The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 90, July 1986 - April, 1987 Page: 105

Book Reviews

sketches of interesting folk associated with the post. The chronological
organization imposes a semblance of structure, but the topics chosen
for individual chapters leave the reader mystified and bemused. In the
early chapters the reader wonders what Prince Carl of Solms-Braun-
fels, Indianola, the Menger Hotel, San Antonio's diversity of churches,
or the Red River campaign have to do with Fort Sam. The author does
not draw the connections. Indeed, he says surprisingly little about his
stated subject.
As to the connection between Fort Sam Houston and the Red River
campaign, it goes (convolutedly) like this: Before General William T.
Sherman arrived in Jacksboro, Tennessee, where he learned that he
had just missed being a victim of the Salt Creek Massacre, which in turn
prompted him to approve the Red River campaign, he had performed
an inspection at Fort Sam Houston. Similar treatment is given to John J.
("Black Jack") Pershing's futile pursuit of Pancho Villa in Chihuahua,
Mexico. The famous personage of Pershing is the focus; the role of
Fort Sam Houston is unstated.
The most interesting chapters, perhaps because they have been re-
hashed less frequently, describe the early army pilot corps and the post-
World War II medical units. Here as elsewhere, however, the research is
shallow. A single source is cited for the chapter on the army pilot corps.
The only manuscript source listed in the bibliography is "Daily Re-
ports, 1878 to 1899" (never cited).
In sum, this book is weak in concept, content, and research. Of most
interest are the photographs.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department WILSON E. DOLMAN
Maps of Texas and the Southwest, 1513-900oo. By James C. Martin and
Robert Sidney Martin. (Albuquerque: The University of New Mex-
ico Press, 1984. Pp. x+174. Introduction, color plates, black and
white plates, bibliography, index. $50.)
Fifty maps spanning four centuries are reproduced in this carto-
graphic study, the outgrowth of research for the traveling exhibit
"Crossroads of Empire." Nine of the maps are in color. The work rep-
resents an extension of the same authors' portfolio, Contours of Discovery
(TSHA, 1982), which contains fourteen of the same maps.
This reviewer finds the book both satisfying and frustrating: satisfy-
ing in the information presented in the fourteen brief essays, in the
notes to the maps, and in the ample demonstration of maps as learning
tools; frustrating in a somewhat fuzzy treatment of the cornerstones of
discovery and exploration. Columbus, for example, did not report dis-
covery of the Gulf of Mexico (p. 3) or probe its waters (p. 17); in fact, he

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