Exciting Times

There has been a gradual uptick in the number of books and journal articles devoted to the trans-Mississippi. Even the terminology is changing as seen in the December 2016 issue of The Journal of the Civil War Era which is devoted to "The Civil War West." However, these are not articles about the Western Theater. Pekka Hamalainen's article is titled "Reconstructing the Great Plains: The Long Struggle for Sovereignty and Dominance in the Heart of the Continent." Megan Kate Nelson explores "The Civil War from Apache Pass," and Kevin Waite examines "Jefferson Davis and Proslavery Visions of Empire in the Far West." The issue ends with a review essay by Stacey L. Smith, "Beyond North and South: Putting the West in the Civil War and Reconstruction."