Portraits of Basques in the New World

The Basques in this fine book break out of their unfortunate stereotypes and stand before us as a wonderfully mixed and appealing bunch of westerners."" —Elliott West, University of Arkansas

""An amazing and long-overdue book. Western figures I’ve long admired turn out to be Basque. Basques were everywhere, in exploration, agriculture, the arts—we can finally recognize and understand their crucial contributions to the development of the American West."" —Glenda Riley, Ball State University

""This is the place to begin any reading on the subject [of Basques in the New World]."" —Carlos Schwantes, University of Idaho

""A major contribution to Basque studies in the United States, this volume, edited by two historians, Richard Etulain and Jeronima Echeverria, offers a baker’s dozen portraits of Basques in America ranging from the sixteenth-century churchman Juan de Zumárraga and the conquistadore Juan de Oñate to the contemporary novelist, Robert Laxalt, and the Los Angeles businessman, Robert Erburu. Sheepherders, ranchers, and hotelkeepers, plus a politician and a folk-dance teacher also populate these pages. By focusing on strong or colorful personalities, these lively and informative essays illuminate the Basque immigrant experience in ways impossible for studies based on statistical data."" —Frederick C. Luebke, Charles Mach Professor Emeritus of History, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

“. . . These disparate essays maintain a consistently high quality of narrative and scholarship.” —Linda White, Journal of American Ethnic History, Winter 2001