Albuquerque:
University
of New Mexico Press, 1997 |
"These essays have no social, ideological, or historiographical axe to grind, but rather seek to reaffirm the vitality of traditional approaches to the history of the American West. While they may lack the somewhat contentious tone of much of the recent scholarly debate on the West, they nevertheless suggest several unexamined possibilities for research that clearly affirm the excitement generated by this lively field of study. Indeed, the genial tone of these essays is reflective of the emergence of the field out of a decade of debate that has matured, enlivened, and improved it immensely. The authors, coming from diverse positions within the scholarly community and from differing viewpoints on the nature of the field, are united by their commitment to western studies and by their determination that the importance of the field is second to none." --from the Introduction Twelve distinguished historians explore regionalism, politics, popular culture, and historiography in the frontier and American West. Each article demonstrates how frontier and region are still vital to the understanding of America's past. Diverse topics include Davy Crockett, Annie Oakley, Buffalo Bill, Frederick Jackson Turner, Herbert E. Bolton, literary Turnerians, environment, exploration, western federalism and other topics. These papers were delivered in 1992 at the Huntington Library upon the retirement of Martin Ridge. Contributors are Richard White, Howard Lamar, Glenda Riley, Melody Webb, Walter Nugent, James P. Ronda, Albert L. Hurtado, Paul Andrew Hutton, James H. Madison, Charles E. Rankin, Donald J. Pisaru, and Richard Lowitt. |