Prairie Forge: The Extraordinary Story of the Nebraska Scrap Metal Drive of World War II

Written by James J. Kimble. It takes readers across the entire state of Nebraska during the scrap metal drive early in America's involvement in World War II. When Henry Doorly initially developed a plan to urge citizens to donate scrap metal to help with arms production, he had no idea that his plan would expan from Omaha to the entire state and then be used as a model for a national scrap drive. Prairie Forge draws readers into good discussions about the entire state's participation in the challenge to provide scrap metal. The book covers every county's participation in the Nebraska Plan, and how it fit into the larger effort on a national level.

The One Book One Nebraska reading program is entering its seventeenth year. It encourages Nebraskans across the state to read and discuss one book, chosen from books written by Nebraska authors or that have a Nebraska theme or setting. A committee of the Nebraska Center for the Book selected this book from a list of twenty-seven titles nominated by Nebraskans from across the state. The Nebraska Center for the Book board announced the choice for the 2021 One Book One Nebraska on October 23, at the end of the week long virtual Celebration of Nebraska Books.

Libraries across Nebraska will join other literary and cultural organizations in planning book discussions, activities, and events that will encourage Nebraskans to read and discuss this book. Support materials to assist with local reading/discussion activities are available on the Get Involved page. Updates and activity listings are posted on the One Book One Nebraska Facebook group.

One Book One Nebraska is sponsored by Nebraska Center for the Book, Humanities Nebraska, The Backwaters Press, and Nebraska Library Commission. The Nebraska Center for the Book is housed at and supported by the Nebraska Library Commission and brings together the state's readers, writers, booksellers, librarians, publishers, printers, educators, and scholars to build the community of the book, supporting programs to celebrate and stimulate public interest in books, reading, and the written word.

Prairie Forge Book Cover

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