To Survive and Excel: The Story of Southwestern University, 1840–2000 by William B. Jones (review)

and lieutenant governor no one in either party wanted to cross him. One joke was that his tongue should have been registered as a concealed weapon. The authors point out that Bullock abandoned his Democratic partisanship upon dealing with the larger GOP presence in the Senate, 1995–1999, and upon meeting George W. Bush, who began serving as governor in 1995. Although he touted Bush for the presidency, the authors are probably right in surmising that Bullock would not have supported tax cuts in the face of huge deficits or Tom DeLay’s hyper-partisan congressional redistricting. Professional historians, researching the office files and correspondence generated by the three statewide offices that Bullock held, as well as the papers of governors , state senators, and others, such as Ben Barnes, will eventually take on this same subject. Possibly, after more time has elapsed, they will place Bullock in some context that escapes these authors, but they will have to start with this book. University of Texas at Arlington George N. Green To Survive and Excel: The Story of Southwestern University, 1840–2000. By William B. Jones. (Georgetown, Tex.: Southwestern University, 2006. Pp. 636. Illustrations, notes, index, ISBN 0-967-0-9124-1. Special order, cloth.) Southwestern University at Georgetown traces its historical origin from the founding of Rutersville College in 1840. A Methodist institution, Southwestern came into being in 1875 when several smaller colleges of that denomination blended their charters into a single, larger university that has continued to operate at Georgetown to the present day. This book, written by a longtime member of the university’s history department, is an encyclopedic and very detailed history of the institution from its founding through the various eras of its historical existence to the year 2000. This volume provides a well-balanced and comprehensive overview of the school’s history that affords a highly focused administrative , academic, and social history of the institution. The author has paid particular attention to highlighting the considerable number of individuals who have helped create and sustain the school. In so doing, he gives a complete exposition of important Texas educators whose contributions transcended the university as they made their mark on higher education in general, including Martin Ruter, Robert Hyer, O. A. Ullrich, and a considerable number of faculty, staff, and former students, including the current president, who is an alumnus. The book also provides a comprehensive catalog of student life, campus occurrences, the growth of the physical plant, and a recounting of many events that occurred at the university over the decades. The reader will have an opportunity to gage the many changes that the school has experienced, from its initial existence as a frontier denominational college to its current status as an internationally known private liberal arts college. The richness of detail found in the volume has been made possible by a considerable amount of research conducted by the author in the records of the university, all of which he has examined with meticulous care. As is the case with many such sponsored projects, university histories written by in-house authors have a tendency to emphasize institutional strengths and high2009 Book Reviews 357 *jan 09 11/26/08 12:00 PM Page 357 light the successes that the school has experienced. This volume adopts such a narrative tone throughout, but at the same time it also honestly and forthrightly analyzes the difficulties and rough spots that the university has experienced over time. It is heartening to know that those who today lead Southwestern University show great pride in the school’s historical heritage by sponsoring this publication , even to the point of offering a copy of this volume free of charge to all Southwestern University alumni. Those affiliated with the university will find much within the pages of this volume to reinforce their pride and satisfaction with the school, while those readers who are making first contact with the university by means of this volume will have a detailed exposure to the history of the school, which has played a significant role in the history of Texas education from the 1840s until the present day. Austin College Light Townsend Cummins Memories of the Branch Davidians...