Review of How Cities Won the West: Four Centuries of Urban Change in Western North America

Authors

Linda English, The University of Texas Rio Grande ValleyFollow

Document Type

Book Review

Publication Date

10-2009

Abstract

By invoking the intentionally provocative phrase "Won the West," Carl Abbott's tide alerts readers of two important themes outlined in his story: the centrality and, indeed, "triumph" of cities on the western landscape and the author's desire to situate cities at die heart of historical debates on the American West. Regarding the latter point, his book is as much a history of the North American West as it is a history of cities within it—a relationship inextricably linked. Abbott also traces the changes western cities experienced from their earliest frontier stage to their present-day status as centers for global innovation. The cities of the West evolved from a dependent, almost child-like relationship with the East to themselves being the mature parent, stimulating economic, social, and intellectual change in North America and the world. In short, Abbott asserts, "We can say that the cities of western North America have come into their own" (275).

Comments

Original published version available at https://doi.org/10.1353/swh.2009.0071

Recommended Citation

English, Linda. Review of How Cities Won the West: Four Centuries of Urban Change in Western North America. Southwestern Historical Quarterly 113, no. 2 (2009): 254-255. doi:10.1353/swh.2009.0071.

First Page

254

Last Page

255

Publication Title

Southwestern Historical Quarterly

DOI

10.1353/swh.2009.0071