From Library Journal
This handsomely bound two-volume boxed set is the result of action by the Idaho legislature to commission a state history for the state's centennial. In response, Arrington, a native Idahoan and an accomplished historian best known for Great Basin Kingdom (Harvard Univ. Pr., 1958; Univ. of Utah Pr., 1993. reprint), has produced a very substantial survey of the state's history. His first volume covers events up to World War I, while Volume 2 discusses the state's circumstances through the 20th century. Though this set is more extensive than Carlos Schwantes's In Mountain Shadows: A History of Idaho (Univ. of Nebraska Pr., 1991), Arrington takes a more traditional approach to writing history. He also has a tendency to give little coverage to recent unfavorable events in Idaho history; in particular, scant mention is made of white supremacists in the Hayden Lake region. As this book is geared to the general reader, there are few references to sources (though each chapter contains a good bibliographic essay of secondary sources) and the lack of a comprehensive index is a small annoyance. Still, this very readable and solid general history of the Gem State is recommended generally and is essential for all larger regional libraries.
Daniel Liestman, Seattle Pacific Univ. Lib.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Daniel Liestman, Seattle Pacific Univ. Lib.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
