Westward Expansion

(Hardback)

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Description

As men and women traveled west to settle America's untamed lands, and tried to "strike it rich" in gold, they led a simple existence, often carrying the barest necessities from one location to another. Yet they also carried with them their own popular culture, through folk songs, legends, and literature, that has often been mythologized into our present American popular culture. Through primary sources such as letters, diaries, and photographs, the author draws parallels and makes distinctions between the pioneers and cowboys of the past and those of today. Students and fans of the Old West will find this volume a rich source of history for this time period. Many images and items in today's popular culture were born in the time of westward expansion. Log cabins, cowboys such as the Marlboro Man and Woody of Toy Story fame, and Levi's jeans, all have their roots in the Old West. Outlaws such as Wild Bill Hickock, Billy the Kid, and Jessie James, and "good guys" such as Davy Crockett, continue to fascinate students and western enthusiasts. Traveling entertainments, mail-order houses, and patent medicines, although no longer popular in today's society, tell us much about the nomadic existence of families during this time. With a timeline and a list of everyday products and their prices during the time period, this volume will be an invaluable resource to students and historians tracing the roots of American popular culture.

Reviews

.,."a good starting point for students ready to move beyond encyclopedias and other general research tools."-School Library Journal
"Quay's book is helpful guide to popular culture....[a] handy reference source for public school teachers and students."-The Annals of Iowa
...a good starting point for students ready to move beyond encyclopedias and other general research tools.-School Library Journal
[A] fascinating book, as it brings to life the nineteenth-century West and the ways in which we have integrated some of its features into our lives today.-H-Net Reviews
Quay's book is helpful guide to popular culture....[a] handy reference source for public school teachers and students.-The Annals of Iowa
The contribution of this work is its focus on popular culture in a particular time and place, allowing more description and exploration of the persistence and pervasive nature of the West in contemporary American culture....The survey nature of the work invites reader participation and makes it a fine resource for instruction, research, ahd discussion. Its reference value is enhanced by the extensive notes and bibliography. The work is recommended for high school, public, and academic libraries.-Reference & User Services Quarterly
This unique look at America's expansion to the West explores history through the influence on popular culture of people, places, inventions, and events... This excellent title belongs on the reference shelves, and all staff members who assist with student research should be aware of familiar with it.-VOYA
General and undergraduate collections.-Choice
General and undergraduate collections.Choice
"A fascinating book, as it brings to life the nineteenth-century West and the ways in which we have integrated some of its features into our lives today."-H-Net Reviews
..."a good starting point for students ready to move beyond encyclopedias and other general research tools."-School Library Journal
"[A] fascinating book, as it brings to life the nineteenth-century West and the ways in which we have integrated some of its features into our lives today."-H-Net Reviews
"General and undergraduate collections."-Choice
"This unique look at America's expansion to the West explores history through the influence on popular culture of people, places, inventions, and events... This excellent title belongs on the reference shelves, and all staff members who assist with student research should be aware of familiar with it."-VOYA
"The contribution of this work is its focus on popular culture in a particular time and place, allowing more description and exploration of the persistence and pervasive nature of the West in contemporary American culture....The survey nature of the work invites reader participation and makes it a fine resource for instruction, research, ahd discussion. Its reference value is enhanced by the extensive notes and bibliography. The work is recommended for high school, public, and academic libraries."-Reference & User Services Quarterly

Author Bio

SARA E. QUAY is Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences at Endicott College.