The Forgotten Founders; Rethinking the History of the Old West (signed By the author)

Washingon, DC; (2002): Island Press. First Edition. Octavo. Boldly signed by the author. 237 pages, index, notes and suggested readings list. Stewart L. Udall after four terms as a Congressman from Arizona then became Secretary of the Interior for eight years in the 1960's. The Foreword by David M. Emmons, Professor of History and the University of Montana. Here is the old West not based on the Hollywood movies but of those he calls the wagon families; men and women, who came, camped, settled and stayed. He describes these as "bootstrap capitalists". They might farm, pool their resources to have some kind of local store, operate ferries, and anything to survive and perhaps get ahead after many struggles. Five of the territories did not have single town as late as 1880 with 5,000 people (from Boise's population 1,899 to the boomtown of Leadville, Colorado with its 14,850, there was seldom stability). Between the boom or bust approach, there were these hard working people who established the West. As one who knew the Old West from his family members and his vast reading, he describes with clarity the issues that faced the average person and the totally blown out of proportion glorified tales that Hollywood made famous. 1/4 maroon cloth over brown paper covered boards, spine lettering gilt. A fine copy in fine pictorial dust jacket.