The San Francisco that rose from the ashes of the 1906 earthquake and fire was a city of rigid social stratification-a city determined to contain its diverse and disorderly rough-and-tumble past some sixty years after its acquisition by the United States.Barbara Berglund vividly describes San Francisco's rapid evolution from Mexican outpost to crown jewel of America's western empire; taking readers back to an earlier and more chaotic time when class definitions and social conventions were much more fluid. Berglund argues that the city's rapid rise from a multicultural boomtown to a racially and socially stratified metropolis reflected the careful efforts of a nascent elite to order its inhabitants through political and cultural means.Berglund analyzes the cultural spaces that showcased the contests that would determine the social order and who defined it. The book's central chapters provide snapshots of the micro-workings of power on five key cultural frontiers: restaurants; hotels; and boardinghouses; places of amusement; ranging from the brothels of the Barbary Coast to the Pacific Museum of Anatomy and Science; Chinatown's tourist terrain; the Mechanics' Institute's annual fairs; and the 1894 California Midwinter International Exposition—the first such expo held west of Chicago and an image-building opportunity for the city's elites.By focusing on the role of cultural frontiers in the urban west; Berglund offers a new take on western history that explores the role of market-driven cultural institutions; demonstrating that the market was as important as the state in structuring power relationships in nineteenth-century imperial America. She shows that control over meanings ascribed to race; class; and gender—especially those generated in the city's cultural spaces—was critical to the incorporation of San Francisco into the fabric of the American nation.
#553931 in Books University Press of Kansas 2003-06-30Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x 1.29 x 6.12l; 1.57 #File Name: 0700612408522 pagesISBN13: 9780700612406Condition: NewNotes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Review
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful. How low and slow do you have to fly?By reader6The ideal aircraft in a counter insurgency war has to be able to fly low and slow enough to detect the insurgents and terrorists. But also have the ability to stay over the target long enough to direct firepower on them; if not fire upon them. While being able to carry the ordnance and have the speed to avoid being hit by ground fire. Does this require several types of aircraft; or is there one that can do it all?Airpower in Small Wars presents over nine examples of small wars by giving the background of each particular conflict or the origins of each insurgency. The US Marine Corps is credited in the introduction and following chapter; with having greater interest and experience in employing aircraft against insurgencies. While the US Army Air Corps (later to become the USAF) focused on strategic use of airpower. The USMC still emphasizes aviation in its support of ground units with its close-air support doctrine. (Combined Arms Operations).From the conflicts presented in the book; high performance jet aircraft are not particularly a benefit in the Counter Insurgency or Anti-Terrorist campaigns. And helicopters; though very useful are sussceptible to ground fire and Shoulder fired surface to air missles and Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs).The book also shows the interaction between the US and assisted countries with regard to supplying aircraft; supplies and training in relation to US foreign affairs policies.Though recent US operations in Afghanistan and Iraq are not covered. The examples presented provide you a frame work to understand the current and past air operations in both countries. The peacekeeping mission in Somalia was not also featured but this is well documented in other books and a smilar analysis frame work can be applied.It is the hope of the authors that this book may serve "to inspire other writers to take any one of the case studies as a starting point to more fully examine airpower in a specific conflict in much greater depth; then they will consider their book to be a very positive contribution to military and airpower history."3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. 'Doesn't matter what you fly...this is a Primer for Airpower TodayBy 99 Golf DeltaSix years ago;when my peers and I were still largely focused on state-vs-state conflict; authors Corum and Johnson produced this superb text. It provides a solid historical context for airpower employment demanded by present and future US national security requirements. The reader will quickly note that the book is not filled with gripping tales of air combat - and this is hardly coincidental. The great value of this work is instructional rather than entertaining. Yet; as a career military aviator; I found the text highly readable as well as illuminating. I strongly recommend this book as a must-have "101" course for aviation and intelligence professionals from all services; particularly my own(USAF).8 of 9 people found the following review helpful. Long on small wars; short on airpowerBy CustomerThis was well researched; but despite the title; it did not focus nearly enough on airpower. I also agree with Mr. Cappelli's assessment in his review. There is; however; some knowledge to be gained from the book; as the reader is able to examine some small wars side by side and see which aspects of airpower have consistently worked and which have not. The biggest drawback is the amount of material one has to wade through in order to find the bits where airpower is discussed.To the authors' credit; the chapter summaries are good; and their conclusions covered in the final chapter are on the mark.
