The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 99, July 1995 - April, 1996 Page: 134

                                
134                  Southwestern Historical Quarterly             July
such diverse subjects as the Bowie knife, William Goyens, Van Cliburn, Barbara
Jordan, and the armadillo.
The greatest strength of the book is its inclusion of the whole scope of Texas
history. Too many works for younger readers overemphasize the nineteenth-cen-
tury Texas experience. While it is true that the events of the Revolution, Civil
War, cattle kingdom, and Indian wars are inherently interesting, a balanced sur-
vey of Texas history requires a consideration of the twentieth-century urbaniza-
tion, industrialization, and cultural history of our state. McComb has achieved
that balance. He has not slighted the traditional subjects, but he has also includ-
ed sports, music, drama, art, and architecture. Of particular interest is the
description of the civil rights movements for both African Americans and
Hispanics in Texas. McComb personalizes these struggles through the effective
use of quotation and anecdote. The book also includes a chronology, a directory
of museums and historic sites, and suggestions for further reading.
This book will be especially valuable to seventh-grade Texas history teachers
complying with the new essential elements for that course, but fourth-grade stu-
dents, high school students, and interested adults will also find much of value in
the book. It should definitely be purchased by all school and public libraries.
Eisenhower High School, Houston                       WILLIAM C. HARDT
BigD: Triumphs and Troubles of an American Supercity in the 2oth Century. By Darwin
Payne. (Dallas: Three Forks Press, 1994. Pp. x+497. Acknowledgments,
notes, index. ISBN 0-96376-290-7. $29.95.)
Darwin Payne has attempted the impossible in Big D: Triumphs and Troubles of
an American Supercity in the 2 oth Century: he has tried to condense the modern
history of one of America's largest cities into a single volume. To his credit, he
has done an admirable job. Big D begins by exploring the origins of the city's
business community in 1907 and continues through the mid-199os. In this book
Payne explores many of the events that helped put Dallas on the map and
turned it into a true supercity. Many of these events, however, are not pretty.
Along with the wonderful achievements of the city is a lengthy discussion of its
faults. Chief among the latter is the problem of racial inequality. Payne spends
much time and effort elaborating on this subject. By devoting so much of his
book to this topic, he leaves the reader with the impression that Dallas is noth-
ing more than a hotbed of racial controversy. Payne does warn us in the subtitle
of his book, though, that he will discuss both the triumphs and troubles of the
city.
Payne spent a great deal of time researching his topic, as is evidenced by his
extensive bibliography. The one drawback of the book is the lack of notes in the
text. Payne uses "source notes" at the end of the book to elaborate on his
sources and as citations for his research. The lack of notes in the text makes the
book read more like a novel than a scholarly work. The use of footnotes or end-
notes would have enhanced its scholarly credibility.
Payne is to be commended for providing as complete a history as could be