The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 100, July 1996 - April, 1997 Page: 125

Book Reviews

lifetime, and adds to Texas history another "closeup of the American epic" (Lil-
lard, American Life in Autobiography, 13).
Austin DIANA KLEINER
Fort Worth's Legendary Landmarks. By Carol Roark. Photographs by Byrd Williams.
(Fort Worth: Texas Christian University Press, 1995- Pp. 234. Preface, ac-
knowledgments, introduction, index. ISBN 0-87565-143-7. $42.50, cloth.)
Carol Roark and Byrd Williams have created an outstanding reference book
that is also a pleasure to read. Fort Worth's Legendary Landmarks is filled with de-
tails not often found in descriptions of historic architecture. The numerous pho-
tographs are works of art in themselves.
The purpose of the book as stated in the introduction is to tell the little-
known stories behind significant structures built in Fort Worth before 1945. The
text and photographs do this amazingly well. Not only does Roark list each
building's major design features, the name of the design firm, and the date of
construction, but she also presents a personality sketch of the original owner,
the social and economic context, and the fate of the building over the years, in-
cluding its present condition.
The duotone photographs contribute greatly to the success of the book.
Williams used a large-format view camera to achieve excellent images of all the
buildings, a project that took eight years. Both interior and exterior views are in-
cluded.
The book is composed of five chapters. "The Frontier, Pre-1875," describes
the few surviving structures from the Cowtown era. "The Tarantula Network,
1876-1901," discusses the contribution of the railroads to Fort Worth's first
building boom. "Cattle and Cattle Kings, 1901-1917," records the expansion of
the city limits. "Black Gold, 1917-1930," explains the effect of the oil business in
making Fort Worth an up-to-date city. "Public-Private Endeavors, 1930s," illus-
trates how community leaders were able to stave off the effects of the Great De-
pression for a few years.
The buildings representing each period were selected by a committee of histo-
rians, architects, and preservationists. Each building is listed in or is eligible for
listing in the National Register of Historic Places, or designated as a Texas or
Fort Worth landmark.
An index and a list of suggested readings add to the usefulness of the book. A
table of contents and more easily readable photograph captions would have
been helpful. These are, however, minor criticisms of an informative and beauti-
ful journey through the architectural history of Fort Worth.
Kansas State University PATRICIA WEISINBURGER
The Texas Stories of Nelson Algren. Edited and with an introduction by Bettina
Drew. (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1995. Pp. 20o8. ISBN 0-292-70468-
2. $12.95, paper.)

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