Cities of the Plain - Cormac McCarthy

Third of the Border Trilogy and the end of the story of John Grady Cole and Billy Parnham. Back and forth across the border of Mexico as a way of life is disappearing. Great scenes chasing dogs along canyon rims, horses in the barn at night, and the lingering of Billy.

Nixonland - Rick Perlstein

 Perlstein convincingly argues that the 1960s, so often treated as the period when the counter-culture exploded and America was transformed, is better understood as a period of backlash and division. How, Perlstein asks, did American go from electing Democrat Lyndon Johnson by an overwhelming margin in 1964 to giving Richard Nixon a reelection landslide in 1972? The answer he provides is that during this period America was riven by generational, political, economic, security, and class conflicts that created political divisions that persist. Into this period of uncertainty and insecurity stepped the master political manipulator - Richard Nixon.

Perlstein's argument is really that conservative backlash, more than liberal or progressive transformation, is the more complete and accurate way to account for American politics in the latter-half of the twentieth century. Given that the divides he examines feel entirely relevant and contemporary (even though the book was written more than 15 years ago) is testament to his argument. I was thoroughly convinced. This, in combination with Perlstein's highly-readable prose makes this a great work of social and political history.

Frontiers - Noel Mostert

 Mostert interprets South African history as pivoting on the events collectively known as the Frontier Wars along the eastern boundary of the Cape Colony in the early to mid-nineteenth century. As a contribution to the historiography of (de)colonialism, Mostert's detail reveals that the subjugation of South Africa by the British empire was not a fait accompli. Along the frontier at the Kei River and Zuurveld, the Xhosa people were caught between the hammer of the British and anvil of the Zulu. Within this tenuous zone were also Boers, missionaries, traders, settlers, and fluctuating political alliances among and between all players that did not remain static.

Invasion may at least partially describe what the Xhosa experienced. While they, as well as the Khoe-San and Zulu, had long inhabited the region, when Europeans arrived they enforced their rules and norms. Yet, one of the chief political difficulties was that powerful Europeans, such as military men and governors, frequently did not stick around for very long. This, in combination with the dynamic political winds back in London, meant that colonial policies seemingly changed from year to year. Cattle raiding could be tolerated and then punished, with little forewarning. One of the interesting aspects is Mostert's implicit contention that by the time of the millenaria predictions in the 1850s, the Xhosa world had already been transformed beyond recognition.

This is a useful reference for understanding the forge of South African hitory and the ways in which the Cape encapsulated much of mid-nineteenth century globalization. It pulses with interesting characters and is a careful work of compelling scholarship.