"Webb's The Great Plains is worth reading and contemplating. Andrew R. Graybill, director of the William P. Clements Center for Southwestern Studies at Southern Methodist University, provides an insightful introduction to this second edition. . . . The Great Plains remains essential reading for any historian of the region and the American West. Students and scholars who ignore it do so at their own intellectual peril."—R. Douglas Hurt, H-Environment
"The Great Plains is not simply a celebration of settlers overcoming obstacles, but also a rendering of the devil's bargains that went into establishing only partial and often impermanent solutions amid relentless aridity. Readers can choose to find the humility in that kind of history, and the lessons that come with it have only grown more relevant with time."—Mark Boxell, Nebraska History
“Walter Webb’s The Great Plains wrenched our understanding of the West—and through that, of American history—onto a strikingly new course. Engaging and fluently written, it remains largely as pertinent today as when it appeared nearly a century ago. Andrew Graybill’s smart and balanced introduction is the ideal guide to how we can begin to learn from both the insights and the flaws of this American classic.”—Elliott West, Alumni Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Arkansas
