The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 77, July 1973 - April, 1974 Page: 421

Book Reviews

fying English Protestant tradition in the United States and its triumph dur-
ing the nineteenth century. This impressive synthesis of the standard works
on American Protestantism was completed despite physical infirmities which
would have silenced a lesser man.
Robert W. Amsler presents a brief survey of major late nineteenth-century
technological developments and an interesting discussion of technology as
a possible substitute for the geographic frontiers opened in the fifteenth cen-
tury. Dean Amsler concludes that, "Science did not open a new frontier but
simply made available another treasure of the Great Frontier" (p. 66).
H. Wayne Morgan, the only contributor not on the Arlington faculty,
discusses with lucid wit and learning the ecological dilemma of an indus-
trializing America. Between 1865 and I920 the battle to purify water, clean
the streets, and clear the air was fought in cities and towns across America.
By 1907 there were more ordinances on air pollution than on any other
subject. The horseless carriage was greeted as the savior of the city, freeing
it from tons of horse manure, billions of flies, and rigid transportation grids.
America failed its basic ecological tests not because of a lack of imagination
or concern, but because it failed to "question basic attitudes that promoted
waste and inhibited social planning" (p. 107).
In a significant essay which deserves close attention by students of legal
history, Audra L. Prewitt argues that between I87o and I892, as a profes-
sional bar was being organized, a significant split developed between attor-
neys and judges. At least some attorneys believed the bench had far too
much power. This was one current in the period, but in my opinion, it was
secondary to the common contempt of both the bench and bar for legisla-
tures, politicians, and the people whom they represented.
Wright State University HAROLD M. HOLLINGSWORTH
Cowboy Capital of the World: The Saga of Dodge City. By Samuel Carter
III. (New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1973. Pp. 280. Illus-
trations, bibliography, index. $4.95.)
Samuel Carter III's Cowboy Capital of the World: The Saga of Dodge
City was reviewed by the New York Times as a children's book. In thus
categorizing it, the Times displayed a condescending attitude toward both
children and western history.
Carter is a professional writer with an impressive list of credits which in-
clude fiction, radio and television scripts, "how to" books, and at least one
biography. The photo on the dust jacket of the book shows him clutching
a pipe and looking every inch the image of the writer as envisioned by those

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