Looking for History/Highway 14-93

Blending history, travelogue and reportage, Miller, professor of history at South Dakota State University, describes 16 small towns along Federal Highway 14 in South Dakota. In Brookings, he offers a close reading of the town's self-produced histories, observing that such boosterish accounts fail to reveal a community's character and development. In De Smet, he explores the ``little town on the prairie'' that served as the setting for five books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, while in Manchester, he investigates the scenic inspirations for prairie painter Harvey Dunn, ``South Dakota's most beloved and most famous artist.'' A visit to Fort Pierre prompts his reflections on white domination of the native Sioux, while Mount Rushmore becomes a metaphor for how we define history as Miller considers who is left off the mountain sculpture--women, people of color, and common, working people. While Miller certainly proves that these towns have riches to be plumbed, his prose style is merely serviceable, and the parochialism of his topic limits this book primarily to regional interest. Photos not seen by PW. (June)