In a Fevered Land (review)

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 increasingly smaller profits and, for those faced with the twin demons of large surpluses and competition from international producers, years of breakeven, or less, operations. Sandell offers a version of what happens when people without hope abandon familiar endeavors to pursue a living and life in the unknown. Readers meet Lon Prather and his cousin, Emory Campbell, in 1928, as the teenagers sneak drinks of moonshine from a tenant farmer's stash. The boys are near the end of high school, and the futures of their farm families are in doubt. Lon's father has always produced a good cotton crop and owns two farms, the one he works and the property of his deceased wife's family, which he rents to the moonshiner. The Prather farms are part of Lon's heritage on both sides of his family, and provide the basis for the family's roots in their community and the depth of die trouble that would drive Lon Prather to the Texas oilfields. Emory accompanies his cousin to Wink in search of a life other than farming, one with financial promise. Lon relies upon common sense, a long-range perspective, and caution to navigate the dangerous streets, bars, and dance halls of oilfield boomtowns , while Emory, Lon's psychological opposite, embraces "the moment" as well as the sins of the masses. Lon Prather is nothing if not determined. With a woman he loves back at home, he relentlessly pursues financial advancement and stability in the everchanging landscape of the "oil patch." Much ofwhat good happens to Lon is the result of his perspective and the way he treats others. He selects the men with whom he'll work and treats others with a good measure of respect and compassion , particularly those dealing with problems greater than his own. He is appeal- 2??8Book Reviews233 ing because he doesn't speak ill of or ignore those shouldering unthinkable burdens , but tries to help his fellow men, in the main, with findingjobs, knowledge, or lasting relationships. The young man's view of the world, once limited to his hometown, family, farm, and church, has expanded through travel, risk, adversity , and pluck. By remaining principled and equitable Lon reinforces the notion that fair and honest dealings will ultimately result in an improved life, rather thanjust continued survival. In a Fevered Land revisits familiar territory. Times of exceptional adversity reveal a person's mettle, which, when tested, illuminates strengths and weaknesses of both body and spirit. Lon Prather would seem old beyond his years except for the fact that prior to October 1929, rural folk seemed better positioned than their urban counterparts perhaps were to comprehend the uncontrollable realities ofweather, scarcity, surplus, the international economy, and health. This presumption permits readers to accept Lon's remarkably prescient view of life. But this is a view...