Both Sides Now: Writing the Edges of the American West by Sheila McManus

Abstract

Reviewed by: Both Sides Now: Writing the Edges of the American West by Sheila McManus David C. Beyreis Both Sides Now: Writing the Edges of the American West. By Sheila McManus. (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2022. Pp. 204. Illustrations, notes, bibliography, index.) Borderlands are complicated. Rather than places where a country's power to regulate commerce and dictate national loyalties are ascendant, these territories are often sites of political contestation, economic integration, and grass-roots identity formation. Sheila McManus calls on historians to develop a more nuanced comparative framework for borderlands studies. Part of this task involves rectifying an imbalance in historiography prioritizing the U.S.–Mexico borderlands. Another element of the author's call to action is to search for patterns and dissimilarities in the processes of borderlands formation—what is true for the southern border is not necessarily true for the northern border and vice versa. In laying out a clear set of themes for investigation, pointing out analytical shortcomings, and providing commentary on underdeveloped topics, the author has produced an extraordinarily useful primer for students of borderlands history. To bring clarity to this complex topic, McManus identifies five themes that unite borderlands literature. First, she addresses borderlands as Indigenous spaces, particularly as sites of Native political dominance, trade, and diplomacy. McManus stresses the role of women as laborers and kinfolk and calls for increased attention to their roles as diplomats and peacemakers. Second, borderlands are places where nation-states attempt to create static identities for their citizens. Although governments often view borders as places where national identities are clear and unchanging, the reality is far more complex. The author points out that borderlanders themselves often make choices about loyalty and identity at a grassroots level, in decisions that challenge national, exclusivist binaries. Third, borderlands are often violent places where national law enforcement agencies and military forces attempt to "secure" the region by restricting and regulating the movement of people and goods. Fourth, the author contends that borderlands are capitalist landscapes whose function is often at odds with the nation-states' attempts to make borders hard dividing lines. [End Page 584] Mining, ranching, manufacturing, and farming have traditionally relied on the easy cross-border movement of capital and labor. In this sense, capitalism works at cross purposes with the forces seeking to stabilize borderland regions. Finally, borderlands are places where people engage in grassroots processes of identify formation, like blending, choosing, and becoming, that often challenge state directives and aspirations. McManus also points out notable gaps and disparities in borderlands literature. The author laments a historiographical imbalance between the massive list of works on the U.S.–Mexico borderlands and the much smaller body of literature on the U.S.–Canada borderlands. The robust literature of the Texas–Mexico borderlands contributes to this disparity. That said, works on Texas by historians like Juliana Barr, George T. Díaz, Monica Perales, Raúl A. Ramos, and Andrés Reséndez provide model studies of the region. Another gap McManus identifies is a relative paucity of gender history. Women are often overlooked and under analyzed. Curiously, the author largely overlooks environmental history as another avenue of comparative analysis. Sheila McManus has done a marvelous job pulling together, analyzing, and comparing a vast range of secondary borderlands material. Her clarity in identifying historiographical themes brings order from chaos. Her call to action, for more work on gender and the U.S.–Canada borderlands, could stimulate work in these fields and bring more regional parity. Both Sides Now should be required reading in graduate seminars and will undoubtedly become a standard reference work in North American borderlands studies. This book is a superb introduction to an endlessly fascinating, complex, and important topic. David C. Beyreis Saint Mary's School (Raleigh, North Carolina) Copyright © 2022 The Texas State Historical Association