Montana: A history of two centuries

by Michael P. Malone

Montana: A History Of Two Centuries first appeared in 1976 and immediately became the standard work in its field. Fully twenty percent of the text is new or revised, incorporating the results of new research and new interpretations dealing with pre-history, Native American studies, oral history, and recent political history. In addition, the bibliography has been updated and greatly expanded, new maps have been drawn, and new photographs have been selected.

Genres: History

352 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1976

Reviews

[Greg Strandberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book that really encapsulates the history of Montana in one easy to read volume.

Like most Montana history books, this one only goes up to around the 1950s before becoming a bit thin on content. It more than makes up for that with great accounts of the earlier history.

You'll get a lot of political news, especially on how Montana made the transition from a territory to a state. The gold rushes of the 1860s are documented well, as is the harsh winter of 1887-8.

Overall a good read that anyone living in the state should read, and anyone thinking of visiting would get some good information from.
Read 1: July, 2004.

Read 2

I stayed up late tonight reading on the years 1930 to 1990. The book really ends on a bummer, a real down note. It goes into the depressing economic decisions of the 1980s, specifically our decision to rollback the coal severance tax while seeing our income from extraction taxes fall at the same time.

It really is depressing, and you really also get the seismic swings that happened politically. I think you need to make a line chart with politicians and economic forces and see how they rose and fell together.

Lots of great facts just in the last 50 pages on economics and politics. Someone should summarize that and give it to the 2015 Montana legislators...they could use it!

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a newer resident of Montana, I wanted to learn more about the state and its history. It is really quite interesting. I feel like I understand this state and the people who live here better, which was the goal. I recommend this book to any other newcomers. Additionally, it was well written and not hard to understand.

[Dave Carlson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent, highly consumable, and relatively succinct history of Montana from pre-history to 1991.

It is broken up into 15 chapters which are all around 25 pages that give a solid overview of the origins, creation, and struggles faced by the state.

For anyone desiring a reasonably comprehensive understanding of Montana history, this is the book.

[David Stine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of information. Reads like a text book, which isn't all bad. Covers pretty much all aspects of the Treasure state.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

A survey of Montana history. Anyone interested in Montana history could use this as a primer to whet their appetite for further study on specific parts of Montana history. Good summary of the mining/vigilante years, the rise of Butte and Anaconda, the Montana dustbowl years, the Great Depression years. The interaction between the Tribes and settlers and the various (government and non-government) actions taken to move the tribes to reservations is given attention.

The shifting political tides and divides between liberal and conservative make for interesting history. Senator Wheeler is a giant of Montana history.

The last part of the book, history of Montana after WW-II, loses focus and the authors seem to resort to presenting dates and facts intermixed with the opinions. I realize that it may be a difficult task to interpret recent history. I thought they could have discussed Senator Mansfield more.