Western Places, American Myths: How We Think About The West

Acknowledgments

The provocation for an anthology on the American West by a group of geographers, launched with a little help from friends in art and history (each of whom, of course, is a closet geographer), originated in the classrooms of the University of Nevada, Reno, during a speaker series on Western geographies in the spring of 1999. The enthusiasm of contributors, colleagues , students, and the general public alike attested to an insatiable demand for things Western and confirmed that a spatial perspective would play well to a diverse and attentive audience. Thanks to the hundreds of avid Westerners who participated in the series. And special thanks to Paul Starrs and Bill Wyckoff, with whom I collaborated on putting the series together. Throughout the project they have continued to offer sage advice, for which I am deeply grateful. The making of any book accrues a great number of debts. For an anthology , the list of debtees is multiplied severalfold. First and foremost, of course, are the authors, all of whom met deadlines, responded expeditiously, and produced useful and interesting insights into aspects of the American West. Other than offering guidelines and providing continuity, I have tried to do as little editing as possible as I saw these essays for the first time and realized that the art of editing is to ask really good writers to contribute and then let them do what they do best. From the beginning we had the support and commitment of the University of Nevada Press and especially its director, Ron Latimer, who attended several lectures in the series and was convinced of the appeal of the project from the first evening when Bill Wyckoff presented his overview of historical geographers and the American West. All the folks at the Press have worked hard to facilitate the process and made my life as editor a great deal easier. We were fortunate that the review process served as a positive influence in the evolution of the book. Three anonymous outside reviewers offered conxiii Acknowledgments xiv | acknowledgments structive and detailed comments and suggestions, which have made the book all that much better. It certainly helped that these three were enthusiastic in their overall support for the project. One of the great joys of exploring topics historical is working with archivists , especially those who are the keepers of our photographic history. For this anthology several authors acknowledge the valuable contributions made by these folks. Here mentioned are the archives they represent. Special thanks to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the British Film Institute, the Colorado Historical Society, the Denver Public Library, the Los Angeles Public Library, the Montana Historical Society, the National Park Service Archive , and the Nevada Historical Society. Of course, the person whose support mattered most is my wife, Marilyn Elise. She could be my most supportive cheerleader and my most constructive critic, often at the same time. W E S T E R N P L A C E S , A M E R I C A N M Y T H S ...