Tucson

Approaching the 250th anniversary of Tucson’s official founding on August 20, 1775, the city is now an environmentally attractive, if economically poor, major college town with a large military base onto which numerous rapidly growing suburban communities have been grafted. This second edition of a book that traces Tucson’s history since the 1854 Gadsden Purchase brought Southern Arizona into the United States contains significant updates and revisions to the initial 2015 edition, and includes extensive coverage of the 2015-2024 period.
Overall, Tucson has a remarkable American history and this book describes many of its highs and lows including its longstanding ethnic diversity and racial divides, the contentious battle that secured the University of Arizona for the community, its important ceremonial traditions and social customs, and the significant challenges it faces going forward. Additionally, recollections of many of those who have helped make Tucson such a memorable place are included along with a review of the major accomplishments and shortcomings that Tucson has experienced since 1854.

Since 1995, David Devine has been researching and writing about the history of Tucson, where he lives, and Southern Arizona. He contributed numerous articles to the Tucson Weekly and wrote five Smoke Signal monographs for the Tucson Corral of the Westerners.

David Devine
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages:
Bibliographic Info: ca. 30 photos, maps, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2025
pISBN: 978-1-4766-9519-8
eISBN: 978-1-4766-5605-2
Imprint: McFarland

From the first edition:

• “Of the many books written about Tucson’s history, David Devine’s hews closest to our most recent history…right up to 2014. Almost up-to-the-minute border immigration figures are here, as well as unemployment statistics”—The Journal of Arizona History

• “Meticulously details the history of Tucson, Arizona…interesting and well written…. Local historians, Tucson aficionados, and general readers should add this history of the Old Pueblo to their collection”—Western Historical Quarterly