New Geographies of the American West: Land Use and the Changing Patterns of Place (Orton Family Foundation Innovation in Place Series) Review

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New Geographies of the American West: Land Use and the Changing Patterns of Place (Orton Family Foundation Innovation in Place Series) ReviewIn 1971 Oregon's likable curmudgeon Governor, Tom McCall, gained national notoriety when he urged people to vist Oregon -- but to move on with all deliberate speed -- or go back to California.
Prof. William R. Travis is a kinder, gentler McCall. But the Oregon politician and the Colorado geographer have the same basic message. The secret of the West's success in drawing people to its mountains, deserts, rivers, and estuaries is not so much resources as "amenities." But will the West's seductive geography prove its undoing? McCall and Travis, a generation apart, share the fear the West will choke on its demographic success.
The short version of Professor Travis' argument is that he sees sprawl everywhere, and the cure for it is open natural land.
Travis sees the West as a complex of core cities, their suburban sprawl, then the menacing "exurbs," a scattering of resorts, and an enormous "gentrified" range. Travis' is fond of cities, though he shares little of the loathing for the suburbs so common among urban planners. Most of his dislike is for the exurbs, yet the gentrified range gets a pass from him. The resorts, he hopes, will morph into "micropolitan" areas. This neologism might fit places like Flagstaff or Yakima.
Travis' strategy for choking sprawl and exurbia is an amplified version of one-time Albuquerque Mayor David Rusk's regional government approach. But the darkside of this approach, in a region the size of the West, is [more] reliance on the Federal Government, that already owns most of the West anyway.
This is where Travis falls into the trap he so much wants to West to avoid. It is clear from any number of referenda, a drastic but definitive form of "bottom-up planning," that one of the West's major amenities, ranking with mountains, deserts, and open natural space, is the absence of government meddling. The Federal Government, from the Border Patrol to the Bureaus of Land Management and Indian Affairs does not inspire confidence. Travis uses sound logic, but bad politics, in suggesting that the Feds administer already suspect land use planning.
What I think Professor Travis needs is another book that takes on some of the friction development in the West faces. He is, I believe, far too optimistic about the West's water supply [p. 31], and he is almost silent with respect to tribal claims, and to the immigration ("undocumented Americans") issue, including Mexican state-sponsored irridentism. But, he is at Boulder.
Regardless, Professor Travis has a deep appreciation for the complexity of the West, is technically on the cutting edge of Geography, and, I suspect, has a lot more to say. Readers in this field should look forward to his next books.
New Geographies of the American West: Land Use and the Changing Patterns of Place (Orton Family Foundation Innovation in Place Series) OverviewReconciling explosive growth with often majestic landscape defines New Geographies of the American West. Geographer William Travis examines contemporary land use changes and development patterns from the Mississippi to the Pacific, and assesses the ecological and social outcomes of Western development.

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Addie of the Flint Hills: A Prairie Child During the Depression (1915-1935) Review

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Addie of the Flint Hills: A Prairie Child During the Depression (1915-1935) ReviewAddie of the Flint Hills: A Prairie Child During the Depression is the true-life memoir of 94-year-old Addie Sorace, with particular focus on the years of 1915 to 1935. Addie's family was rural, and they survived the ups and downs of the fluctuating U.S. economy during the 1920s and 1930s. The Great Depression, and the destructive "Dust Bowl" that all but obliterated the land many a farm dweller, remain fresh and vivid in her mind. Addie stays fair and impartial in her chronicle, inviting the reader to make his or her own judgments on the people she remembers. An absorbing saga of adjusting to hard times, Addie of the Flint Hills is highly recommended.
Addie of the Flint Hills: A Prairie Child During the Depression (1915-1935) OverviewAddie of the Flint Hills is the memoir of 94-year-old Addie Sorace. It is a tale of human struggle that transcends time and place to strongly echo our modern family situations and current economic times. Addie s quiet courage will resonate and inspire readers.Addie, a small-town girl from deep in the heartland of America, begins her story in 1915 as wheat prices are booming. She shares the day-to-day unfolding of her life and the life of her family as they deal with the turbulent US economy of the 1920s and 1930s. During this period the price of wheat drops, followed by precipitous declines in stocks, minerals and farmland. The story ends in 1935 as the family grapples with the effects of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. Addie s vivid memories transport the reader back to the hardscrabble life that was typical for rural Americans of her generation. Throughout it all, Addie offers a true and fair chronicle of daily life. She invites readers to come to their own conclusions about people, events and what constitutes the good life.In the process, Addie of the Flint Hills weaves a complex tale of ordinary folks struggling with familiar themes: a father s work takes him far from home, a highly- educated woman and mother is alone, and a young girl never learns that she is beautiful. As we follow her adventures, we watch a shy and self-effacing young woman, one who has no idea of her true inner and outer beauty, finally come into her own. For her part, Addie has learned that with age comes acceptance and insight, and sometimes, even, a bit of wisdom. The final chapters will melt your heart. Praise for ADDIE OF THE FLINT HILLS "...riveting... it adds an important perspective to our present-day angst about the economy and our stressed environment...I was reminded of Willa Cather s poignant portraits of life on the evocative but unforgiving midwestern prairie. "-John Hennessey, the former dean of the Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth College"...a hauntingly beautiful memoir ... that adds to the growing literature about life on the Great Plains. Like Willa Cather's My Antonia, She evokes the human drama set within an epic-scale landscape."-Denise Low, Poet Laureate of Kansas 2007-2009"... a gem... [the] Flint Hills past, brought back to life ... It puts you in contact with a mysterious resilience, with the sheer beauty of life blossoming, no matter what."-Dr. Margory Stewart, Washburn University, Topeka, KS "Unique and universal, the remarkable life story of Adaline Rogler Sorace looks to the past with affection, honesty, and clarity of insight. In a voice distinguished by intelligence and refinement she recounts a story of the Flint Hills as strong and as deep as the prairie grass. -Jim Hoy, author of Flint Hills Cowboys "... the photographs are pitch-perfect vernacular imagery at its best."-Jeff Curto, photographer and co-ordinator of the College of DuPage Photography Program "An intriguing view of the early twentieth century. The story carries the reader into a place and time long gone." -Pamela Riney-Kehrberg, Author and Director, Agriculture History and Rural Studies Program, Iowa State University

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The Fate of the Corps: What Became of the Lewis and Clark Explorers After the Expedition Review

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The Fate of the Corps: What Became of the Lewis and Clark Explorers After the Expedition ReviewThe book contains outstanding personal histories of every individual that left a record after their return to St. Louis. Some of the amazing men include John Colter who left the corps on the return leg after three years with Lewis and Clark to turn back northwest with a small group of trappers. Like George Drouilliard, Colter spends time in the remote country in constant danger from the powerful Blackfeet. Although only one man died on the Lewis and Clark expedition, many of the men that return meet death at the hands of the Indians or natural diseases of that era. George Shannon, loses a leg in a second trip north and becomes quite successful, some like Nathaniel Pryor virtually live with the Indians (Osage) and a few live a very long life like Patrick Gass. Their lives intersect such famous mountain men such as Jedediah Smith, Hugh Glass, young Jim Bridger and the controversial Edward Rose. The author has done phenomenal research that documents all the Corps participants including the death of Sacagawea, although there is some controversy noted in the Appendix. Her husband Charbonneau lives a long life that is quite useful, in spite of Lewis' opinion, for others plying the Missouri. Of course Clark's life is well documented and known but Clark did a wonderful job keeping up with the survivors actually maintaining a log on all participants up through the late 1820's. Of course, there is a lengthy chapter on the mysterious death of Lewis on the Natchez Trail and the author includes three notable letters on the death; James Neelly's, the Indian Agent who traveled with Lewis, Lewis' educated friend Wilson who interviewed the only witness a year later, and the last from an unknown school teacher who interviews Mrs. Grinder one last time many years after. Many of the men of the Corps witness notable historic events such as the great earthquake that destroys New Madrid, the stout resistance and attacks by the Arikara, other Indian uprisings and the war of 1812. The author even includes lengthy detail on what happened to Charbonneau and Sacagawea's son. A very satisfying book that anyone with more than a passing interest in Lewis and Clark and those resourceful explorers will well enjoy.The Fate of the Corps: What Became of the Lewis and Clark Explorers After the Expedition Overview

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The Death of Meriwether Lewis: A Historic Crime Scene Investigation Review

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The Death of Meriwether Lewis: A Historic Crime Scene Investigation ReviewIn The Death of Meriwether Lewis, Kira Gale offers not only a new sourcebook on the continuing controversy surrounding the 1809 gunshot death of the great western explorer, but also electrifying evidence that some of the most well-known contemporary documents in the case may have been forged. Gale's evidence gives new credence and heft to the theory that Lewis's murder may have been ordered by the traitorous General James Wilkinson, the nation's highest ranking military officer, in order to keep Lewis from blowing the whistle on his machinations to invade Spanish territory.
The groundbreaking work on the death of Meriwether Lewis was done by Vardis Fisher in his Suicide or Murder? (1962 and still in print). Gale's book is the first since Fisher's to provide really new information in the case. Over half the book, some 200 pages, is a complete transcript of the 1996 coroner's inquest into Lewis's death held in Hohenwald, Tennessee near the Natchez Trace, where Lewis was found shot to death at a lonely inn on October 11, 1809. The inquest called over a dozen expert witnesses in fields ranging from psychology, gunshot wound analysis, and firearms and ballistics to forensic anthropology, document examination, and handwriting analysis. The purpose of the hearing was to build a public case for the people of Lewis County and the State of Tennessee to demonstrate why Lewis's body should be exhumed and examined to see if a cause of death could be determined. The publication of this complete transcript is a boon to Lewis & Clark scholars who can now read the complete testimony and determine for themselves the credibility or lack thereof of the evidence that was presented. To date, the National Park Service, which controls Lewis's gravesite, has turned down petitions from Lewis descendants and experts to open the grave and permit a forensic examination, but action is still pending on a new request submitted in early 2009.
Over fifty pages of the book are then devoted to transcripts of the surviving contemporary documents that form the basis of what little is known about Lewis's death. Because Lewis died alone in such a remote area, the lack of trustworthy testimony has always shrouded his death in mystery. While all of the transcripts and Gale's accompanying commentary on each are enlightening, the book's blockbuster is contained in the analysis of the statement of Captain Gilbert Russell, the commander of Fort Pickering (present-day Memphis), where Lewis stayed several weeks before his death. Through expert handwriting analysis, Gale demonstrates that there is ample reason to believe that Russell's most well-known and explicit statement on Lewis's suicide was a forgery engineered by James Wilkinson. Although such a finding does not prove that Lewis was murdered by Wilkinson or anyone else, it does more than call into question the legitimacy of the Russell account. It raises the question of why Wilkinson, known to history as a master of misdirection and the politics of personal destruction, would forge such an account and whether other Russell letters known to have been sent to William Clark but no longer in existence, were created by Wilkinson to throw Clark and Lewis's other friends off the trail of an assassination.
In the third section of the book, Gale builds her case against Wilkinson. Again, the case must by necessity be circumstantial, at least for now. What is known of Lewis's last days is almost entirely hearsay, much of it from very unreliable witnesses. Without solid forensic evidence or the discovery of additional documents hidden away in somebody's attic, it is impossible to make any determination of whether Lewis may have been murdered, much less who did it and why. One of Gale's major points is that in the past, historians have been all too quick to jump to the conclusion that Lewis committed suicide. I believe the evidence she presents here should at least give pause to anyone with an open mind on the subject.
Lewis's death has so many unknowns and touches on so many diverse areas of inquiry that, as this reviewer can attest, a study of the subject quickly becomes a "through the looking glass" experience, full of mirrors and rabbit holes. For that reason, The Death of Meriwether Lewis, like Vardis Fisher's book, has something of a sprawling, uneven feel. However, it is a fascinating read, and contains much material that is new and valuable. It is a must-have for researchers studying the death of Meriwether Lewis, and highly recommended to anyone interested in Lewis's last days or in historical mysteries.
Reviewer: Liz Clare, co-author of the historical novel To the Ends of the Earth: The Last Journey of Lewis and Clark.The Death of Meriwether Lewis: A Historic Crime Scene Investigation Overview

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