Book Notices

Dynamics of Southwest Prehistory. Edited

by LINDA S CORDELL and GEORGE J GUMERMAN (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonia n Institutio n Press, 1989. xxii + 395 pp . Paper, $19.95.)

This volume is the soft-cover edition of an edited volume first published by the Smithsonian five years ago It is the result of an advanced seminar of the same nam e held at the School of American Research in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1983 and, by now, papers that were intended to be cutting-edge science are nearly eleven years old and somewhat out-of-date Fortunately, the eleven papers, which focus on the prehistoric peoples known as the Anasazi, Mogollon, and Hohokom, still provide useful summaries of southwestern prehistory from about A.D. 500 to AD . 1500.

Unfortunately, the volume suffers from two major defects Th e first is that the theoretical orientation employed by most of these authors—systems theory—is on e that has been virtually abandone d by most archaeological anthropologists du e to its limited explanatory potential Th e second is that it is limited in scope. Apparently, the people who lived in the Southwest for thousands of years before the Anasazi or the Numic and Athabascan peoples who lived there after them, were no t dynamic enough to be included in a volume on southwestern prehistory. These defects make the volume useful only as a supplement to more comprehensive works on the Southwest.

A Flood Cannot Happen Here: The Story of Lower Goose Creek Reservoir, Oakley, Idaho, 1984.

By KATHLEEN HEDBERG (Burley, Idaho: Magic Valley Publishers, 1993. vi + 298 pp . Paper, $15.95.)

The residents of Cassia County in south central Idaho never expected to see thei r towns an d farmland s flooded; drought was their frequent worry. Only once since it was built in 1910 ha d they seen the Lower Goose Creek Reservoir fill to its 74,500 acre feet capacity Over the years the creek bed below the da m was filled in an d farmed. Farther downstream Burley developed as a regional center The n the unusually heavy winter of 1983-84 threatened farms, homes, and businesses.

Using journals, notes, letters, reports, interviews, and newspaper accounts, the author weaves a gripping day-by-day account of the heroic attempt to avert disaster Hundred s of volunteers cooperated with church leaders an d local, state, an d federal officials an d agencies to build an eighteen-mile canal to Murtaugh Lake in four days and a twenty-four-mile canal from Oakley to Burley and the Snake River in three days. Although these amazing feats helped to minimize flood damage, saving millions of dollars, they also engendered some hard feelings from farmers whose land was sacrificed for the community good But community good and good communities are what this dramatic story is all about.

The author, Kathleen Hedberg, a native of Burley, Idaho, is th e co-author of a high school textbook, People and Civilization: A World History, published in 1977 by Ginn and Company. She received he r bachelor's an d doctor's degrees from Brigham Young University and her master's from Indiana University

Hang Tough! Grant Sawyer: An Activist in the Governor's Mansion.

By GARY E ELLIOTT and R T KING (Reno: University of Nevada Oral History Program, 1993. xxiv + 256 pp . $21.95.)

Governor of Nevada from 1959 to 1966, Grant Sawyer, an advocate of progressive reform, often found himself at odds with powerful political constituencies in th e state, particularly over civil rights and greater regulatory control of casino gambling.

The book is "an effort to make the fruits of oral history methodology coherent an d accessible Composed to read as a first-person account by Grant Sawyer, it is my [King's] narrative treatment of the record that Sawyer an d [interviewer Gary] Elliott created." The interviews were conducted during a nine-month period in 1991 an d produced over twelve hundred transcript pages King carefully explains the methodology behind his transformation of these interviews into readable text. His efforts have provided an engaging look at Nevada politics Readers will find Sawyer's forthright comments about the key issues an d political figures of his time refreshing.

Between the Cottonwoods: Murray City in Transition

By G WESLEY JOHNSON an d DAVID L SCHIRER (Murray, Ut.: Corporation of the City of Murray, 1992 x + pp Paper, $10.00.)

Over time Murray, Utah, has evolved from a pioneer agricultural community to an industrial center with large smelters employing many foreign-born workers to a suburb of Salt Lake City with lovely parks and active arts programs as well as a major shopping mall, a major hospital, and a significant retail automobile business Officials of Murray decided to mark the ninetieth anniversary of their town's incorporation (November 25, 1992) by commissioning a history that analyzes these transitions.

Th e co-authors were well suited to the assignment. Johnso n is a professor of history at Brigham Young University, and Schirer wrote his master's thesis o n the industrial period in Murray They have made effective use of city records and numerous interviews.