{"product_id":"geographic-personas-blake-allmendinger-9781496225061","title":"Geographic Personas: Self-Transformation and Performance in the American West","description":"During the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, as the American West underwent a series of transformations, certain pivotal figures also undertook a process of self-transformation. \u003ci\u003eGeographic Personas\u003c\/i\u003e reveals a practice of public performance, impersonation, deception, and fraud, exposing the secret lives of men and women who capitalized on changes occurring in the region. These changes affected the arts; land ownership; scientific exploration; definitions of race, gender, and sexual orientation; and relations between the United States and other countries throughout the world. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In addition to well-known figures such as Clarence King and Willa Cather, \u003ci\u003eGeographic Personas\u003c\/i\u003e examines lesser-known players in the performative process of westward expansion, including Isadora Duncan, the founder of modern American dance; Polish actress Helena Modjeska; Adolf Hitler's favorite author, Karl May; Japanese poet Yone Noguchi; Sylvester Long, a mixed-race star of Native American silent films whose mother was born into slavery; and the perpetrator of the greatest land grant hoax in U.S. history. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e While scholars have written about the environmental, demographic, and economic changes that occurred in the West during the nineteenth century, Allmendinger adds a crucial piece to this dialogue. He brings to light the experiences of artists, dancers, film stars, con men, and criminals in stories of self-transformation that are often sad, tragic, and poignant. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Blake Allmendinger\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1496225066\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781496225061\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Nebraska Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/01\/2021\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 228\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.11lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.63d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/01\/2022","brand":"Blake Allmendinger","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":43993496453375,"sku":"9781496225061","price":55.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_408f705c-5222-4fd4-a600-5d4918d3adfc.jpg?v=1683324661","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/geographic-personas-blake-allmendinger-9781496225061","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}