Print edition: 
Recent books about Kansas touch on three topics we never seem to stop talking about in our state: abortion, the Civil War and weather.
"The Notorious Dr. Flippin: Abortion and Consequence in the Early Twentieth Century" by Jamie Q. Tallman (Texas Tech University Press, 195 pages, $34.95)
Born a slave in 1844, Charles Flippin moved to Kansas after the Civil War and settled in Marion County. Originally a farmer, he took up medicine to supplement his income and trained in Chicago.
He earned a reputation as a genial and superior doctor, and grew somewhat wealthy treating black and white patients alike. But he faced racial discrimination — certainly some because of his white wife — and frivolous legal actions, and eventually moved north to Nebraska.
In Nebraska, Flippin's patients were mostly white. He specialized in midwifery and women's health, and his practice included providing abortions, something that was publicly condemned and even outlawed at the time, but that went on across the country regardless.
In 1910, a woman died, and the first of many court cases was brought against Flippin. He stubbornly fought them all, until 1924 when a guilty plea and an agreement to cease the practice of medicine ended his career.
Aside from the abortion controversy, the book explores racism as well as medical attitudes and advances, women's situations with regard to fertility, and the perceptions of cities versus rural areas.
While the practice of medicine has greatly evolved since Flippin's time, the divide over abortion remains as bitter as ever.
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"Kansas's War: The Civil War in Documents" by Pearl T. Ponce (Ohio University Press, 247 pages, $18.65)
As we mark 150 years since the beginning of the Civil War, a raft of books has appeared on the subject. The latest entry in the Civil War in the Great Interior series focuses on Kansas.
Starting in the Territory years and ending more than a decade after the war's end, the book draws on documents, letters in particular, to explore and illuminate this period in Kansas history.
One premise of the book is that because of Kansas' turbulent history in the years leading up to the Civil War, the descent into war that was such a jolt for the rest of the nation was not as harsh for Kansas.
The book also includes a detailed timeline and discussion questions.
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"The Stormchasers" by Jenna Blum (Plume, 369 pages, $15 paper)
This novel follows the story of twins Karena and Charles Jorge, who haven't been in contact in the two decades following a tragic accident that became a shared secret.
But when Karena, a reporter, learns that unstable Charles has checked into and then disappeared from a Wichita mental-health facility, she sets out to find him, knowing where he'll be: chasing storms.
Karena, frightened by severe weather, joins a storm-chasing team to look for Charles.
In the process, she must re-evaluate her relationship with her twin brother and confront their dark past — and the violent storms that race over the Plains.
