Spotlight on Individual Kansans

August 2026 Adult Book List

From the Reservation to Washington by Debra Goodrich
Charles Curtis, the first person of color and only Native American to serve as U.S. vice president, rose from a turbulent childhood in Bleeding Kansas to become a skilled and pragmatic political leader under Herbert Hoover from 1929 to 1933. His life reflected the tension between cultural identity and assimilation, shaped by personal experience and the overwhelming influence of federal power.
Dodge City: Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and the Wickedest Town in the American West by Tom Clavin
Dodge City, Kansas, transformed from a small outpost into the wildest town in the West, where Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson enforced law and shaped frontier history.
Phog: The Most Influential Man in Basketball by Scott Morrow Johnson
This sports biography examines Phog Allen’s life, emphasizing his impact on basketball and enduring contributions to the game’s growth and popularity.
John Brown to Bob Dole by Virgil W. Dean
This historical biography highlights 27 notable Kansans, ranging from radical abolitionists to political leaders and social activists, whose efforts influenced the state and the nation over a span of 150 years.
The Madman and the Assassin by Scott Martelle
The biography traces Boston Corbett’s remarkable life, from his role in killing John Wilkes Booth and surviving the Civil War to his struggles with mental illness and obscurity on the Kansas frontier.

Birds, Bones, and Beetles: The Improbable Career and Remarkable Legacy of University of Kansas Naturalist Charles D. Bunker, Charles H. Warner
Charlatan: America's Most Dangerous Huckster, the Man Who Pursued Him, and the Age of Flimflam, Pope Brock
Eisenhower: Becoming the Leader of the Free World, Louis Galambos
Headwinds: A Memoir, Edna Bell-Pearson
Into the Sunset: Emmett Dalton and the End of the Dalton Gang, Ian W. Shaw
John Brown, abolitionist: the man who killed slavery, sparked the Civil War, and seeded civil rights, David S. Reynolds
Mawson’s Mission: Launching Women's Intercollegiate Athletics at the University of Kansas, L. Marlene Mawson
Mike Torrez: A Baseball Biography, Jorge Iber
No Bullet Got Me Yet: The Relentless Faith of Father Kapaun, John Stansifer

Presenting Buffalo Bill by Candace Fleming
Candace Fleming examines Buffalo Bill’s life for readers aged 10–14, highlighting how he crafted his Wild West image and shaped American popular culture in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
The Greatest Thing by Kristy Nerstheimer; Christian Paniagua (Illustrator)
This illustrated biography honors Buck O’Neil’s legacy with the Kansas City Monarchs, showcasing his lasting influence on the history of the Negro National League.
Amelia Lost by Candace Fleming
This middle-grade biography and history recounts Amelia Earhart’s life and the search for her plane, featuring photos, maps, notes, and inserts on aviation and details.

Visit Your Public Library
Provides a directory of Kansas public libraries where you can find titles from this month's reading list or request a book through interlibrary loan.

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Charles Curtis House Museum
The Charles Curtis home was built in 1879 and served as Curtis’s Kansas residence between 1907 and 1936. Today, the Charles Curtis House contains a museum and is listed on the National and Kansas State Registers of Historic Places.
Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum & Boyhood Home
The public uses the library, which house the 26 million pages of the archives to conduct research, with temporary exhibits to view. The museum was built to house the materials and objects related to Dwight D. Eisenhower's life. Visitors can tour Eisenhower's boyhood home, typical 19th century home occupied by the Eisenhower family from 1898 until 1946.
200 SE 4th Street, Abilene KS 67410
Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum & Boyhood Home - Virtual Visit
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