Devil's Bargains

Devil's Bargains

Author: Hal Rothman

Publisher:

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 456

ISBN-13:

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The West is popularly perceived as America's last outpost of unfettered opportunity, but twentieth-century corporate tourism has transformed it into America's "land of opportunism." From Sun Valley to Santa Fe, towns throughout the West have been turned over to outsiders—and not just to those who visit and move on, but to those who stay and control. Although tourism has been a blessing for many, bringing economic and cultural prosperity to communities without obvious means of support or allowing towns on the brink of extinction to renew themselves; the costs on more intangible levels may be said to outweigh the benefits and be a devil's bargain in the making. Hal Rothman examines the effect of twentieth-century tourism on the West and exposes that industry's darker side. He tells how tourism evolved from Grand Canyon rail trips to Sun Valley ski weekends and Disneyland vacations, and how the post-World War II boom in air travel and luxury hotels capitalized on a surge in discretionary income for many Americans, combined with newfound leisure time. From major destinations like Las Vegas to revitalized towns like Aspen and Moab, Rothman reveals how the introduction of tourism into a community may seem innocuous, but residents gradually realize, as they seek to preserve the authenticity of their communities, that decision-making power has subtly shifted from the community itself to the newly arrived corporate financiers. And because tourism often results in a redistribution of wealth and power to "outsiders," observes Rothman, it represents a new form of colonialism for the region. By depicting the nature of tourism in the American West through true stories of places and individuals that have felt its grasp, Rothman doesn't just document the effects of tourism but provides us with an enlightened explanation of the shape these changes take. Deftly balancing historical perspective with an eye for what's happening in the region right now, his book sets new standards for the study of tourism and is one that no citizen of the West whose life is touched by that industry can afford to ignore.


The American Far West in the Twentieth Century

The American Far West in the Twentieth Century

Author: Earl Spencer Pomeroy

Publisher:

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780300158526

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"A leading western specialist argues that the history of the American West did not end in the year 1900 and was shaped as much by events and innovations in the twentieth century, in a study that describes a modern West." -- annotation from Book Index with Reviews.


The North American West in the Twenty-First Century

The North American West in the Twenty-First Century

Author: Brenden W. Rensink

Publisher: U of Nebraska Press

Published: 2022

Total Pages: 418

ISBN-13: 1496230434

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This edited volume takes stories from the "modern West" of the late twentieth century and carefully pulls them toward the present--explicitly tracing continuity with and unexpected divergence from trajectories established in the 1980s and 1990s.


Re-imagining the Modern American West

Re-imagining the Modern American West

Author: Richard W. Etulain

Publisher: University of Arizona Press

Published: 1996-09

Total Pages: 276

ISBN-13: 9780816516834

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Describes changes in how the West has been seen, from a male-dominated frontier, to a region with a powerful sense of place, to a modern center of both genders, ethnic groups, and environmental interests


Growing Up with the Country

Growing Up with the Country

Author: Elliott West

Publisher: UNM Press

Published: 1989

Total Pages: 372

ISBN-13: 9780826311559

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This illustrated study shows how frontier life shaped children's character.


The Sagebrush Trail

The Sagebrush Trail

Author: Richard Aquila

Publisher: University of Arizona Press

Published: 2015-04-16

Total Pages: 384

ISBN-13: 0816531544

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The Sagebrush Trail is a history of Western movies but also a history of twentieth-century America. Richard Aquila’s fast-paced narrative covers both the silent and sound eras, and includes classic westerns such as Stagecoach, A Fistful of Dollars, and Unforgiven, as well as B-Westerns that starred film cowboys like Tom Mix, Gene Autry, and Hopalong Cassidy. The book is divided into three parts. Part 1 traces the birth and growth of Westerns from 1900 through the end of World War II. Part 2 focuses on a transitional period in Western movie history during the two decades following World War II. Finally, part 3 shows how Western movies reflected the rapid political, social, and cultural changes that transformed America in the 1960s and the last decades of the twentieth century. The Sagebrush Trail explains how Westerns evolved throughout the twentieth century in response to changing times, and it provides new evidence and fresh interpretations about both Westerns and American history. These films offer perspectives on the past that historians might otherwise miss. They reveal how Americans reacted to political and social movements, war, and cultural change. The result is the definitive story of Western movies, which contributes to our understanding of not just movie history but also the mythic West and American history. Because of its subject matter and unique approach that blends movies and history, The Sagebrush Trail should appeal to anyone interested in Western movies, pop culture, the American West, and recent American history and culture. The mythic West beckons but eludes. Yet glimpses of its utopian potential can always be found, even if just for a few hours in the realm of Western movies. There on the silver screen, the mythic West continues to ride tall in the saddle along a “sagebrush trail” that reveals valuable clues about American life and thought.


The Routledge History of Twentieth-Century United States

The Routledge History of Twentieth-Century United States

Author: Jerald Podair

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-05-02

Total Pages: 434

ISBN-13: 1317485661

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The Routledge History of the Twentieth-Century United States is a comprehensive introduction to the most important trends and developments in the study of modern United States history. Driven by interdisciplinary scholarship, the thirty-four original chapters underscore the vast range of identities, perspectives and tensions that contributed to the growth and contested meanings of the United States in the twentieth century. The chronological and topical breadth of the collection highlights critical political and economic developments of the century while also drawing attention to relatively recent areas of research, including borderlands, technology and disability studies. Dynamic and flexible in its possible applications, The Routledge History of the Twentieth-Century United States offers an exciting new resource for the study of modern American history.


The American West

The American West

Author: Michael P. Malone

Publisher: U of Nebraska Press

Published: 1989-01-01

Total Pages: 364

ISBN-13: 9780803281677

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Chronicles the history of the American West in the twentieth century, tracing economical, political, social, and cultural developments in the region from the turn of the century to the 1980s


The Invasion of Indian Country in the Twentieth Century

The Invasion of Indian Country in the Twentieth Century

Author: Donald Fixico

Publisher: University Press of Colorado

Published: 2011-11-15

Total Pages: 303

ISBN-13: 1607321491

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The Invasion of Indian Country in the Twentieth Century, Second Edition is updated through the first decade of the twenty-first century and contains a new chapter challenging Americans--Indian and non-Indian--to begin healing the earth. This analysis of the struggle to protect not only natural resources but also a way of life serves as an indispensable tool for students or anyone interested in Native American history and current government policy with regard to Indian lands or the environment.