The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 54, July 1950 - April, 1951 Page: 247

Book Reviews

testing lot holders and such problems as schools, law enforce-
ment, etc., which face young municipalities. The last part of
the book is chiefly concerned with the fight to become the county
seat and the home of the Agriculture and Mechanical College.
The sub-title, "A Case Study in Oklahoma History," indicates
the technique used. This approach explains both the weakness
and strength of the work. Often the type of material causes the
narrative to be disjointed and hard to follow. The main service
rendered by Professor Chapman is stated in his concluding para-
graph:
This study gives the reader an idea of the amount and nature of
materials in the National Archives and Interior Department pertain-
ing to the history of townsites in Oklahoma. Source materials used
are applicable to many towns in Oklahoma Territory established
prior to statehood in 1907.
The book will be a valuable mine and guide for historians seek-
ing information on the early days of Oklahoma. In addition to
being based on source material not readily available elsewhere,
it has a good index, seventy pages of appendices, and a bibliog-
raphy of unprinted documents. This work probably will not
interest the average reader unless he resides in the Stillwater
area, but as a "case study" it has much to offer.
JOHN S. EZELL
University of Oklahoma
Mexico: The Struggle for Peace and Bread. By Frank Tannen-
baum. New York (Alfred A. Knopf), 1950. Pp. xiv+293.
$3.50.
The author declares that his purpose in writing this descrip-
tion of contemporary Mexico was to set the background for a
better understanding of the diplomatic issues at stake between
Mexico and the United States. It seemed necessary, he felt, "to
describe the Mexican complex of economic and social tensions
that gave the diplomatic dispute its peculiar flavor and signifi-
cance." However, only one chapter, called "The Anvil of Ameri-
can Foreign Policy," is devoted to the United States-Mexican
diplomatic controversy since 191o. The bulk of the book, com-
prised of chapters on such subjects as the land, people, history,

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