Awkward State of Utah

Charles S. ""Chas"" Peterson is Professor Emeritus of History at Utah State University, USA. His publications include Take Up Your Mission: Mormon Colonizing along the Little Colorado River, 1870–1900 and Utah: A Bicentennial History.Brian Q. Cannon is a professor of history and director of the Charles Redd Center for Western Studies at Brigham Young University, USA. He is the author of numerous books, including Reopening the Frontier: Homesteading in the Modern West, and coeditor, with Jessie L. Embry, of Utah in the Twentieth Century and Immigrants in the Far West: Historical Identities and Experiences (University of Utah Press, 2015).

“What a wonderful example of how history should be written! It is engaging, warm, and colorful.”—Stanford J. Layton, author of To No Privileged Class: The Rationalization of Homesteadingand Rural Life in the Early Twentieth Century“This study represents not only a sound narrative, but puts forth excellent analysis and synthesis. A solid, positive, and needed contribution to Utah history.”—Philip F. Notarianni, former director of Utah State History; author of Carbon County: Eastern Utah’s Industrialized Island  “A thorough, intelligent, and readable survey of Utah history.”—Association for Mormon Letters "The authors write in a concise and engaging manner that leaves readers with a clear sense of what life was like during the days of mass industrialization, flappers and distilleries. History buffs searching for a comprehensive and intriguing summary of Utah's early days following statehood should look no further than The Awkward State of Utah. It is sure to both educate and entertain."—Deseret News  “Entertaining, informative, and highly accessible. …In scope and depth of Utah histories, [this book] stands alone. It offers a synthesis of hundreds of other works, illuminating a vital half-century in the state’s development. Anyone interested in Utah’s history will find it informative and enjoyable, including students, researchers, and the public at large.”—Utah Historical Quarterly“Charles Peterson and Brian Cannon have written a comprehensive, well-researched history, and a very readable volume of Utah’s past from its beginning days in the decade of the 1890s and statehood to the end of World War II.… This well written history is appropriate for general reading as well as pointing to links for further exploration.”—Western Historical Quarterly“The authors look in detail at thou­sands of ordinary people whose lives spanned this era. The information they gleaned from many oral histories adds life and personality to the book. . . . The writ­ing style is clear and simple, making this book an understandable and enjoy­able read for all.” —BYU Studies Quarterly “From a research base consisting of relevant archival materials, as well as a plethora of printed primary and secondary sources, the authors present their findings via a solid narrative. Their scope is extensive, to state the least, as they approach political, social, and economic matters from a variety of vantage points. Students of Utah and the American West, as well as political, economic, and environmental historians, will undoubtedly find much that is useful.”—New Mexico Historical Review