Tucson: A History of the Old Pueblo from the 1854 Gadsden Purchase. By David Devine

Abstract

Tucson: A History of the Old Pueblo from the 1854 Gadsden Purchase . By David Devine. (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2015. vii + 298 pp. Illustrations, maps, charts, notes, bibliography, index. $39.95, paper.) As the old cliche admonishes, the devil is in the details. David Devine has taken that saying to heart as he meticulously details the history of Tucson, Arizona, since it became part of the United States in the mid-nineteenth century. Devine argues that boosters’ attempts to promote the city at the expense of the Old Pueblo’s “identity, history, traditions, and cultures” were misguided, but city officials succeeded in making Tucson the second-largest city in Arizona despite their ineptitude (p. 2). Most importantly, Devine contends that the ultimate result of this success is a city riven by inequality. The book, while interesting and well written, is at times …