BOOK REVIEWS
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Randolph begins to experience growth but in the end fails to prosper. At the
time the book is written, the town is in a state of decay; nonetheless, it is home
to people who love it and prefer to live in a community where many still do not
lock their doors and where children freely run from house to house to eat, play,
and work because neighbors are not strangers in Randolph. There is an ethnic
divide and a good and bad side of the tracks, but the town has substance and still
survives despite the economic downtrends it has suffered over the years.
Narrative chapters framing the interviews introduce a larger historical view
linking smaller stories with the larger national character that is also being
investigated here. Randolph’s citizens are unique and have layered histories.
These histories are used to add to a larger perspective. What makes Randolph
noteworthy is how its development reflects American patterns. Dr. LeSeur
touches on this aspect in her intervening explanatory chapters where she
includes narrative strains that reflect the important movements that sit center
stage in American society. Her discussions of the cultural impact of different
ethnicities living together and the story of the failure of activist movements in
Randolph reflect problems that have shaped America’s national character as
well as Randolph’s.
Dr. LeSeur did an excellent job of creating local flavor by collecting and
mining information from personal histories. She covered the scope of the
community from all angles recovering memories and history from the people
who helped create the town. She interviewed Randolph’s postmaster, the town
pastor, local activists, and many other individuals responsible for tracking the
ebb and flow of Randolph’s history. She adroitly created endearing relationships
with her interviewees and it is clear that by the time she sits down to ask
questions, her subjects were eager to share their stories. The result is a detailed
picture of several town characters. Randolph itself comes to life in these pages.
We know Randolph’s citizens thoroughly by the end of this book. Dr.
LeSeur has a talent for translating personality into words. She utilizes her
subjects’ unique conversational aspects, their manners of speaking, their word
choices, their unique trains of thought, and steps out of the way entirely when
she describes her conversations with them. At the end of each interview you
have a clear sense that an intimate and telling exchange has taken place. The
book excels in the creation of a story told from many perspectives that allows
the reader both an intimate and a larger view of a small town in Arizona.
Kim Idol, University of Nevada, Las Vegas