The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 86, July 1982 - April, 1983 Page: 566

Southwestern Historical Quarterly

a further contrast, displaying the craftsmanship of stone carvers, dis-
tinctive folk-art motifs, use of German-language inscriptions, and a
stereotypical Teutonic concern for neat, orderly cemeteries. Jordan has
a thorough overall grasp of ethnic cultures, and historians dealing with
these groups will profit from this volume.
One should note the limitations in scope of the study. It is focused
exclusively on folk graveyards, so urban commercial cemeteries are not
examined. Despite Jordan's perceptive understanding of the ethnic ori-
gins of southwestern cemeteries, he does not develop, except in in pass-
ing, the relevant idea of a "western" or "frontier" cemetery tradition.
More importantly, Jordan might have been more explicit in showing
what is distinctively "Texan" about the state's graveyards. The book, in
other words, is valuable for exploring through graveyards the origins of
Texas culture rather than its finished product. Historians will also
want more information on the historical changes, admittedly gradual,
in the cemeteries. Jordan is more interested, though, in the ancient ori-
gins of customs and he tries to delineate these precisely. The reader
may well wonder about the exactness of a few of these speculative judg-
ments, since in many cases similar customs existed in various parts of
Europe and Africa.
The book is well written and somewhat informal in tone. Despite its
scholarly value, the layman interested in graveyards from a personal or
genealogical viewpoint will find the book appealing. It is unusually at-
tractive in appearance because of plentiful illustrations and skillful
page design utilizing boxed quotes.
University of Mississippi CHARLES REAGAN WILSON
Centennial History of the Texas Bar, 1882-1982. By the Committee on
History and Tradition of the State Bar of Texas. (Burnet, Tex.:
Eakin Press, 1981. Photographs, index. Pp. iv+292. $25.)
This collection of eleven essays about Texas lawyers and the Texas
State Bar is the sort of straightforward offering one would expect from
an organization serving as its own historian. For the most part, the es-
says are factual in nature, with an overall emphasis on biographical
detail.
More than one-third of the book is devoted to a single article, "The
Presidents," by Jim D. Bowmer. This piece is composed of one-page
sketches of the 1 o 1 presidents of the former Texas Bar Association and
the present integrated State Bar of Texas. Two other articles, "The At-
torney as Author: Books Written and Used by Texas Lawyers," by

566