West Texas : a history of the giant side of the state / edited by Paul H. Carlson and Bruce A. Glasrud.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Carlson, Paul Howard, editor.

Glasrud, Bruce A., editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Population.

History.

Texas, West--History.

Texas, West.

Texas, West--Travel and description.

Texas, West--Population.

West Texas.

Physical Description:

xi, 308 pages : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Norman : University of Oklahoma Press, [2014]

Summary:

Texas is as well known for its diversity of landscape and culture as it is for its enormity. But West Texas, despite being popularized in film and song, has largely been ignored by historians as a distinct and cultural geographic space. In West Texas: A History of the Giant Side of the State, Paul H. Carlson and Bruce A. Glasrud rectify that oversight. This volume assembles a diverse set of essays covering the grand sweep of West Texas history from the ancient to the contemporary. In four parts-comprehending the place, people, political economy, and society-Carlson and Glasrud and their contributors survey the confluence of life and landscape shaping the West Texas of today. Early chapters define the "giant side of Texas" as a vast area that includes the Panhandle, Llano Estacado, Permian Basin, and Big Bend-Trans-Pecos country. It is an arid, windblown environment that connects intimately with the history of Texas culture. Among themes explored here are the oil and gas economy, major cities, the urban growth of El Paso, the decline of small towns, and a variety of social groups, including Tejanos, women, poets, Native peoples, and musicians. This is a long-overdue consideration of the landscape, culture, and everyday life of one of America's most iconic and understudied regions. Book jacket.

Contents:

Introduction : West Texas, an overview

The West Texas environment / Monte L. Monroe

The Texas Panhandle / John T. "Jack" Becker

The West Texas plains / Leland K. Turner

The Edwards Plateau and Permian Basin / James T. Matthews

The Trans-Pecos-Big Bend Country / Miguel A. Levario

Native Americans in West Texas / Thomas A. Britten

Tejanos in West Texas / Arnoldo De Leon

African Americans in West Texas / James M. Smallwood

West Texas women / Tiffany M. Fink

The urban centers of West Texas / Richard B. Wright

The political culture of West Texas / Sean P. Cunningham

The varied economy of West Texas / Stephen Bogener

Agriculture, ranching, and rural life in West Texas / M. Scott Sosebee

Literature and finding West Texas in the poets of place / Andy Wilkinson

The giant side of music / Curtis Peoples

Public education in West Texas / Gene B. Preuss

Religion in West Texas / David J. Murrah

West Texas parks and recreation areas / Sharon Morris Bogener.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780806144443

0806144440

OCLC:

861209579