The World of the American West

The World of the American West is an innovative collection of original essays that brings the world of the American West to life, and conveys the distinctiveness of this diverse, constantly changing region. Twenty scholars incorporate the freshest research in the field to take the history of the American West out of its timeworn "Cowboys and Indians" stereotype right up into the major issues being discussed today, from water rights to the presence of the defense industry. Other topics covered in this heavily illustrated, highly accessible volume include the effects of leisure and tourism, western women, politics and politicians, Native Americans in the twentieth century, and of course, oil. With insight both informative and unexpected, The World of the American West offers perspectives on the latest developments affecting the modern American West, providing essential reading for all scholars and students of the field so that they may better understand the vibrant history of this globally significant, ever-evolving region of North America.

Gordon Morris Bakken is Professor of History at California State University, Fullerton. He is the author of many books, his most recent being Invitation to an Execution: A History of the Death Penalty in the United States.

Introduction Chapter 1 -The Physical Geography of the West by Robert Spude Chapter 2 -The Flora and the Fauna by Kurt Russo Chapter 3 - The Native West before 1700 by Gregory E. Smoak Chapter 4 - Hosts and Horses: Envirocultural Effects of Contact in the Amerindian West by K. D. Motes Chapter 5 - The Lewis and Clark Expedition by Robert Carriker Chapter 6 - Continued Exploration of the American West: The Fur Trade, Map Makers, Path Markers by William R. Swagerty Chapter 7 - The "Earlier, wilder image": Early artists of the American West by Elizabeth Kuebler-Wolf Chapter 8 -The Borderlands of the United States West by Sheila McManus Chapter 9 - California Transformed: Organizing a New Society, 1848-1869 by Peter Blodgett Chapter 10 - The Urbanization of the American West: The Processes and People in the Rise of Instant Cities and Their Evolution into the Twenty-First Century by Brent M. Rogers Chapter 11 -The Hydraulic West - The History of Irrigation by Charles R. Porter Chapter 12 - Leisure in the West by Randal Fulkerson Chapter 13 - Learning in the West: Western Women and the Culture of Education by Andrea G. Radke-Moss Chapter 14 - Defense Industries by Susan Tschabrun Chapter 15 - The Rise of Western Women to National Stature in the Early Twentieth Century by Shannon D. Smith Chapter 16 -American Politics Move West by Gordon Morris Bakken Chapter 17 - Government and Law in the American West by Aaron Wilson Chapter 18 - Region of Extremes and Contrast by Alicia Dewey Chapter 19 - American Indians in the Twentieth Century by Lisa E. Emmerich Chapter 20 - Leadership or Dominance: The Role of the Western U.S. Economy in the World by Neil Greenwood