The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 93, July 1989 - April, 1990 Page: 125
598 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, 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
and that the challenges facing it and its citizens are monumental, the
road or roads that should be taken to provide the financial resources
and the political know-how to deal with those problems are not always
so clear.
The first part of the book, "The Setting," contains three essays
that describe the rapid and far-reaching demographic and economic
changes that Texas is experiencing in the 198os and examines the
changing nature of the state's political picture. As if being the third
most populous state in the nation would not create enough problems in
and of itself, the picture is further complicated by high fertility rates
and illegal immigration that significantly impacts the racial/ethnic
composition of the citizenry. There can be no doubt that the demo-
graphic changes will have a major impact on a myriad of policy issues.
No change has been more evident, or painful, than the economic trans-
formation from natural resources, primarily oil and gas, to human re-
sources. The nature of that change, with its far-reaching implications,
is spelled out quite effectively in the book. While one would hope that
the assessment of the state's political situation, with its changing party
structure and rural-urban conflict, would be one of the strongest sec-
tions of the book, it is one of the weakest.
Part two examines seven key policy issues including water resources,
energy policy, public education reform, higher-education funding,
highway policy, criminal justice, and welfare reform. Each essay places
the particular problem in its historic context before setting forth the
issues that voters, lawmakers, and state bureaucrats must address. The
overall quality of the articles on policy alternatives is quite high, with
several-including those on funding higher education and highways-
being superior.
As with nearly all books of readings, there are a few problems of con-
tinuity and consistency, but in view of the broad scope of Crossroads,
editors Champagne and Harpham have done their job well. Those
readers who have an interest in Texas and where it is headed will do
well to read this work.
East Texas State Unzversity KEITH MCFARLAND
C. Vann Woodward, Southerner. By John Herbert Roper. (Athens: Uni-
versity of Georgia Press, 1987. Pp. xi+393. Acknowledgments,
note to readers, introduction, appendices, notes, bibliography, in-
dex. $24.95-)
C. Vann Woodward is unique among recent American historians. He
has dominated his field of specialization, southern history, longer and
more completely than any of his contemporaries dominated theirs, in-
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 93, July 1989 - April, 1990, periodical, 1990; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101213/m1/151/: accessed March 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.