The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 91, July 1987 - April, 1988 Page: 395
619 p. : ill. (some col.), maps (some col.), ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Book Reviews
sketches offer excellent portrayals, while others seem superficial or
lacking in pertinent information. The piece on Spanish Fort (pp. 151-
153), one of the more interesting, is flawed by several factual errors
and doubtful interpretations.
This book's appeal is more popular than scholarly. It will serve well as
a Texas ghost-town sampler and as a guide for those interested in visit-
ing any of the sites described. If it stimulates investigation of the state's
many defunct settlements, it will have served a valid purpose indeed.
Bonham, Texas ROBERT S. WEDDLE
Agricultural Legacies: Essays in Honor of Gilbert C. Fite. Edited by R. Alton
Lee. (Vermillion, S.D.: University of South Dakota Press, 1986.
Pp. xv+283. Preface, introduction, notes, index. $12.95.)
This volume, the first book published by the University of South
Dakota Press, is a Festschrift to honor Gilbert C. Fite, the distinguished
agricultural historian. Its editor, R. Alton Lee, points out that "the basic
unity of this volume is the desire of many people to honor a great
scholar, teacher, and friend" (p. xii). Each author chose his own topic,
and the articles range over subjects as varied as the historian and mo-
tion pictures to agricultural extension stations. In a way, that variety is a
legacy from Professor Fite, demonstrating his willingness to allow his
students to follow their own research interests.
The editor divided the book into three parts: "Theoretical Consid-
erations"; "Agriculture, Regional and National"; and "Agriculture and
the States." The parts never meld together to create any coherent the-
sis. Thus, most readers may wish to pick and choose those essays that
particularly interest them. This reviewer particularly enjoyed Professor
Robert T. Smith's application of Jungian personality types to explain
mass migrations and protest movements of the Great Plains in the late
nineteenth century and Arrell Morgan Gibson's discussion of the agri-
cultural frontier of the Pacific Basin.
For students of Texas, several essays add to the understanding of the
state's agricultural history. Kenneth E. Hendrickson, Jr., has written
for this volume what is probably the best short coverage of water re-
source management in Texas. He ends his piece with the Texas Water
Plan of 1985, which he describes as important but inadequate and
warns that the state's approaches "to the allocation and use of its most
precious resource remain unfocused and chaotic" (p. 203). In "The
Texas Panhandle Farmer as a New Minority," Gary L. Nall applies Fite's
thesis concerning the problems created by the transition from a rural to395
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 91, July 1987 - April, 1988, periodical, 1987/1988; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101211/m1/451/: accessed April 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.