"Hogan's book is recommended reading, because his economic/political approach to the classification of frontier communities is unique and workable, and his Colorado examples are colorful. He has given readers a fine social history that can be used as a case study for research in other areas of the West."--Journal of the West "This is a fine book in which the author offers a model of community development aimed at transcending the conflict and consensus dichotomy that has informed historical studies of community since the 1950s."--Western Historical Quarterly "A model of how to use local social history to address important theoretical issues. For anyone interested in local social history, the American frontier, class formation, or class politics, this book is well worth reading."--Contemporary Sociology "Not only is this book a fine piece of historical sociology, but it also offers a number of insights into more contemporary processes of change. Anyone with an interest in frontier or Colorado history will find this book satisfying reading."--American Journal of Sociology "Hogan's study deserves the serious consideration of every student and scholar of the later American frontier.

[His] interpretations are both interesting and enlightening."--Choice "A significant contribution to historical sociology that shows how economic/class relations within frontier communities determined the shape of the political system."--Scott McNall, author of The Road to Rebellion: Class Formation and Kansas Populism, 1865-1900 "Hogan has successfully rooted his analysis in the actual experience of frontier Colorado and shows a sensitivity to the nuance of the historical record that is often missing from retrospective testing of social science theory."--Carl Abbott, author of Colorado: A History of the Centennial State and Boosters and Businessmen.