- Sign In
- Help
-
My Basket0
Your basket is empty.
The Dallas Myth: The Making and Unmaking of an American City (Paperback)
Harvey J. Graff (author)
£18.99
Paperback
424 Pages /
Published: 09/09/2010
- We can order this
The ninth largest city in the United States, Dallas is exceptional among American cities for the claims of its elites and boosters that it is a "city with no limits" and a "city with no history." Home to the Dallas Cowboys, self-styled as "America's Team," setting for the television series that glamorized its values of self-invention and success, and site of the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Dallas looms disproportionately large in the American imagination. Yet it lacks an identity of its own.
In The Dallas Myth, Harvey J. Graff presents a novel interpretation of a city that has proudly declared its freedom from the past. He scrutinizes the city's origin myth and its governance ideology, known as the "Dallas Way," looking at how these elements have shaped Dallas and served to limit democratic participation and exacerbate inequality. Advancing beyond a traditional historical perspective, Graff proposes an original, integrative understanding of the city's urban fabric and offers an explicit critique of the reactionary political foundations of modern Dallas: its tolerance for right-wing political violence, the endemic racism and xenophobia, and a planning model that privileges growth and monumental architecture at the expense of the environment and social justice.
Revealing the power of myths that have defined the city for so long, Graff presents a new interpretation of Dallas that both deepens our understanding of America's urban landscape and enables its residents to envision a more equitable, humane, and democratic future for all.
In The Dallas Myth, Harvey J. Graff presents a novel interpretation of a city that has proudly declared its freedom from the past. He scrutinizes the city's origin myth and its governance ideology, known as the "Dallas Way," looking at how these elements have shaped Dallas and served to limit democratic participation and exacerbate inequality. Advancing beyond a traditional historical perspective, Graff proposes an original, integrative understanding of the city's urban fabric and offers an explicit critique of the reactionary political foundations of modern Dallas: its tolerance for right-wing political violence, the endemic racism and xenophobia, and a planning model that privileges growth and monumental architecture at the expense of the environment and social justice.
Revealing the power of myths that have defined the city for so long, Graff presents a new interpretation of Dallas that both deepens our understanding of America's urban landscape and enables its residents to envision a more equitable, humane, and democratic future for all.
Publisher: University of Minnesota Press
ISBN: 9780816652709
Number of pages: 424
Weight: 540 g
Dimensions: 229 x 152 x 25 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
"Harvey Graff begins by telling us that living in Dallas challenged all that he knew about cities. This richly-researched and beautifully-written book does the same for the rest of us. Its provocative historical analysis of space, growth, economics, politics, culture, and memory offers an uncommonly lucid account of inequality, segregation, and their denial." -Ira Katznelson, author of When Affirmative Action Was White
"The Dallas Myth is an entertaining and meditative reflection on history and the imagination, written with the clear, grounded intelligence of a leading historian at the top of his game." -Michael Frisch, author of Portraits in Steel
"The Dallas Myth is a terrific book-bold, persuasive, and important. ... It is interesting how Dallas emerges with a personality, almost like a character in a story." -Michael B. Katz
"The Dallas Myth is an entertaining and meditative reflection on history and the imagination, written with the clear, grounded intelligence of a leading historian at the top of his game." -Michael Frisch, author of Portraits in Steel
"The Dallas Myth is a terrific book-bold, persuasive, and important. ... It is interesting how Dallas emerges with a personality, almost like a character in a story." -Michael B. Katz
You may also be interested in...
Added to basket
£9.99
Paperback
Added to basket
£12.99
Paperback
Added to basket
£10.99
Paperback
Added to basket
£14.99
Paperback
Added to basket
£14.99
Paperback
Added to basket
£10.99
Paperback
Added to basket
£10.99
Paperback
Added to basket
£7.99
Paperback
Added to basket
£12.99
Paperback
Added to basket
£9.99
Paperback
Added to basket
£8.99
Paperback
Added to basket
£12.99
Paperback
Added to basket
£8.99
Paperback
Added to basket
£10.99
Paperback
Added to basket
£14.99
Paperback
Added to basket
£16.99
Paperback
Please sign in to write a review
Sign In
Sign In
Click & Collect
Simply reserve online and pay at the counter when you collect.
Available in shop from just two hours, subject to availability.
Thank you for your reservation
Your order is now being processed and we have sent a confirmation email to you at
When will my order be ready to collect?
Following the initial email, you will be contacted by the shop to confirm that your item is available for collection.
Call us on or send us an email at
Unfortunately there has been a problem with your order
Please try again or alternatively you can contact your chosen shop on or send us an email at