A well-documented story of the drama that economically marginal
black, white, and Indian (Kiowa and Comanche) farmers entered into
in frontier Oklahoma. She offers some compelling evidence to show
that while nature was less than fully cooperative, it was racism,
politics (especially the economies of politics), personal and group
ambition, and cultural conflicts that stacked the deck.--Great
Plains QuarterlyA remarkable and thoughtful book. . . . A good
book, thoroughly researched, carefully reasoned, and in terms of
prose and style skillfully presented.--Journal of Southern
HistoryThis eloquently written book revises traditional, simplistic
views of Great Plains agricultural development as a triumphant
progress of Anglo civilization by introducing and placing into
perspective the roles of African American and Native American. . .
. A valuable addition to the libraries of Western histories as well
as scholars of the environment, ethnicity, and culture.--Journal of
the WestLynn-Sherow offers a revealing history of settlement in
Oklahoma that is both ecological and cultural. Capitalism and race
relations figure largely in a story of resource exploitation. . . .
Her research base is wonderfully rich, her argument well made.
Lynn-Sherow is equally at home discussing political economy,
historical ecology, and agricultural practice. This is a fine book,
one worth arguing about. . . . This could be not just a fine book,
but a landmark work.--American Historical ReviewRed Earth
cultivates a beautifully nuanced description of the cultural
ecology of Oklahoma territorial agriculture, digging up the racism
that informed as much of Oklahoma's agricultural development as did
the environment, science, technology, and the market economy. . . .
Lynn-Sherow perceptively and persuasively explains how racism, both
personal and institutional, enabled white agriculturists to emerge
dominant after a protracted struggle to shape Oklahoma's
agricultural beginnings.--Journal of American HistoryA pioneering
study of the complex interplay between human cultures and their
physical environment. Red Earth convincingly demonstrates
that the battle between whites, Native Americans, and African
Americans to control access to the land in Oklahoma Territory had a
profound effect on the ecology of the region.--Western Historical
QuarterlyBroadens our understanding of the intersection of race and
agriculture and the origins of institutionalized racism during
Oklahoma's territorial period. . . . Red Earth helps to
explain the origins of white dominance in a region that 'was [in
1889] a colorful reflection of the nation's cultural and ecological
diversity.'--Chronicles of OklahomaAlthough the agricultural and
environmental history of the southern plains is well documented,
Lynn-Sherow's emphasis on the interaction of culture, race, and
environment breaks new ground. . . . She provides information and
interpretations that serious students of the territorial period of
Oklahoma should consider.--History: Reviews of New BooksThis fine
book is for those with interests in Western, ethnic, or
environmental history. Recommended.--Choice
Red Earth uncovers and explores the cultural ecology of Oklahoma
agriculture in its most diverse and contested period, complicating
older triumphal narratives that minimize race and the ecological
consequences of agrarian choices.--David Rich Lewis, editor
of the Western Historical Quarterly and author of Neither Wolf
Nor DogA fine and eloquent book, deeply researched and engagingly
written, significant in its implications, and striking for its
blend of sympathy and tough-mindedness.--Mart A. Stewart,
author of What Nature Suffers to Groe: Life, Labor, and Landscape
on the Georgia Coast, 1680-1920Acute in nuance, rich in
documentation, and packed with details and telling
anecdotes.--Joseph Amato, author of Rethinking Home: A Case
for Local HistoryA fascinating account.--Douglas R. Hurt,
author of Indian Agriculture in America
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