Tracing events from the pre-history to the present day, this book offers a concise and accessible history of the American West. * Explores the complex interactions between and among cultures in the American West * Chronologically organized and informed by the latest scholarship * Grounded in attention to race, class, gender, and the environment, the text focuses on social, economic, and political forces that shaped the lived experiences of diverse westerners and influenced the patterns of western history.