The Essential West
Collected Essays
Published on 30. May 2014
Book
Paperback/Softback
344 pages
978-0-8061-4653-9 (ISBN)
Description
Scholars and enthusiasts of western American history have praised Elliott West as a distinguished historian and an accomplished writer, and this book proves them right on both counts. Capitalizing on West's wide array of interests, this collection of his essays touches on topics ranging from viruses and the telegraph to children, bison, and Larry McMurtry. Drawing from the past three centuries, West weaves the western story into that of the nation and the world beyond, from Kansas and Montana to Haiti, Africa, and the court of Louis XV.
Divided into three sections, the volume begins with conquest. West is not the first historian to write about Lewis and Clark, but he is the first to contrast their expedition with Mungo Park's contemporaneous journey in Africa. ""The Lewis and Clark expedition,"" West begins, ""is one of the most overrated events in American history - and one of the most revealing."" The humor of this insightful essay is a chief characteristic of the whole book, which comprises ten chapters previously published in major journals and magazines - but revised for this edition - and four brand-new ones.
West is well known for his writings about frontier family life, especially the experiences of children at work and play. Fans of his earlier books on these subjects will not be disappointed. In a final section, he looks at the West of myth and imagination, in part to show that our fantasies about the West are worth studying precisely because they have been so at odds with the real West. In essays on buffalo, Jesse James and the McMurtry novel Lonesome Dove, West directs his formidable powers to subjects that continue to shape our understanding - and often our misunderstanding - of the American West, past and present.
Divided into three sections, the volume begins with conquest. West is not the first historian to write about Lewis and Clark, but he is the first to contrast their expedition with Mungo Park's contemporaneous journey in Africa. ""The Lewis and Clark expedition,"" West begins, ""is one of the most overrated events in American history - and one of the most revealing."" The humor of this insightful essay is a chief characteristic of the whole book, which comprises ten chapters previously published in major journals and magazines - but revised for this edition - and four brand-new ones.
West is well known for his writings about frontier family life, especially the experiences of children at work and play. Fans of his earlier books on these subjects will not be disappointed. In a final section, he looks at the West of myth and imagination, in part to show that our fantasies about the West are worth studying precisely because they have been so at odds with the real West. In essays on buffalo, Jesse James and the McMurtry novel Lonesome Dove, West directs his formidable powers to subjects that continue to shape our understanding - and often our misunderstanding - of the American West, past and present.
Reviews / Votes
Calling this book a collection of essays makes as much sense as calling the Rocky Mountains a collection of rocks. On the contrary, The Essential West is a collection of riveting stories, original reflections, witty aphorisms, innovative perspectives, and insights that go straight to the heart - of the West and of the reader."" - Patricia Nelson Limerick, author of The Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken Past of the American West""No one has written about western history with more insight, compassion, wisdom, and wit than Elliott West. Everything he writes is worth reading, and these essays are West at his best."" - Virginia Scharff co-author of Home Lands: How Women Made the West
""Elliott West is the best historian of the American West writing today."" - Richard White
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Oklahoma
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
4 black & white illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
562 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8061-4653-9 (9780806146539)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Elliott West, Alumni Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, is the award-winning author of numerous articles and books, including Growing Up with the Country: Childhood on the Far-Western Frontier; The Contested Plains: Indians, Goldseekers, and the Rush to Colorado; and The Last Indian War: The Nez Perce Story.
Richard White, Margaret Byrne Professor of American History at Stanford University, is author of It's Your Misfortune and None of My Own: A New History of the American West and Remembering Ahanagran: Storytelling in a Family's Past.
Richard White, Margaret Byrne Professor of American History at Stanford University, is author of It's Your Misfortune and None of My Own: A New History of the American West and Remembering Ahanagran: Storytelling in a Family's Past.