| Book Review | The Journal of American History, 94.4

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| Book Review | The Journal of American History, 94.4 | The History Cooperative

Book Review

Gregg Camfield University of California Merced, California Beyond the Missouri: The Story of the American West. By Richard W. Etulain. (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2006. xiv, 466 pp. Cloth, $39.95, ISBN 978-0-8263-4032-0. Paper, $24.95, ISBN 978-0-8263-4033-7.)

Hunger for the Wild: America's Obsession with the Untamed West. By Michael L. Johnson. (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2007. xviii, 533 pp. $34.95, ISBN 978-0-7006-1501-8.)

Almost two decades ago, academe rang with gunplay as the so-called new western historians rode onto campus, attracting the attention of curious townsfolk and the ire of the antiquated Turner Gang. Once the shooting stopped, more moderate scholars counted the bodies, cleaned up the mess, and went back to work. Or so some would have you believe. Historiography, as history itself, is always more complex than its participants realize, and these two books testify to the perils of trying to simplify either too neatly.

Richard W. Etulain's sweeping book is the latest attempt to synthesize western history since the shootout ended. Its merits are many and important, beginning with the attention it gives to the region's rich literary and artistic traditions, an oversight in many recent overviews. Instead of segregating novels, films, and popular representations to a separate chapter, Etulain interweaves them throughout his narrative. Another asset is the book's up-to-date bibliographies, incorporating many of the most important recent works in the field. The analyses of religion are also astute, another element underplayed in many histories of the region.

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