Frank Carlson Library

"In 1848, Dooley Monahan, son of struggling Iowa pioneers, went off to pick up a new milk cow. Young Dooley never came home. Now, nearly three decades later, Dooley Monahan has become an accidental legend, managing to plant a bullet in the chest of a dangerous outlaw. All Dooley really wants is to claim his reward at a bank in Phoenix and make his way North to a gold strike he read about in a newspaper. But fate has other plans. It starts with a family...

"In the late 1970s, grain prices had tanked, farm auction notices filled newspapers, and people had forgotten that food didn't grow in grocery stores. So, on February 5, 1979, thousands of tractors from all parts of the US flooded Washington, DC, in protest. Author Lindsay H. Metcalf, a journalist who grew up on a family farm, shares this rarely told story of grassroots perseverance and economic justice. In 1979, US farmers traveled to Washington,...

When the sheep on a farm go on strike rather than having their warm coats sheared off, the other animals begin taking sides until, at last, a compromise can be reached.

When Farmer Brown's cows find a typewriter in the barn they start making demands, and go on strike when the farmer refuses to give them what they want. Farmer Brown thinks it's odd when he hears the sounds of typing coming from the barn, but his troubles really begin when his cows start leaving him notes. First they demand better working conditions, then they stage a strike!

"In the pantheon of American icons, the cowboy embodies the traits of 'rugged individualism', independent, solitary, and stoical. In reality, cowboys were grossly exploited and underpaid seasonal workers, who responded to the abuses of their employers in a series of militant strikes. Their resistance arose from the rise and demise of a "beef bonanza" that attracted international capital. Business interests approached the market with the expectation...

Slam Duncan and his mountain biking Chain Gang stage a hunger strike to save their racing hill from developers, hoping their appetite for biking will outweigh their appetite for cheeseburgers and French fries.

"Rose Morrison's comfortable life as a banker's wife is upended when her husband suddenly dies. His secret and formidable debts are now hers to somehow pay. To support herself and her son, Rose takes in boarders―but only women with impeccable references. Eventually, though, she reluctantly lowers her standards and boards two seamstresses from the corset factory, who help her clean. Trouble is brewing at the factory, where a union contract is about...

In 1867, while staying with her father in a small California mining town, ten-year-old Winnie meets a Chinese boy close to her age and discovers the role of his people in completing the transcontinental railroad.

Three days before the college football national championship game, star quarterback LeMarcus James and teammate Emmett Sunday ignite a player's strike declaring they won't compete until all student-athletes are fairly compensated. With billions of dollars at risk and legacies on the line, the stakes could not be higher. Now, with only hours until kickoff, the head coach and various power brokers must race against the clock to protect or destroy the...