Wildcatters

In the 1970s and 1980s the Texas wildcatter was a recognizable figure in popular culture. Since then the wildcatter's role is less celebrated but still important as shown in the new introduction to this edition of a book originally published in 1984 by Texas Monthly Press. Drawing heavily on oral histories this book tells the story of the West Texas independents as a group looking at their business strategies in the context of their national regional and local conditions. The focus is on the Permian Basin and southeastern New Mexico over the sixty-year period in which the region rose to prominence on the American oil scene producing about one-fifth of the nation's output. It is a story that covers vast technological change governmental regulation and economic fluctuation with profound implications for the oil and gas community. The new introduction brings the story up-to-date by addressing not only the subsequent careers of the wildcatters described in the book but also the role of independents in the current economy.ROGER M. OLIEN who holds a Ph.D. from Brown University lives in Austin and is a member of the TSHA Speakers Bureau.DIANA DAVIDS HINTON holds the J. Conrad Dunagan Chair in regional and business history at the University of Texas-Permian Basin. Her Ph.D. is from Yale University.