Plains Folk was seven years in the making. The combined effort of scholars who specialize in North Dakota matters: three historians, an anthropologist, a political scientist, and a sociologist.

Over forty different national groups are discussed: their origins, personalities, customs, successes and failures, even their festivals and their foods.

Is North Dakota a melting pot? A mosaic? A patchwork quilt? Which group was the largest? The most patriotic? Prestigious? What happened during the land boom years? World War I? The Dirty Thirties? You'll find the answers in this volume.

You'll find some surprises: Gypsies, Blacks, Japanese, Bulgarians, Syrians! You'll get a good look at the state's Jews, Poles, French, Ukrainians. Included are new perspectives on the German Peoples who came from both the homeland and eastern Europe; there are also new insights into the settlers of Norwegian and British Isles backgrounds.

It is a basic source book, with hundreds of illustrations, dozens of maps and tables, census data and an extensive index.

Warren A. Henke has been a historian at Bismarck State College since 1962. His BA is from Valparaiso University, MA from Colorado State College and a Ph.D. from the University of New Mexico. He is a descendant of Germans who settled at New Salem, Morton County, North Dakota.

Timothy J. Kloberdanz, an anthropologist at North Dakota State University since 1976, has a BA from the University of Colorado, an MA from Colorado State University, and a Ph.D. from Indiana University. His volksdeutsche forebears came to Colorado from the Volga region of Russia. Kloberdanz' chief interest is folklore.

Theodore B. Pedeliski, a political scientist at the University of North Dakota since 1969, earned a BS from Dickinson State Teachers College, an MA at the University of North Dakota, and a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. He is a native of Belfield, ND and is of Ukrainian descent.

William C. Sherman has been a sociologist at North Dakota State University since 1967. He is also a pastor at Saint Michael's Church in Grand Forks. He grew up in Oregon, North Carolina, and North Dakota. Of English, Irish and German background, he holds a BA degree from St. John's University and graduated from St. John's University School of Theology in 1955. His MA degree is from the University of North Dakota.

Playford V. Thorson is a historian at the University of North Dakota where he has taught since 1960. A native of New Mexico, his BA and MA degrees are from the University of New Mexico and his Ph.D. in Scandinavian history is from the University of Minnesota. His heritage is primarily English, with some Swedish.

Robert P. Wilkins, professor emeritus of history, came to the University of North Dakota in 1945 with a BA and MA from Indiana University. His Ph.D. is from West Virginia University. His heritage is British.