The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 89, July 1985 - April, 1986 Page: 89

Book Reviews

extending yet always quick to adapt, the Pitchfork overcame adversity
that brought down other pioneer ranches.
From longhorns to registered stock, from windmills to feedmills,
from half-wild cow ponies to helicopters and two-way radios, Murrah
outlines the slow, steady rise of this ranching showpiece. The result is a
history not only of the Pitchfork Land and Cattle Company but, to an
extent, of all ranching over the past hundred years.
A certain human element is missing from Murrah's work; the writer
glosses over the shortcomings and inevitable vagaries of some who
worked and lived on the Pitchfork over the years. But this is not a sen-
sationalized and popularized account of ranching; it was not intended
to be. Rather it is good, sound scholarship, meticulously researched
and logically organized.
Mt. Pleasant BENTON R. WHITE
We Can Fly: Stories of Katherine Stinson and Other Gutsy Texas Women. By
Mary Beth Rogers, Sherry A. Smith, and Janelle D. Scott. (Austin:
Ellen C. Temple, 1983. Preface, illustrations, photographs. Pp. 184.
$24.95, cloth; $12.95 paper.)
The twelve women and the group of World War II WASPs (Women's
Airforce Service Pilots) included in this book were selected from more
than 150 outstanding Texas women portrayed in the two-year touring
exhibition Texas Women-A Celebration of History, created by the
Texas Foundation for Women's Resources. Although not included in
the exhibition, the first eight female astronauts are also highlighted in
the book. They, too, endured risks and overcame many obstacles to suc-
ceed. The supreme self-confidence of all these women enabled them to
have an impact on Texas.
Americans will always remember Katherine Stinson, one of the
nation's outstanding early pilots; Mildred Ella ("Babe") Didrikson
Zaharias, one of the world's greatest athletes; and the special corps of
intrepid women pilots known as the WASPs, who assumed domestic
military flying jobs in World War II. Many Texans will recall Mar-
garet Virginia ("Margo") Jones, the innovative theater director; Jane Y.
McCallum, Texas secretary of state, 1927-1933, lobbyist for the suf-
frage movement, and organizer and leader of the Petticoat Lobby; and
Clara Driscoll, the playwright, novelist, businesswoman, and philan-
thropist, who saved the Alamo for the people of the state.
Other selections are not so well known. Dr. Sofie Herzog, one of the
first women to practice medicine in Texas, was a daring, exceptionally