Western historians continue to seek new ways of understanding the particular mixture of physical territory, human actions, outside influences, and unique expectations that has made the North American West what it is today. This collection of twelve essays tackles the subject of power and place from several angles--Indians and non-Indians, race and gender, environment and economy--to gain insight into major forces at work during two centuries of western history.

The essays, related to one another by their concern with how power is exercised in, over, and by western places, cover a...