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2??8Book Reviews231 not overwhelming and the narrative is easy to read. The work is eloquently understated. Grice, now over eighty years old, still approaches his craft as a photographer much like a predator seeking to embrace its prey. If you get a chance to travel to Arkansas go to Pine Bluff, find Grice, ask him to take your picture, and thank him for his contribution to the histories of photography and Arkansas. Texas State University-San ManosDwight D. Watson Rock Beneath the Sand: Country Churches in Texas. By Lois E. Myers and Rebecca Sharpless; photographs by Clark G. Baker. (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2003, Pp. xx+197. Preface, acknowledgments, photographs, map, table, photographer's note, notes, bibliography, index. ISBN 1-58544250 -x. $35.00, cloth.) The United States is unusual among developed countries in that a high percentage of its citizens are churchgoers. This varies regionally, but in Texas, religion is a significant part of peoples' lives. According to one popular expression, Texas is the buckle of the Bible Belt. Even the casual observer notes that the Texas landscape is dotted with the myriad steeples of varied denominations. As geographers and sociologists have long noted, Christianity dominates here, with Baptists and Methodists being the most common churches, although Catholicism is strong and the state's roster of smaller congregations is almost bewildering in its variety. This book on churches is indeed welcome as it sheds light on the diversity of religion in Texas. The book's subtitle suggests that it will cover churches statewide, but it does not. Rather, Central Texas, and more particularly McLennan County (with Waco and Baylor University, the authors' home base, at its center) is actually the focus. The book thus covers a much smaller area than implied. Although McLennan County can be considered a microcosm of a much larger area, this reviewer would have preferred a more candid title that reflects the book's relatively limited geographic scope. Still, this book is quite valuable. The authors focus on "open-country churches " (those with predominantly rural locations and congregations) . This is a natural choice given their location at Baylor University, "where our oldest and largest oral history collection concerns the interplay of religion and culture" (p. xii). At a time when Baylor University's stated mission of exploring the frontiers between faith and life has been sullied by sports-related scandal, this book shines like a beacon. The nineteen churches profiled in this book represent varied denominations and mirror the cultural diversity of the area. Each church is described and its history discussed, but two things distinguish the book. First, the authors clearly respect the varied churches and their congregations, and they often let the congregants ' own words speak. This makes the book both approachable and authentic . The authors write authoritatively, placing each church in a broader context. 232Southwestern Historical QuarterlyOctober Secondly, the book's beautiful black-and-white photography by Clark G. Baker shows how naturally these churches and their surroundings fit into the prairie/wooded landscape, and also captures details of the buildings (both interior and exterior) and graveyards. Especially revealing are those photographs of people associated with the churches, which humanize the rich but humble stories associated with each church. The combination of open landscapes, dominant sky, simple architecture, rich details, and people of varied backgrounds is especially engaging. Happily, die quality of these photographs is excellent; their content, detail, and contrast harmonize with the informative text. Rock Beneath the Sand is recommended for all who wish to know more about how faith is manifested in the Lone Star State generally, and in central Texas particularly. The University ofTexas at ArlingtonRichard Francaviglia In a Fevered Land. By Irene Sandell. (Austin: Sunbelt Eakin, 2003. Pp. iv+264. ISBN 1-57168-765-3. $24.95, paper.) Set in rural Texas during the late 1920s and early 1930s, Irene Sandell's characters personify the struggle of those tied to the nation's agricultural economy as the "flapper era" devolved into the Great Depression. The nation's farmers of the 1920s suffered from the end of the Great War until the Second World War. While much of industrial America celebrated the Roaring Twenties, farmers realized...

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