Hell of a Vision: Regionalism and the Modern American West

272 Pages·2012·1.772 MB·English

by  Robert L. Dorman

hell of a vision
The Modern American West
Richard W. Etulain and David M. Wrobel, Editors
Carl Abbott
The Metropolitan Frontier: Cities in the Modern American West
Richard W. Etulain
Re-imagining the Modern American West: A Century of Fiction, History,
and Art
Gerald D. Nash
The Federal Landscape: An Economic History of the Twentieth-Century
West
Ferenc Morton Szasz
Religion in the Modern American West
Oscar J. Martínez
Mexican-Origin People in the United States: A Topical History
Duane A. Smith
Rocky Mountain Heartland: Colorado, Montana, and Wyoming in the
Twentieth Century
William G. Robbins and Katrine Barber
Nature’s Northwest: The North Pacific Slope in the Twentieth Century
R. Douglas Hurt
The Big Empty: The Great Plains in the Twentieth Century
Robert L. Dorman
Hell of a Vision: Regionalism and the Modern American West
Hell of a Vision
Regionalism and the
Modern American West
robert l. dorman
© 2012 The Arizona Board of Regents
All rights reserved
www.uapress.arizona.edu
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Dorman, Robert L.
Hell of a vision : regionalism and the modern American West / Robert L. Dorman.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8165-2850-9 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Regionalism—West (U.S.) 2. West
(U.S.)—Historical geography. 3. Human geography—West (U.S.) 4. West (U.S.)—
Civilization. 5. West (U.S.)—History. I. Title.
F591.D67 2012
978—dc23 2011051823
Manufactured in the United States of America on acid-free, archival-quality paper
containing a minimum of 30% postconsumer waste and processed chlorine free.
17 16 15 14 13 12 6 5 4 3 2 1
In memory of
John L. “Jack” Thomas

Contents
List of Figures ix
Preface xi
Introduction: The Regionalist Gaze 1
1 Back-Trailing 17
2 Walking 44
3 Roll On, Columbia (Valley Authority) 76
4 Super-America 104
5 Quiet Revolution, Angry West 135
6 Hell of a Vision 166
Conclusion: Hope 195
Notes 203
Bibliography 217
Index 239

Figures
1. Powell’s regionalist gaze 5
2. Mead’s closer settlement plan, featuring a community center
with swimming pool and tennis court 26
3. Native American subregional diversity 70
4. The West as America’s disaster zone 77
5. The West as Super-America 109
6. Indian country 121
7. Making a case for western regionalism 142
8. Legitimizing regional government through direct elections 164
9. Western regional wildlands networks showing wildlife
movement linkages 187
ix