The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 79, July 1975 - April, 1976 Page: 117

Book Reviews

advantages Texas cattlemen had in having a livestock center in Fort
Worth.
Taylor writes her story in a journalistic style that the general reader will
find interesting and to some degree informative. However, for the spe-
cialist, this book is of no value. The work can be considered history in only
a loose way. It contains no new information and its organization is poor.
In fact, its most significant materials are the excellent photographs. Though
the book attempts to deal with the economic structure of the livestock
industry, the effort fails to make any real contribution. In the intro-
duction, Ben K. Green contends that much of the source material is new
and used for the first time. While this might be the case with some of the
interviews the author conducted with stockmen, her other sources are
standard and totally inadequate for the type of study she undertook. More-
over, Taylor accepts the conclusions of Fort Worth boosters, such as Buck-
ley B. Paddock, as to why that city developed into a thriving trading and
marketing center.
This study will provide the general reader with a superficial knowledge
of the livestock industry. He can learn the terms of livestock marketing and
get a feel for how livestock are bought and sold. But a history of Fort
Worth and its role in the livestock industry of North Texas is still to be
written.
University of Texas at Arlington RICHARD G. MILLER
A History of Lee County, Texas. By Lee County Historical Survey Com-
mittee. (Quanah, Texas: Nortex Press, 1974. Pp. x+458. Illustra-
tions, bibliography. $16.50.)
A History of Parmer County, Texas. By Nelson Lewis. (Quanah, Texas:
Nortex Press, 1974. PP. 369. Illustrations, appendix. $16.)
A Hundred Years of Comfort in Texas. By Guido E. Ransleben. (San
Antonio: The Naylor Co., 1974. Pp. xii+245. Illustrations, index.
$9.95.)
Rowena Country. By A. E. Skinner. (Quanah, Texas: Nortex Press, 1973.
Pp. 235. Illustrations, bibliography. $9.95.)
Not since the mid-193os have so many histories of Texas counties been
published. From 1934 to 1937 a number were written to commemorate
the Texas Centennial but, because of the depression, they were all printed
in small editions and in recent years have become very scarce and ex-
tremely costly. Texas libraries and Texana collectors are fortunate to be

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