Idaho: A Bicentennial History

Idaho is a state that, historically, has had a hard time being one. Once the scene of Indian wars and labor conflicts, Idaho now seems likely to be a major battleground between those who want to develop its resources and those who want to preserve the landscape unspoiled. The national importance of Idaho in that conflict is central to Ross Peterson’s story, making this book of interest to all Americans. Considerations more political than practical left Idaho strange in shape—like a pregnant capital L, as one observer said. With the state’s southeastern residents oriented toward Salt Lake City, Utah, and residents of the Idaho panhandle oriented toward Spokane, Washington, often it has seemed that only the capital at Boise and the Snake River system have held the state together. More than half of Idaho is owned by an outsider—the federal government—and the rest has never been densely populated. From Lewis and Clark on, early travelers to the region found its deserts and mountains forbiddingly inhospitable. But the mountains have yielded timber and rich mineral mines. The deserts have become productive farms through reclamation and irrigation projects of enormous magnitude. A kind of “irrigation democracy” also has won attention for the state beyond its borders, as has the awe-inspiring beauty that makes Idaho an attractive place to live.