The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 85, July 1981 - April, 1982 Page: 100

Southwestern Historical Quarterly

and to the nation. Hubbard, his descendants, and students of Texas
history deserve a far better biography than the one presented here.
Texas A&M University J. MILTON NANCE
The Course of Mexican History. Edited by Michael C. Meyer and
William L. Sherman. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1979.
Pp. 729. Preface, illustrations, appendix, bibliography, index.
Cloth, $25; paper, $10.95.)
This long-awaited one-volume history of Mexico in English sur-
passes all others. To a generation of students who were weaned on the
standard surveys by Henry B. Parkes, Howard F. Cline, Charles C.
Cumberland, and Lesley B. Simpson, the scope and scholarly sophisti-
cation of the Meyer and Sherman volume is at once obvious. As a
textbook for Mexican history courses, its style is lively and the photo-
graphs and illustrations enhance the presentation of the written
material.
An outstanding aspect of this book is the ability of the authors to
synthesize the abundant scholarship on almost every aspect of Mexico's
history and to present it in as balanced a tone as possible. Given the
sometimes polemic nature of interpretations of episodes in the coun-
try's history, this is no easy task. But the authors present a generous
sampling of the various opinions and perspectives that are part of the
serious scholarship. The reader is invited to satisfy his or her curiosity
about specific themes through the provision, at the end of each chap-
ter, of a list of pertinent books and articles. A selected bibliography
for each chapter of works in Spanish is provided as an appendix.
Naturally in a work of this scope the strongest parts of the book
reflect the research interests of the authors. But readers will find that
the whole is an accurate reflection of the state of the art. This contri-
bution is very welcome. It will have wide appeal.
University of Rhode Island ANTHONY T. BRYAN
Ethnicity on the Great Plains. Edited by Frederick C. Luebke. (Lin-
coln: University of Nebraska Press, 1980. Pp. xxxiii+237. Pref-
ace, introduction, index. $15.95.)
Ethnicity on the Great Plains is a collection of twelve essays selected
from thirty-three papers presented at a symposium sponsored by the
Center for Great Plains Studies held at the University of Nebraska-
Lincoln in 1978. The book is intended as a partial corrective to schol-

100