Scott Cook is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Connecticut.
Handmade Brick for Texas is a must-read for historical
archaeologists in Texas. It brings an important historical
perspective to material culture studies. Handmade bricks are often
viewed as a class of material culture that has limited
interpretative value, but Cook has demonstrated that these objects
embody a tremendous amount of socioeconomic information. I will
never pick up a handmade brick at a historic archaeological site
without wondering about its complex history . . . Who made it? When
and where was it made? How much did it cost? How did it get
delivered and end up where it was found? The book presents a very
human perspective on the brick industry. The stories are up close
and personal. Cook's use of the brickmakers' own words makes it
easy for the reader to feel some of their emotions and share in
their successes and frustrations. I really like the use of Spanish
translations throughout the text. The pictures are wonderful and a
great addition.
*Douglas K. Boyd, historical archaeologist and Vice President,
Prewitt and Associates, Inc.*
This is a deep and rich ethnography. Like the other works of Scott
Cook, Handmade Brick for Texas illustrates research of the highest
caliber. Here he focuses on the century and a quarter of the long
history and development of the handmade brick industry in the
reverine belt on both sides of the Lower Rio Grande/Rio Bravo
Border. This is classic ethnography that illustrates the strength
of extended fieldwork and face-to-face encounters with the people
who live the border. Importantly, this book adds a dimension to the
notion of 'maquilas' on the U.S.-Mexico Border. . . . The intricate
ties of labor in agriculture and brick-making illustrate the high
degree of variability and adaptation of these border folk and labor
to the region. Handmade Brick for Texas illustrates a nuanced and
important dimension of the Mexican agrarian reform of the 40's and
the rise of ejidos on the U.S.-Mexico Border. There is very little
research on the ejidos of the border, but this book delves not only
into their origins but their relevance in the building of this
industry. . . . This is a rigorous analysis of the industry from
its beginnings to the present, providing the reader with a
meticulous ethnographic and economic analysis of this important
commerce. Handmade Brick for Texas opens and relates a profound
border life that adds new insights about borderlanders, border
life, and Mexican entrepreneurs.
*Robert R. Alvarez, University of California, San Diego*
Altogether, Cook offers a fine book. Readers wishing to learn the
details of making and selling Mexican handmade brick will happily
revel in Cook's descriptions, while readers interested in the labor
and social history of the border will benefit from the wealth of
information Cook presents.
*Southwestern Historical Quarterly*
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