:''"It's Your Misfortune and None of My Own" is also a Western novel by Stephen Bly ().'' ''"It's Your Misfortune and None of My Own": A New History of the American West'' is a history of the American West. The book's title comes from the lyrics to the traditional cowboy ballad '' Git Along Little Dogies''. The 684 page history was written by Richard White and first published by the

University of Oklahoma Press The University of Oklahoma Press (OU Press) is the publishing arm of the University of Oklahoma. Founded in 1929 by the fifth president of the University of Oklahoma, William Bennett Bizzell, it was the first university press to be established ...

in 1991. It covers the history of the West from the Spanish conquest in the 16th century to the

presidency of Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following a landslide victory over ...

. The book is a notable example of an approach sometimes called the "

New Western History The "new western history" movement emerged among professional historians in the 1980s, a belated manifestation of the 1970s "new social history" movement. The new western historians recast the study of American frontier history by focusing on race, ...

", which tells the story of the American West as the history of all the people in the region rather than the story of the expanding frontier of the United States. White's departure from the traditional interpretation of the American West—embodied in

Frederick Jackson Turner Frederick Jackson Turner (November 14, 1861 – March 14, 1932) was an American historian during the early 20th century, based at the University of Wisconsin until 1910, and then Harvard University. He was known primarily for his frontier thes ...

's influential Frontier Thesis—is reflected in the fact that White never uses the word "frontier" in his book. The book received the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum's ''Western Heritage Award'' for non-fiction books in 1992.

Editions

*Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1991. *Norman: University of Oklahoma Press (paperback reprint edition), 1993.

References

External links

''"It's Your Misfortune and None of My Own"''; University of Oklahoma PressGoogle Books Preview
1991 non-fiction books History books about the American Old West University of Oklahoma Press books {{OldWest-book-stub