Texas Oil, American Dreams: A Study of the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association (Barker Texas History Center Series)
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.11 (815 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0876111584 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 288 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2014-01-31 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Above all, they kept careful records of their own efforts-when they prevailed and why, and when they met defeat and why. Goodwyn brings into clear relief the people who endeavored to act out the American Dream in the remote corners of "oil country." A driving force in American culture, the "American Dream," always difficult to define, nevertheless possesses one core quality: the thought that all citizens, regardless of the circumstances of their birth, enjoyed the opportunity to make something of themselves through their own efforts.Goodwyn looks at the notion of the American Dream through
. Indeed, the whole relationship of individual enterprise to corporate enterprise becomes uniquely visible in the sources amassed over half a century by the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association. Above all, they kept careful records of their own efforts - when they prevailed and why, and when they met defeat and why. Independents and the majors are found to be abrasively yoked in awkward embrace: what immediately becomes clear for the first time in this intimate study is that the presence of one helps in central ways to define the other. It is surprising to discover early on - even before the outlines of the wildcatter become clear - other vague but seemingly omnipotent actors occupying center stage: major oil companies. From the Back Cover In this intricate narrative, Lawrence Goodwyn has undertaken to penetrate the legend of the wildcatter and brin
A specialist in social movements, he is author of the definitive study of the American Populist movement, Democratic Promise, also published by Oxford.. About the Author: Lawrence Goodwyn is Professor of History at Duke University