Hell on the Range: A Story of Honor, Conscience, and the American West (The Lamar Series in Western History) - Hardcover

Herman, Daniel Justin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0300137362 ISBN 13: 9780300137361

Publisher: Yale University Press, 2010

Synopsis

In this lively account of Arizona’s Rim Country War of the 1880s—what others have called "The Pleasant Valley War"—historian Daniel Justin Herman explores a web of conflict involving Mormons, Texas cowboys, New Mexican sheepherders, Jewish merchants, and mixed-blood ranchers. Their story, contends Herman, offers a fresh perspective on Western violence, Western identity, and American cultural history.

At the heart of Arizona’s range war, argues Herman, was a conflict between cowboys’ code of honor and Mormons’ code of conscience. He investigates the sources of these attitudes, tracks them into the early twentieth century, and offers rich insights into the roots of American violence and peace.

Published in Cooperation with the William P. Clements Center for Southwest Studies, Southern Methodist University

About this title

About the Author

Daniel Justin Herman is professor of history at Central Washington University. He lives in Ellensburg, Washington.

Review

"This is a rich, deep, and rewarding work of western history - a genuine contribution to the histories of American violence, society and culture, politics, and economics. Herman's research is nothing less than extraordinary as it taps an especially rich body of personal papers as well as published and unpublished memoirs. It will become a classic in the historiography of the American West."—Durwood Ball, University of New Mexico  

(Durwood Ball)

“This is a most impressive, well-documented, detailed and essentially interesting study. In Western history studies, it is a real and highly valuable breakthrough.”—Bertram Wyatt-Brown, University of Florida   (Bertram Wyatt-Brown)

"An original and provocative contribution to western history. By linking the Rim Country War to the often conflicting demands of honor and conscience, Herman demonstrates how frontier violence continued to shape western identity for generations to come."—Benjamin H. Johnson, author of Revolution in Texas (Benjamin H. Johnson)

"In this remarkable book, the historian Daniel Herman turns a long and grim story of violence and vengeance into a referendum on American honor and conscience. Smart and beautifully written, this is western American history at its finest."—William Deverell, Director, Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West (William Deverell)

"Thought provoking. . . . An interesting read."—L. W., True West (L. W. True West)

". . . fine analysis . . . any reader will be stimulated and challenged by the use of this lens for viewing the American West and indeed much of the nation."—Richard W. Slatta, The American Historical Review (Richard W. Slatta The American Historical Review)

"Hell on the Range is an excellent interpretive monograph that should be read by every serious student of western history."—John H. Monnett, Journal of American History (John H. Monnett Journal of American History)

"Hell on the Range deserves a wide reading by historians of the West and scholars of American violence."—Patrick Q. Mason, Western Historical Quarterly (Patrick Q. Mason Western Historical Quarterly)

Edition details

• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0300137362
• ISBN 13: 9780300137361
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 400