""While there have been many published accounts of a woman's life in the West, rarely if ever have they been executed by such a literate scribe.""

By 1909, the completion of the Garland Canal brought water to the arid lands in the central Bighorn Basin, transforming the high plains desert into irrigated farmland. Homesteaders and businessmen poured into the region and established the town of Powell, named after famed government explorer John Wesley Powell. Residents of Powell worked through the years to overcome a variety of obstacles and establish a vibrant and lasting community that would continue to bloom in the arid landscape.

An anthology of essays about 20th-century women living in the western U.S., showing that the image of the pioneer woman has been replaced not with another dominant one, but with many.

A vivid account of the prehistory and history of Denver as revealed in its archaeological record, Denver: An Archaeological History invites us to imagine Denver as it once was. Around 12,000 B.C., groups of leather-clad Paleoindians passed through the juncture of the South Platte River and Cherry Creek, following the herds of mammoth or buffalo they hunted. In the Archaic period, people rested under the shade of trees along the riverbanks, with baskets full of plums as they waited for rabbits to be caught in their nearby snares. In the early Ceramic period, a group of mourners adorned with yellow pigment on their faces and beads of eagle bone followed Cherry Creek to the South Platte to attend a funeral at a neighboring village. And in 1858, the area was populated by the crude cottonwood log shacks with dirt floors and glassless windows, the homes of Denver's first inhabitants. For at least 10,000 years, Greater Denver has been a collection of diverse lifeways and survival strategies, a crossroads of interaction, and a locus of cultural coexistence. Setting the scene with detailed descriptions of the natural environment, summaries of prehistoric sites, and archaeologists' knowledge of Denver's early inhabitants, Nelson and her colleagues bring the region's history to life. From prehistory to the present, this is a compelling narrative of Denver's cultural heritage that will fascinate lay readers, amateur archaeologists, professional archaeologists, and academic historians alike.

In this richly insightful survey that represents the culmination of decades of research, a leading western specialist argues that the unique history of the American West did not end in the year 1900, as is commonly assumed, but was shaped as much--if not more--by events and innovations in the twentieth century. Earl Pomeroy gathers copious information on economic, political, social, intellectual, and business issues, thoughtfully evaluates it, and draws a new and more nuanced portrait of the West than has ever been depicted before. Pomeroy mines extensive published and unpublished sources to show how the post-1900 West charted a path that was influenced by, but separate from, the rest of the country and the world. He deals not only with the West's transition from an agricultural to an urban region but also with the important contributions of minority racial and ethnic groups and women in that transformation. Pomeroy describes a modern West--increasingly urban, transnational, and multicultural--that has overcome much of the isolation that challenged it at an earlier time. His final book is nothing short of the definitive source on that West.

"Terrible torture" or "the nicest sensation I've ever had"? : conflicting perceptions of labor in U.S. history -- Ether and chloroform : the question of necessity, 1840s through 1890s -- Twilight sleep : the question of professional respect, 1890s through 1930s -- Developing the obstetric anesthesia arsenal : the question of safety, 1900 through 1960s -- Giving birth to the baby boomers : the question of convenience, 1940s through 1960s -- Natural childbirth and birth reform : the question of authority, 1950s through 1980s -- Epidural anesthesia and cesarean section : the question of choice, 1970s to the present.