Review of Roadside History of Wyoming By Candy Moulton

Authors

Duane A. Smith, Fort Lewis College

Date of this Version

Winter 1998

Citation

Great Plains Quarterly Vol. 18, No. 1, Winter 1998, pp. 68-69.

Comments

Copyright 1998 by the Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Abstract

Wyoming is a large state with a history, geography, and reputation to match. It takes a person with a great deal of vim and vigor to tackle a Roadside History of Wyoming. Third generation Wyoming native, writer, and journalist Candy Moulton took on the task with an enthusiasm and interest that comes out in almost every page of the book.

She covers the whole state, divided into five parts, with a mixture of history, legend, stories, and undoubted appreciation for her beloved Wyoming. The reader will meet a wide cast of individuals who have traveled through or lived there. Such well-known figures as Buffalo Bill, Jim Bridger, Ellen Watson, and Red Cloud as well as bit players, only locally "renowned" share the stage. Over the Oregon Trail, visiting Yellowstone National Park, into coal camps and railroad towns, and onto battlefield sites and cattle ranches, Moulton lets nothing escape her interest or pen.

The book will be of primary use for locals who want to find out more of their history and visitors who want to sample the history and land through which they are traveling. Satisfying all readers with this kind of book is hard. No doubt locals will be both pleased and upset that certain events and people were included or left out. Moulton's Roadside History includes maps, photographs, and drawings that strengthen its appeal.

Candy Moulton, however, could have used a sharper editor. The text rambles along in places without a great deal of focus and jumps back and forth with almost reckless abandon. Also, it occasionally dips into the romantic and antiquarian at the expense of clarity and history per se. The book might have benefitted from better quality maps as well. It is rather hard to locate specific sites on the skimpy ones included here. As well, Moulton does not tie Wyoming into the larger Rocky Mountain scene with any confidence. While the author may have omitted this context intentionally, a little more overall history would have set the scene better for Wyoming.