Book Notices

By JULIE FANSELOW (Revised ed.; Helena, MT: Falcon Publishing, 1998. viii + 266 pp. Paper, $14.95.)

Recommended by Undaunted Courage author Stephen Ambrose as a necessary companion on an exploration of the Lewis and Clark route, this guidebook can just as easily serve as a motivating force—inspiring armchair travelers to actually make the journey In two weeks, the author says, motorists can retrace the route with plenty of time for lingering and enjoying

While modern travelers must rely on imagination and the captains'journals in order to "relive" the expedition, the route apparendy offers plenty of Lewisand-Clark experiences. Here is where the book shines It points out historical sites and museums, state parks, foot trails, and river trips; the author has uncovered all the sites and experiences connected to the trail, and she tells what happened at each. Without such a guidebook, the traveler would miss much. How else, for instance, would one know how to find and climb Spirit Mound? This hill stands on private land in Vermillion, South Dakota, and is one of the few places where "today's traveler can know with certainty he or she is standing in the exact spot the explorers stood" (71)

On a less exalted but equally helpful level, the book also lists lodging options, campgrounds, and restaurants along the trail. Maps and photos supplement the text

By WILLIAM GOETZMANN and GLYNDWR WILLIAMS. (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1998. 224 pp. Paper, $24.95.)

What this volume necessarily lacks in depth it certainly provides in breadth.

As the American continent is a huge and varied territory, so is—naturally— the story of its exploration through the centuries The sweep of exploration presented here shows how, through die determination of Caucasian explorers and their native guides, the continent unfolded to European consciousness piece by piece Modern and historical maps and illustrations clarify and enrich the text Yet the book's summarized accounts tend to make one long for something more meaty: a journal or in-depth narrative or, better still, an on-the-ground exploration of the regions so briefly described here

By LINDA JONES GIBBS (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998 196 pp $50.00.)

For more than fifty years, a collection of paintings gathered dust in a dark room on the Brigham Young University campus With the construction of the Museum of Art came the unveiling of some seventy-three of those canvases, which are now on permanent display. From the Hudson River School painters to American Impressionists to Maynard Dixon's portraits of the depression, this exhibit boasts a broad range of art inspired by American history, social issues, and ideals.

The beautiful full-color plates of this book are accompanied by text written by curator Linda Jones Gibbs Engaging and informative, the text deals not only with the usual formal issues of color and composition but also probes deeper meanings in the paintings, the sources of the artists' inspiration, and the culture from which the art has sprung The result is a richer experience with the art and a broader understanding of American culture For example, we learn that Maynard Dixon's paintings of the depression were influenced by his wife, Dorothea Lange. Looking at his social realist paintings in the context of this book, we understand what he meant when he said that art should be "human rather than arty."

By VIRGINIA CARLSON PARKER (Logan: Agreka Books, 1998. Paper, $17.00.)

At first glance this little volume could be easily dismissed Apparently selfpublished, the book suffers from some stylistic and organizational lapses But this collection of essays is nevertheless engaging Parker is a fine writer, for one thing Her keen eye and her memory for detail vividly evoke time and place.

Parker explores the people and events of the Basin both as she experienced them and as she later came to understand them Particularly poignant are her associations with the Utes, whom her parents treated equitably but regarded as inferiors, and her awakening to the truth of white-Indian relationships. But no less engaging are the portraits of other Basin personalities, such as the Chinese merchant Wong Sing, or the descriptions of childhood work and play

The author has supplemented memory with significant research into sources that include interviews and primary documents The result is a satisfying portrait of an unusual community

Edited by RUTH B. MOYNIHAN, SUSAN ARMITAGE, and CHRISTIANE FISCHER DUCHAMP (2nd ed.; Lincoln: University of Nevada Press, 1998 xxi + 354 pp Paper, $16.95.)

Sarah Ann Prince, who in 1873 moved to Holbrook, Arizona, had a "receet" for doing wash: "bild fire," "shave 1 hole cake lie sope" into water boiling in the wash tubs, sort, scrub, boil, "take white things out of keetle with broom stick handel then rench, blew and starch," spread towels on the grass and rags on the fence, water the flowers with the rinse water, scrub the porch with the soapy water, turn the tubs upside down, then "goput on a cleen dress—smooth hair with side combs, brew cup of tea—set andrest and rock a spell andcount blessins" (243).

If the washday list is a recipe, this volume of women's writings isa cookbook for understanding lives on the western frontier And what an assortment of dishes! Among the writers represented here area suffragist, awoman forced to sell engravings on the street to support her family, a Piute Indian, a colonist at Horace Greely's experimental community in Colorado, an Italian-born nun, the Cattle Queen of Montana, the wife of an Indian agent, anda Mexican-born Californio dispossessed of her land by conquering Americans.

The women's voices areasdiverse as are their circumstances and personalities Some of the writers put on cultured airs while others assume a tone of good-humored bravado. Still others are able to express a full range of emotions No wonder, then, that these pages are full of so many responses to frontier life, including resilience, loneliness, resignation, domestic contentment, domestic exasperation, wonder, and enthusiasm.

Edited by DAVID (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1997 xxi + 386 pp Cloth, $45.00; paper, $19.95.)

A variegated compilation of essays, Many Wests addresses issues of region and subregion—a rich butlargely unexplored territory for western scholarship Asa body, the essays demonstrate that geography, environment, peoples, events, cultures, economies, and perceptions allintersect to create place.

Two essays of particular interest to Utah historians happen to be among the book's finest Anne F Hyde's writing on the Rocky Mountains sheds light on the profound ways that the extractive industries have influenced communities and attitudes in this region And in her essay on the Great Basin, Elizabeth Raymond discusses the role that aridity has hadin shaping patterns of development and thought in the human landscape.

Unfortunately, in its attempts to be inclusive and eclectic, the book contains some less-insightful essays. Yetthe editors' willingness to include many styles and topics demonstrates the viability and energy inherent in the field of regional scholarship

By HELEN PAPANIKOLAS (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press,1997 327 pp Paper, $17.95.)

This remarkable book works on many levels It reveals the immigrant experience in an intimate way, showing the Greek culture that the immigrants clung to, the responsibility they felt toward their families in Greece, and the challenges of making a newlife in America. Thebook also works in showing historical events through the eyes of those who lived them And it works literarily, with satisfying descriptions and narratives

But most of all itworks in its sweeping portrait oftwo people—the author's parents It describes their childhood in Greek villages, the conditions that induced them to emigrate and the circumstances that brought them to the West, their marriage—agreed to after one afternoon's acquaintance—their clashes, their frail oldage, their love.

Papanikolas spent years interviewing her parents; she then created her narrative byweaving into their stories her own memories and extensive research.