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Book Review
| A History of Utah International: From Construction to Mining. By Sterling D. Sessions and Gene A. Sessions. (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2005. xx + 243 pp. Illustrations, tables, charts, appendices, bibliography, index. $29.95.)
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Writing corporate history requires a delicate equilibrium. Sterling D. and Gene A. Sessions (no relation) have managed to strike that balance by not only illuminating the history of Utah International, but by also casting it in a favorable light. Given that successful corporations are usually ruthlessly competitive, and that this corporation is uniquely important to the state of Utah, maintaining that balance must have been difficult. The Eccles, Wattis, and Dee families, along with others since associated with these founders of Utah International, have given generously to Utah's institutions of higher education. Re-constructing the history of Utah International may have been nearly as perilous for these Weber State University (WSU) professors as constructing the company's famed Hoover Dam was for those workers who scaled the walls of Black Canyon. |
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This book is not intended to be a critical appraisal. Rather, the authors' intent was to produce "a one-volume record of the company's numerous projects" (p. x). Faithful to their intent, the authors wrote this book exclusively from the top-down. The book reveals little below the corporate hierarchy and only rarely rises above the bottom line of corporate profits. |
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The book left me wanting to know more, to peel back the onion and get beyond the records of board meetings and interviews. I wanted to know, for instance, how the company perceived and responded to environmental legislation; I wanted to know more about the company's relations with Bay Area residents as it planned to dredge and modify the shoreline. I also wanted to know how the company dealt with workers in Mexico and Peru. |
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The book treats these issues only tangentially. As intended, the authors steer clear of examining the company's labor relations or its environmental stewardship. Again, the authors' stated goal was to provide a record of Utah International projects, and secondarily to point "more serious scholars toward deeper documentary resources" (p. x). |
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This book would have better served this latter purpose had it provided greater documentation. Without footnotes or endnotes, the reader is never certain if the documentary sources are drawn from the archival records housed in WSU's Stewart Library Special Collections, or if they are drawn from sources to which the authors had access, but which are still in corporate possession. It is the reviewer's hope that these additional corporate records will also eventually be accessioned into the collection at WSU. |
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This book, or the nearly identical book published in 2002 by WSU to commemorate the opening of the Utah International Collection, may still serve as an appropriate blueprint for future scholars. It is well written and engaging. Indeed, a well-thumbed copy of this book would be a welcome companion to anyone wanting to immerse themselves in the records of Utah International. |
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| Robert Parson
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| Utah State University |
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ISSN 1939-8603
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