Customer Reviews

Into the West: The Story of Its People

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Into The West is an engrossing, fast-paced demographic survey that characterizes development of the American west. Walter Nugent sets out to draft a people's history that omits (intentionally) political and economic theories, insofar as these were not the primary motivators behind the book. Nugent sets out to study five myths (Jeffersonian agrarianism, exploiting resources, i.e., "Gold Rush," California Dreams, rugged individualism, and migration) that presumably have served as motivators to move west. Then, once he establishes the boundaries of the west as the Pacific Ocean and the 98th meridian, he begins his study.

Nugent's style promotes undying optimism and steadfast confidence in the resiliancy of the land if not always the individuals that settled it. At times Nugent seems to favor West Coast urban (Seattle, Portland, and especially California-particularly Los Angeles) as the most fortunate western areas, though the experiences of each western state serves as supporting evidence for his theories. Since the book has clearly defined geographic boundaries, there is not the temptation to view the Old Northwest or Kentucky, or even Minnesota or Missouri, as the "west." Nugent does not confuse west and frontier.

Nugent draws on intricate detail to support his work. He writes of French communities in 1750 Texas, and Mormon colonies from Pocatello to San Bernadino to Mesa to Mexico. He understands what the Ogallala aquifer meant to the high plains. At times the book seems too slanted towards California, but then the nation's most populace state demands intensive evaluation.

Nugent's conclusions are precise. None of his aforementioned myths wholly explain western development, but each still played a significant role to those who moved there. Jefferson would have been hard-pressed to base agrarian ideals on western homesteading. Gold Rush mentality reappeared as people sought gold, silver, various other precious metals, and oil shale. California Dreams occasionally lead to riots (1965, 1992), displacement (Japanese internment camps), or emigration to other states. Rugged individualism occasionally means beatnik, hippie, or other alternative lifestyles. Migration occasionally means returning east or back across the oceans altogether.

But this is what Nugent wants to illustrate. The west is dynamic not stagnant. It is multicultural, not homogenous. Into The West is a fine example of one scholar's attempt to define the people of this most urban settlement area.

Nugent's book provides a synthesis of existing literature on Western history. He acknowledges in his preface that he has no thesis, but he focuses almost entirely on the people of the West, rather than specific persons or events. His firm belief that the West has a unified history has caused him to focus on the ordinary people who, for a variety of reasons, moved into and still populate the West. His synthesis falls into ten chapters of roughly equal length, which together provide an encyclopedic overview of Western history.
The first chapter lays the groundwork for subsequent chapters, asking and answering the paramount question, what is the West? After discussing the various methods historians have used to make their definitions, Nugent then explains the reasons behind immigration, juxtaposing Western settlement with human history throughout the world.
Chapters two through ten are separated by chronological events. The second chapter focuses on life up to the conclusion of the Mexican-American War in 1848. Careful to include what Richard Etulain would consider "postregional" scholarship , Nugent briefly explains the histories of the numerous Indian tribes and their Spanish conquerors in what is now the southwestern United States.
Chapter three explains how Americans came to populate the West. From the California gold rush and Abilene-like cattle towns, to the rise of Mormon civilizations and the growth of urban areas, great events occurred which drew people from all over the world. Thus, not only was the West settled, but also it was settled with extraordinary diversity.
Chapters four and seven focus on the West in eras of depression. In chapter four, titled "Defying the Depression," Nugent explains how immigrants refused to submit to substantial economic pains, making inroads in Indian Territory, building and riding railroads, and generally continuing Western expansion. Chapter seven explores the much more somber, though hardly less severe, Great Depression. With less maneuverability, the people became reliant on federal programs, and in the case of whites, on non-white immigration and repatriation laws.
Chapter five, covering the years 1901-1913 looks at the end of a settlement frontier. Initially homesteading boomed and mining towns grew relative to years previous, but ultimately that era concluded. Chapter six provides a view of the tourist boom, oil growth, and the further meshing of Europeans, blacks, and Asians. The years 1914-1929 covered here also include the Mexican Revolution and the plight of Mexican-Americans, before yielding to chapter seven and the Great Depression.
Chapters eight and nine are of life since the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. Suddenly Japanese-Americans found themselves forcibly on the move, women at work, women giving birth, Mexicans in bracero programs, and everyone driving on interstates. Though some ebb and flow existed, only women giving birth--the baby boom--ceased by 1965. Everything else still continues in earnest what it began in 1941, even if, as in the case of the bracero program, it no longer carries the same name.
Chapter ten concludes Nugent's review of Western history, observing trends, demonstrating the state of California's economy and social structure, and offering projections for the twenty-first century.
Nugent has brought an interesting outline of Western history to enthusiasts and American history buffs. His synopsis is extremely complete, yielding information on all major and most minor sectors and factions that together comprise the historical West. In focusing on the people at large rather than on a handful of well-known personages, he is able to draw a more complete picture of life, and thereby give the reader a greater sense of what pushed and pulled the West into what it is today.
The book is also very well written. With flowing prose Nugent conveys his ideas to the reader, easily avoiding the trap of overestimating one's audience that often befalls academics who wish to write for the non-scholar. For these reasons, I highly recommend it to casual readers interested in any aspect of American history.
For the more academic reader, however, Nugent's book offers little of which the reader is not already at least vaguely aware. One of the principle flaws in a work of synopsis is that it brings no new insights. There is no reinterpretation, no new examination, no exploration of newly uncovered source material. If one is ignorant of the subject matter, it will be thought provoking and worthwhile; if one is knowledgeable, it will be boring and a waste of time. Consequently, for scholars in the field, the only relevance Into the West has is as a literary timeline. The lone exception would be for those scholars who also are teachers, and who might be able to use the book for instruction. For everyone else, Nugent's book is not worth more than a quick glance or, at best, a skimming.

For a more personal view of history than most texts would offer, consider Walter Nugent's Into The West, an important history contrasting the experiences of various peoples who settled there. From pioneers and their motivations to involuntary immigrants, this provides important historical details.

The West, the mythical West. After all the movies and books, another book, just fresh from the printing presses. Yet, it will not bore you. The catchy spine B&W photographs show a sample of ethnicities that found freedom of life in a land where rules were fresh and into the making. The cover photograph is very catchy too, almost as of a B movie from the 1940 hollywood years. The style is fast and rich with texture and details, and never stuffy. The last chapter, on the last 10 years, I wish it had more on the Colorado front range being invaded by Californians, and how the latter and the Coloradans coped with each other. In that regard, the bibliography did not mention Mark Bacon's "The California Escape Manual", a very appropriate side reading.