Review by Choice Review
Madison has succeeded as have few other authors of state histories in blending modern scholarly concerns with the traditional narrative historiography of his state. This book is in many ways a model state history. Regrettably, it also shares many of the flaws of the genre. For instance, the book offers little guidance to the physical or political geography of the state. A few descriptive words, e.g., ``Boone County in the central plain,'' or ``industrial Lake County on the Michigan shore,'' would both orient and inform the reader. An outsider would have hoped for somewhat fuller analysis of two of Indiana's distinctions: the brief dominance of state politics by the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s and the basketball mania endemic in the state for most of this century. Neither phenomenon receives more than descriptive treatment. Nonetheless, the book, with its evenhanded distribution of attention in both chronological and topical matters and its ample references to the literature, makes an admirable introduction to Indiana history for the student or the scholar.-R.W. McCluggage, Loyola University of Chicago
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
