The Queen A History of Denver (The Pruett Series)

Book by Brown, A. Theodore

To begin the preface to the second edition of Lion of the Valley, James Neal Primm quotes the Reverend W. C. "A city is more than an assemblage of buildings with streets between them. It has a soul, and an atmosphere, and a social significance to which all material things should be made to minister." If a history book can help define that atmosphere and significance, Lion of the Valley has done so for St. Louis, telling the story of a vibrant and unusual American city in an engaging yet scholarly manner. Primm establishes a general historical narrative of St. Louis from Pierre Laclede's first step from the bow of a bateau to the prototypes of MetroLink. As in most comprehensive accounts, Lion of the Valley focuses on the central institutions and personalities that have shaped the city, as well as the events and circumstances that brought fame, or fear, to the citizens of St. Louis. The Great Fire of 1849; the 1904 World's Fair; the machinations of the "Big Cinch"; the construction of the Gateway Arch; these and many other episodes from the city's colorful past come to life in the pages of Primm's book. This newly designed fourth edition offers a new preface from the author and a revised and expanded index in order to make the book more reader friendly, while maintaining the integrity of the original text. It will be indispensable to students of St. Louis history as well as amateurs interested in the development of this great city.

"Lawrence Larsen and his wife Barbara Cottrell have written a marvelous urban biography. They have done what other historians often fail to do-relate local happenings to the larger regional and national picture. And Larsen and Cottrell have skillfully used sophisticated historical works and concepts, incorporating them in an understandable fashion. Throughout this book the authors write in a delightful manner; they make you want to visit Omaha!"-North Dakota History. "[The authors] organize their splendid urban biography around a limited number of events of national magnitude. The husband-wife team take as their story's major units the building of the transcontinental railroad, the penetration of the Great Plains by homesteaders, the establishment of the meat packing industry, and the creation of an elaborate national defense system. They fill in their story with intriguing descriptions of the push-and-pull factors that brought diverse ethnic groups to Omaha in the years since 1854-the years when town promoters first settled at the Missouri River ferry landing in the newly established Nebraska territory. Because their narrative is so well organized, their treatment of political, social, and cultural affairs is clear and cohesive, while their discussion of urban unrest, vice, and crime remains tightly linked to the general outlines of their lively portrait of Omaha's history."-Business History Review. Lawrence H. Larsen is a professor of history at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He is the author of The Urban A History (1990), Federal Justice in Western The Judges, the Cases, the Times (1994), and other books. Barbara J. Cottrell is a historian with the NationalArchives-Central Plains Region. Harl A. Dalstrom is a professor of history at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Book by Alexander, Thomas G