Alex Seifert

It is really quite amazing to read through some of the theories produced during the 19th century about the origin of the Native Americans. As I talked about in my last post, I am currently reading the memoirs of George Custer about his life on the plains and his personal experiences with the Indians. The … more →

Last night I finished Ghost Stories of the Old West by Dan Asfar. Other than several editing mistakes (spelling, grammar, etc), the book was actually quite good. You always hear about legends and myths from Europe about haunted castles and so on, but to read the legends of some of America’s own haunted places is … more →

So I decided to take a break from reading non-fiction and treat myself to a book full of short ghost stories of the old west. The book I found is appropriately titled Ghost Stories of the Old West and is by Dan Asfar. I really haven’t gotten very far into it at all; only a … more →

You don’t hear about a lot of hoaxes that are as successful as this one was. A friend pointed me to an article that tells about a hoax played on a large number of 19th century rare book collectors. I’ve posted part of it here: Jean Nepomucene Auguste Pichauld, Comte de Fortsas, was a man … more →

I have two semesters left before I graduate from college. That means I will be finished in May 2010. Afterwards I want to teach English or American history somewhere in Germany, but I don’t know how I can go about getting that kind of position. I want to be in Germany for at least two … more →

As you’ve already read from the last post, I recently returned from a trip to Missouri. I saw the houses of the James brothers and I also took a day trip down to Springfield, MO and visited the Wilson’s Creek battlefield where one of the first large battles of the Civil War took place. The … more →

I recently returned from a trip to Missouri to visit the family farm. It is always incredibly interesting going back there because my grandmother is really interested in our family history and the history of the area in general. As part of this most recent visit, we visited the houses of the James brothers near … more →

I read an interesting article on 9news.com yesterday that I thought I would share here. For those of you who don’t know what 9news is, it’s one of Denver’s news channels (NBC). The article is about a new poster that was found dating back to 1887 promoting Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. The poster was … more →

I don’t think I’ve really said a whole lot about my fiction writing, but as a hobby, I enjoy writing fiction. I have mainly written short horror stories, but I’ve decided to try something different this time. I am going to try my hand at writing a short western. The story of course needs a … more →

I realized today that I haven’t changed the featured book for quite a long time. So, I’ve changed it to another book about Native Americans called The Earth Shall Weep: A History of Native America by James Wilson. It is a fascinating history of the Native Americans that gives each region of the United States … more →