teams, they have literally influenced the way the game is played around the world. Pioneers such as Henry Iba and...
moreA History of the University of Tulsa College of Law
By John Forrester Hicks -- $29.95
This book tells the story of the birth and development of a law school against the backdrop of the “oil capital of the world”—Tulsa, Oklahoma. It is a study of how an educational institution has evolved. Starting as a small, independent school serving...
moreThe Impossible Dream: The Miracle of the Jasmine Moran Children’s Museum
By Karen Anson -- $29.95
An incredible tale that began with a visit from God in a Jerusalem hotel room spins to its conclusion in a small economy-stricken town half a world away. The man, Melvin Moran, moved by his after-death experience, made a promise that he still tries to keep 30 years...
moreLove’s: Fifty Years of a Family Enterprise
By Bob L. Blackburn -- $29.95
In 1964, with little money to invest and a growing family to support, Tom and Judy Love opened their first store in an old service station in Watonga, Oklahoma. It offered few frills other than “the cheapest gas in town.” Fifty years later, Love’s Travel...
moreLove’s: Fifty-Five Years of a Family Enterprise
By Bob L. Blackburn -- $29.95
In 1964, with little money to invest and a growing family to support, Tom and Judy Love opened their first store in an old service station in Watonga, Oklahoma. It offered few frills other than “the cheapest gas in town.” Fifty-five years later, Love’s Travel...
moreMore Than A Championship: The 2011 Oklahoma State Cowboys
By Robert Allen and Mike Gundy -- $26.95
On the day that two of Oklahoma State University’s most promising athletes announced they would be delaying their entrance into the NFL and return to OSU for one final season, the seed was planted for More Than A Championship: The 2011 Oklahoma...
moreMore Than a Store: A History of Goodwill Industries of Central Oklahoma
By Jim Priest and Bob Burke -- $24.95
Goodwill Industries was founded in 1902 in Boston, Massachusetts, by Methodist minister and social innovator Edgar J. Helms. In 1935, Oklahoma City publisher E. K. Gaylord heard about the success of Goodwill branches to enhance people’s dignity and...
moreOklahoma: How We Got the Best State Song
By Bob Burke -- $14.95
Oklahomans under the age of 65 cannot remember a time when “Oklahoma”, the title song from the Rodgers and Hammerstein Broadway hit, was not the official state song. However, before 1953, Oklahoma had both an unofficial and an official state anthem.
Today,...
moreOklahoma Adjusts to War: 1942—The Critical Year
By Larry A. Lewis -- $29.95
Numerous books discuss World War II’s political and military leaders and the war’s momentous air, land, and sea conflicts. No one doubts the significant impact of those events on the home front. Although this book broadly reviews those conflicts, the focus...
moreThe Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club: The First Century
By Bob Burke -- $39.95
The Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club always has been a focal point of the community and a home to its leaders. The untold stories of how our members shaped the future of our state from within the walls of our Club may have to be left to the imagination, but be...
moreThe Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum: Looking Back. Thinking Forward.
By Bob Johnson and Kari Watkins -- $39.95
The story within these pages is of an unexpected journey that began at 9:02 a.m. on April 19, 1995 when a massive bomb ripped apart the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, took 168 innocent lives, including 19 children, and changed...
moreOklahoma City University School of Law: Come to Learn. Learn to Lead.
By Lee Peoples and Bob Burke -- $28.95
For many decades, Oklahoma City School of Law has served as the capital city’s law school and its alumni is a “who’s who” in Oklahoma’s history. Within the last decade, the School of Law has played a vital role in helping Oklahoma City reach its full...
moreOklahoma Health Center: A History
By Bob Burke -- $34.95
The Oklahoma Health Center is the unique epicenter of amazing, quality-of-life-changing progress in health care, research, medical education, technology, and community service. On 300 acres south the State Capitol in Oklahoma City, more than $3 billion in capital...
moreOklahoma’s 100 Greatest Athletes
By Berry Tramel and Bob Burke -- $14.95
Oklahomans have always excelled in sports competition. The high level of achievement began with Jim Thorpe’s domination of the world sports stage at the 1912 Olympic Games. He was called “the greatest athlete in the world.” The excellence...
moreOur Greatest Journalists: Fifty Years of the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame
Edited by Joe Hight -- $39.95
The story of Oklahoma, the nation, and the world has been chronicled through the decades by men and women of diverse backgrounds and interests whose devotion to spreading the word has been recognized by the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame.
In Our...
moreThe Oklahoma State Fair - A History
By Bob Burke and Gini Moore Campbell -- $26.95
For more than 100 years the Oklahoma State Fair has been providing something for every visitor that passes through its gates. While some head to the Midway for the ride of a lifetime or to Food Row for an Indian Taco, others explore the newest...
morePiavinnia: The Bent-Guerrier Connection
By Jo Ann Kessel -- $ 19.95
This is the story of how two half-breed Cheyenne, descended from English (Bent) and French (Guerrier) ancestry, survived the bloodiest massacre in the history of the government’s Indian wars. The Bent-Guerrier union produced a woman their equal in drive,...
morePractice: Unleashing the Power of Faith
By Jane Jayroe -- $22.95
Throughout history, God has used stories of ordinary and extraordinary people to show His power and purpose. From Abraham and Moses to Mary and the woman at the well, we have learned how faith fuels a life. Today is no different.
From the corners of...
morePride of the Wichitas: A History of Cameron University
By Sarah Eppler Janda -- $29.95
Cameron was one of six agricultural high schools created by the Oklahoma state legislature in 1908 and since that time the institution has gone through numerous changes. The original mission of the Cameron State School of Agriculture, set forth by the state...
moreRed Dirt Baseball: Boom and Bust, Small Town Professional Baseball in Oklahoma, 1920-1942
By Peter G. Pierce -- $19.95 (Paperback)
Twenty-four Oklahoma cities and towns fielded teams in five leagues between 1920 and 1942. Dozens of past and future Major Leaguers toiled in the bushes of the Sooner State between the World Wars. Red Dirt Baseball–Boom and Bust tells the story of...
moreRed Dirt Baseball: The First Decades, Small Town Professional Baseball in Oklahoma, 1904-1919 (2nd Edition)
By Peter G. Pierce -- $19.95
Professional baseball came to the Twin Territories in 1904 with Oklahoma City, Guthrie, Enid, Chickasha, and Shawnee appearing in the Southwestern League and Ardmore, I.T. making a brief appearance in the Texas League. Twenty-eight Oklahoma cities and towns...
moreRed Dirt Baseball: The Post-War Years, Small Town Professional Baseball in Oklahoma, 1946-1961
By Peter G. Pierce -- $19.95 (Paperback)
Fifteen Oklahoma cities and towns fielded teams in four leagues between 1946 and 1961. Dozens of past and future Major Leaguers toiled in the bushes of the Sooner State after World War II. Red Dirt Baseball: The Post-War Years tells the story of...
moreRestoring Order and Giving Hope: The Oklahoma National Guard Response to Hurricane Katrina
By Bob Burke and Max Moss, Jr. -- $29.95
The Oklahoma National Guard has a magnificent history, from sacrifices on foreign battlefields to helping Oklahoma neighbors in the aftermath of destructive tornadoes and flooding. But after Hurricane Katrina and massive flooding from breached...
moreSimple Truths: The Real Story of the Oklahoma City Bombing Investigation
By Jon Hersley, Larry Tongate, and Bob Burke -- $14.95 (Paperback)
The world was stunned on April 19, 1995 by the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City that killed 168 men, women, and children. In the aftermath of this horrific act, Americans did not want to...
moreStruggles in a New State; the 1910 Journey of the Abernathy Boys as a Framework of the Political Issues and Societal Changes in Oklahoma
By Larry Lewis -- $34.95
During the spring of 1910, as President Theodore Roosevelt was returning home from his travels through Africa and Europe, two brothers—one 10 and the other 6—left their Frederick, Oklahoma, homestead by horse to ride, alone, to New York City, New York, in hopes of...
moreUniversity of Oklahoma College of Law: A Centennial History
By Bob Burke and Steven W. Taylor -- $39.95
The University of Oklahoma College of Law began its inaugural semester in the fall of 1909 with Dean Julien C. Monnet, two faculty members, and a class of 47 law students. In 1914, Monnet Hall, fondly referred to as the “Law Barn,” became the...
moreThe Writings that Shaped Oklahoma
By Bob Burke -- $19.95 (Paperback)
Oklahoma’s exciting history truly has been shaped by pen and paper. From the day in 1803 when the French passed title to the heartland of America to the young United States, Oklahoma’s future was determined by the millions of words contained in treaties...
moreAUTOBIOGRAPHIES
Don’t Never Be Afraid of Your Horses: Looking Back
By Mike Larsen -- $29.95
Award-winning artist Mike Larsen split his early years between his grandparents’ home in Wynnewood, Oklahoma, a hospital in Luling, Texas, and Amarillo, Texas. With an absentee father, a single mother working in Dallas, Texas, to make a living for she and her young...
moreH. Dale Cook: Born to Serve Honorably
By H. Dale Cook -- $29.95
Dale Cook made an adventure out of all of life from transporting a block of ice in his wagon across a highway at age five to leading the high school band, flying P-51 Mustangs, trying lawsuits, advising the first Oklahoma Republican governor, running a Washington...
moreOklahoma’s Brown Decision Test Case: A Participant’s Perspective
By Betty Katherine Permetter Falato -- $22.95
It was January 17, 1957. The gray winter sky mirrored the cold slabs of steps rising before me as my father, brothers, friends, and I looked up in anticipation at the federal district courthouse in downtown Oklahoma City. Pilasters—columns...
moreOn God’s Polishing Wheel: The Life of Kurt Leichter
By Kurt Leichter with Cathy Leichter -- $19.95
At the age of 14 Kurt Leichter, alone, boarded the USS Westernland in Antwerp, Belgium bound for American with a small suitcase and a straw hat. The straw hat bore a cardboard nametag that simply read “KURT.” The nametag was the only...
moreThe Path I Chose: In My Own Words
By Jasmine Moran with Karen Anson -- $22.95
A seven-year-old child sent far away from her mother as the bombs of World War II exploded all around her, Jasmine Moran had to grow up quickly to care for her two-year-old sister. When the daughter of the family she was evacuated to became...
moreThey Said It Couldn’t Be Done: The Life of Robert L. “Bob” Allen, Oklahoma’s Public Television Pioneer
By Robert L. Allen with Ralph Robison -- $24.95
With strong Scottish roots and the grit and pioneering spirit born into every Oklahoman, Robert L. Allen was destined to create a legacy for his home state. From the bandstand to the lights of New York City, Allen chased his dreams. But it...
moreBIOGRAPHIES
Al Snipes: Fighter, Founder, and Father
By Marshall Snipes and Bob Burke -- $26.95
Fresh out of the United States Army Air Force in 1946, Al Snipes came to Oklahoma City to collect a debt. His plan was to return home to North Carolina—60 years later Oklahoma remains his home.
The stage for Al’s life was a boxing ring in...
moreBarney Kessel: A Jazz Legend
By Jo Kessel -- $19.95 (Paperback)
Muskogee, Oklahoma, native Barney Kessel was a first echelon jazz guitarist known worldwide in traditional jazz circles. Noted in particular for his knowledge of chords and inversions and chord-based melodies, he was a member of many prominent jazz...
moreBob Funk: Doctor of Hope
By Bob Burke and Dave Gillogly -- $28.95
Bob Funk wanted to be a preacher—to help people. Instead, he found another way to assist people in need—finding them jobs. In the past quarter century, he has led Express Personnel Services to become the largest franchised, privately-held staffing...
moreCourage Counts: The Life of Larry Derryberry
By Bob Burke -- $25.95
Larry Derryberry was a pint-sized 4-H Club boy who grew up on a red dirt tenant cotton farm in southwest Oklahoma and went on to change the entire political landscape of Oklahoma. His story is important to Oklahoma, not only for what historians have reported to us,...
moreGentleman Jurist: The Life of Ralph Thompson
By Bob Burke and Eric Dabney -- $26.95
Judge Ralph Thompson has lived a charmed life—as husband, father, grandfather, Air Force special agent, state legislator, teacher, and nationally-respected federal judge. The grandson of legendary University of Oklahoma President Dr. William Bennett...
moreLaw & Laughter: The Life of Lee West
By Bob Burke and David L. Russell -- $24.95
Lee West made several thousand friends during his 40+ years of public service as a law teacher, state court judge, member of the Civil Aeronautics Board, federal judge, and breeder and trainer of national champion bird dogs.
He was a...
moreLee Allan Smith: Oklahoma’s Best Friend
By Bob Burke and Gini Moore Campbell -- $26.95
As a college student and Air Force officer, Lee Allan Smith was a world-class planner of special events that entertained people. That early training prepared him to be Oklahoma’s greatest promoter and man behind the scenes of the most...
moreMaking Things Better: Wes Watkins’ Legacy of Leadership
By Kim D. Parrish -- $24.95
Making Things Better: Wes Watkins’ Legacy of Leadership tells of one common man’s trek through history. Marching with a confidence fueled by poverty, personal insecurities, a serious speech impediment, uneducated parents, and an alcoholic father, he rode his...
moreMore Than A Coach: Remembering the Life of Ray Vaughn
By Raymond L. Vaughn, Jr. -- $22.95
More Than A Coach chronicles the life of Raymond Lawson Vaughn from his childhood in Washita County, Oklahoma and his college experiences as the captain of the Harding University basketball team to his service in the United States Navy during World War...
moreMoving Heaven and Earth: The Life of Melvin Moran
By Karen Anson -- $26.95
Melvin Moran was born September 18, 1930, in St. Joseph, Missouri, to European Jews. He lived through more than one Depression and rose to the top through the economic highs and lows of the last 80 years, filling his life with humor and fun along the way. He served...
moreOklahoma Statesman: The Life of David Boren
By Bob Burke and Von Russell Creel -- $24.95
David L. Boren perhaps has influenced Oklahoma more than any other person in the state’s first century. His rise to prominence was not accidental. The son of an Oklahoma congressman, Boren sought excellence at every level of education, from the...
moreOld Man River: The Life of Ray Ackerman
By Bob Burke and Joan Gilmore -- $24.95
Oklahoma City has been deeply enriched by the contributions of Ray Ackerman, Chairman Emeritus of Ackerman McQueen Advertising Agency. Since he arrived in Oklahoma from Pennsylvania in 1947, Ray’s life has been unselfishly given to one project after...
moreA Passion for Equality: The Life of Jimmy Stewart
By Vicki Miles-LaGrange and Bob Burke -- $18.95
Jimmy Stewart was at the forefront of the struggle for civil rights in Oklahoma for almost half a century. Among his many great qualities were integrity and a passion for equality. As a national leader of the NAACP, he played a major role...
morePrinciples and Perseverance: The Life of Don Nickles
By Bob Burke and Ryan Leonard -- $28.95
Don Nickles rose higher and wielded more influence in Congress than any other Oklahoma Republican in history. His political career ran for a quarter of a century and took him from the back bench of the Oklahoma State Senate to the No. 2 position in...
moreRobert S. Kerr, Jr.: Mr. Water
By Ronn Cupp and Bob Burke -- $26.95
In the shadow of his larger-than-life father, Robert S. Kerr, Jr. was determined to make his own mark on the history of his beloved Oklahoma. For decades, Bob was known as “Mr. Water,” leading the fight for federal and state approval of water...
moreSpecial Counsel: The Life of DeVier Pierson
By Bob Burke -- $28.95
DeVier Pierson is a native Oklahoman who has had a remarkable legal career. For more than a half century he has served as counsel to a diverse group of clients, including one President of the United States, the Congress, a high government official facing charges of...
moreSpring Will Come: The Life of Clem McSpadden
By Bob Burke and Joan Rhine -- $39.95
Few people have had such a varied impact upon Oklahoma as did Clem McSpadden. He was a powerful state senator, congressman, and lobbyist. His complete dedication and loyalty to his constituents were unquestioned. No one thought Clem was out for...
moreThey Called Him Coach - Faye O'Dell: The Journey of a Marine, The Influence of a Man
By Susan Conway -- $24.95
Author Susan Conway captures the spirit, generosity, and faithfulness of her father, Faye O'Dell in this biography. As a U. S. Marine, O’Dell bravely served his country and comrades during World War II and Korea before returning home and starting his coaching and...
moreVoice of Bedlam: The Life of Bob Barry
By Michael Dean and Bob Burke -- $25.95
When University of Oklahoma football coach Bud Wilkinson called young Norman sportscaster Bob Barry in 1961 with news that he had been chosen as the new radio voice of the Sooners, no one could have anticipated that nearly a half century later, Barry...
moreWillie of the Valley: The Life of Bill Paul
By Bob Burke and Eric Dabney -- $26.95
Success has been the hallmark of Bill Paulʼs life. On his family’s dairy farm near Pauls Valley, in the classroom at the University of Oklahoma, in the United States Marine Corps, in courtrooms across the nation, at the helm of the state’s largest law...
moreAll titles are hardback unless otherwise noted.
For wholesale orders please call 405.523.3202.