The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 105, July 2001 - April, 2002 Page: 531
741 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Book Reviews
tance, the federal government stepped in to decree in 1964 that the two cities
must cooperate in the construction of an inter-city airport.
With the federal gun to their heads, Dallas and Fort Worth finally collaborat-
ed on a plan. The last section of the book focuses on the planning and building
of DFW. From the beginning, the planners envisioned a unique design built on
a vast scale. When it opened in January 1974 DFW quickly proved the value of
that design. Since its opening, DFW has successfully served a growing number of
customers and kept pace with the changing world of aviation. The book closes
with the silver anniversary of DFW in 1999.
From Prairie to Planes does a good job of telling the story of the DFW Airport.
Describing DFW is a daunting task and the authors use many statistics to convey
the size and scope of this institution. At times, the narrative disappears behind
the numbers but frequent references to statistics reinforce the image of size and
innovation. A more serious problem emerges from the lack of context. The sub-
title suggests that the book will explore the vivid personalities and also the pow-
erful political and extra-political institutions that resisted the building of a joint
airport. But personalities such as Amon Carter never truly emerge and there is
only a minimal exploration of the workings of the civic elite in both cities.
Particularly, the power of extra-political organizations such as Citizens Council
in Dallas is hinted at but never really explained. The civic elite in Dallas, in par-
ticular, while fiercely competitive, was also capable of formidable cooperation
and manipulation to achieve their ends and maintain their investments. A more
complete exploration of the political setting of both cities could have added
immensely to the story of this remarkable airport.
University of the Incarnate Word PAT GOWER
The Dazly Texan: The First Ioo Years. By Tara Copp and Robert L. Rogers, fore-
word by Willie Morris. (Austin: Eakin Press, 1999. Pp. x+163. Foreword,
introduction, notes, index, appendix. ISBN 1-57168-318-6. $19.95, paper.)
Authors Tara Copp and Robert L. Rogers explain that "publishing a college
student newspaper is an audacious undertaking" (p. viii). Both speak from expe-
rience, having served as editors for The Daily Texan. In a book that began as an
undergraduate honors thesis, the authors follow the evolution of the paper that
debuted as a weekly apolitical tabloid at the University of Texas on October 8,
1900. Thirteen years later the Texan became a daily; over the course of the twen-
tieth century the publication emerged as an institution that paralleled the
growth and power of both the university and the state.
During its odyssey, The Daily Texan commented upon the most important con-
troversies and issues that faced the United States, including the New Deal, World
War II, the Red Scare, civil rights and integration, the Vietnam War and the
counterculture of the 1960s. Texan student reporters covered events surround-
ing the assassination of John Kennedy, the Iranian hostage crisis, and the explo-
sion of the space shuttle Challenger. Of course, the newspaper always reported
more parochial matters, such as campus food, fraternity parties, beauty contests,2002
531
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 105, July 2001 - April, 2002, periodical, 2002; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101222/m1/575/?rotate=270: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.