Synopses & Reviews
Review
"Mr. Barth, a professor of history, has here examined the early years of both San Francisco and Denver. They are called instant cities because of their rapid and permanent growth, a pattern which has rarely occurred in other urban centers. One would suppose that such a chronicle would be full of the excitement of change, but Mr. Barth's calm appraisals reduce his history to an unexampled calmness as well. And certainly the lack of any illustrations at all, with the exception of two small maps, adds to the unruffled tenor of the text." Reviewed by Daniel Weiss, Virginia Quarterly Review (Copyright 2006 Virginia Quarterly Review)