Texas: A Historical Atlas (review)

Retired University of North Texas history professor A. Ray Stephens has done everyone with an interest in Texas a service with the publication of this beautiful and useful book Texas: A Historical Atlas. The atlas is a major rewriting and rethinking of his important work published twenty years ago titled Historical Atlas of Texas. The new atlas is divided into three sections, Natural Texas, The Texans, and Modern Texas, and includes eighty entries with one hundred and seventy-five newly designed maps—more than twice the number in the original volume. The atlas has more than 400 pages, is in color, and measures 9 ½ by 12 ½ inches. The maps, created by Carol Zuber-Mallison, a freelance artist who specializes in maps and graphics and has worked for newspapers in North Texas and the Texas Almanac, are large and easy for readers to use.

The importance of the book derives from its wealth of historical and geographical information that Stephens packs in. He essentially takes the reader on a textual and visual-cartographic history of Texas, starting with the natural environment (e.g., soil, vegetation, surface and underground water, weather and climate), followed by the human experience and its impact on the region (e.g., Native American, Spanish, French, Mexican, Anglo American), and ending with human and economic themes prevalent in twentieth- and twenty-first-century Texas (e.g., oil and gas discovery, agriculture, higher education, population growth, defense installations, tourism, political districts). Complementing the entries are twenty-two charts and diagrams and seventy-one tables, making this not only an indispensable reference work but also a comprehensive history of the state in its own right. The book is divided fairly evenly between pre-1900 and post-1900 Texas, a welcome characteristic for those of us as interested in contemporary Texas as in its revolutionary past.

Quibbles can always be made regarding what was included in an atlas and what was not. For example, Stephens discusses railroads and their history in entry 62 but the accompanying map only shows the location of railroads in 2005—a shortcoming in my opinion, especially considering the importance of railroad growth to the development of the state. In entry 74, Colleges and Universities, Stephens traces the history of higher education in Texas, including a map showing the location of institutions of higher learning in the state. I would also like to see a discussion and cartographic representation of educational levels achieved by Texans, since the state lags behind most in the general educational levels of its citizens. Another quibble is the book’s failure to treat illegal immigration, other than a passing mention in entry 82, Hispanic Texans.

All quibbles aside, Texas: A Historical Atlas is an invaluable resource for individuals who teach and research Texas history and for anyone with even a passing interest in the Lone Star State. Stephens and Zuber-Mallison have produced a book that is both attractive and useful. Kudos to both of them and to the University of Oklahoma Press for bringing it to market at a reasonable $39.95. The press should also consider providing access to the maps, tables, and charts in digital format for use in the classroom. This would extend the usefulness of the atlas even more.