Walter Prescott Webb (1888–1963)
Author of The Great Plains
About the Author
A regional historian of imagination and vision, Walter Prescott Webb presented his studies of the frontier, the Great Plains, and his beloved Texas in terms that enhanced the reader's understanding of the entire national experience. Born into a poor East Texas family at a time when the plains were show more succumbing to the pressure of white civilization, he was a true product of his environment and liked to say that he had begun research on his classical study The Great Plains (1931) "when I was four." Trained at the University of Texas, he began teaching there as well in 1918; yet a series of misadventures prevented him from receiving his Ph.D. until 1932. In 1938 he was Harkness lecturer in American history at the University of London and several years later Harmsworth Professor of American history at Oxford University. Although Webb's work excited controversy and sharp criticism in some quarters, it inspired significant new thinking about the role of regionalism and the environment in the nation's history. In his presidential address to the American Historical Association in 1958, Webb spoke of "History as High Adventure," an apt reflection of his lifelong approach to his work. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Texas State Library & Archives Commission.
Works by Walter Prescott Webb
History as High Adventure 4 copies
An honest preface. 1 copy
Associated Works
Three Years Among the Comanches: The Narrative of Nelson Lee, Texas Ranger (1859) — Introduction, some editions — 76 copies, 1 review
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1888-04-03
- Date of death
- 1963-03-08
- Gender
- male
- Occupations
- historian
- Organizations
- American Historical Association (president | 1958)
Members
Reviews
I can't believe it! I'm a multi-generation Texan and I have never read this book, but I am doing so now!
We just got back from a little trip to the Texas Hill Country and I got quite engaged in the story of the rangers and a little Indian skirmish at Bandera Pass where an early ranger captain, John (Jack) Coffee Hays led his rangers. I quote from Webb's chapter on him: "A captain had not only courage, which may be a purely emotional thing, but he had what is better, a complete absence of show more fear. For him fear and courage are unknown; he is not conscious of either. This means that he is free, with every faculty about him, to act in complete accord with his intelligence." show less
We just got back from a little trip to the Texas Hill Country and I got quite engaged in the story of the rangers and a little Indian skirmish at Bandera Pass where an early ranger captain, John (Jack) Coffee Hays led his rangers. I quote from Webb's chapter on him: "A captain had not only courage, which may be a purely emotional thing, but he had what is better, a complete absence of show more fear. For him fear and courage are unknown; he is not conscious of either. This means that he is free, with every faculty about him, to act in complete accord with his intelligence." show less
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- Works
- 25
- Also by
- 2
- Members
- 833
- Popularity
- #30,660
- Rating
- 4.0
- Reviews
- 4
- ISBNs
- 25
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