Newly revised book presents Inland Northwest history

Washington State University Press announced the release of the newly revised “Spokane and the Inland Empire: An Interior Pacific Northwest Anthology.”

“Over the years, the first edition was adopted as part of the curriculum for many regional history courses, and we felt it was important to keep this information in print and readily available,” said Glen Lindeman, editor-in-Chief for WSU Press.

Changes in technology since the first printing in 1991 required that the book be completely revamped in its production. Every word was retyped, the cover was recreated in modern software, photographs were again tracked down and scanned and each page was redesigned.

Like its predecessor, this volume offers a concise, yet insightful, overview of the events that helped define the Inland Northwest, including tragedies, such as the arbitrary mistreatment of some indigenous peoples and the

great inferno that charred the city in 1889, and surprises, such as Spokane’s population explosion in the late 1800s, and later, the vital role played by King Cole in bringing Expo ’74 to town.

Chapters cover historical geographic systems, prehistoric Plateau Indian dwellings, Palouse tribal history, architect Kirtland Cutter, agriculture, labor disputes, and the relentless grip of Dutch investors on the early business community.

In the updated version, a chapter on the region’s railroad history was replaced by two additional essays–one on Abigail Scott Duniway’s zealous, persistent crusade for woman suffrage, and the other on the environmentally

themed world’s fair held in Spokane in 1974, which revitalized and preserved for future generations the falls and shoreline along the Spokane River and the adjacent downtown area.

Available in paperback, “Spokane and the Inland Empire” is 6″ x 9″, 240 pages, and has a list price of $21.95. It is available at bookstores or can be ordered directly plus shipping from WSU Press by calling 800-354-7360 or online at wsupress.wsu.edu.

WSU Press is associated with Washington State University and is located in Pullman, Washington. WSU Press publishes scholarly books with a cultural or historical relationship to the Pacific Northwest.