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Annette Atkins | In Memoriam: A Curious Westerner Martin Ridge 1923–2003 | The Western Historical Quarterly, 35.1 | The History Cooperative
35.1  
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Spring, 2004
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In Memoriam


A Curious Westerner
Martin Ridge
1923–2003


      When Martin Ridge edited the Journal of American History (1966–1977), he decorated his office walls with a bullwhip and a plaque, "Ridge Rules," presented by some generation of editorial assistants. The other walls held shelves, including about three dozen books he'd edited or co-authored, a full run of the Mississippi Valley Historical Review/JAH, as well as—taking pride of place—books by his friends and graduate students. His own Ignatius Donnelly: The Portrait of a Politician (1962; St. Paul, 1991) sat on the far end of a middle shelf. That office décor composed a revealing autobiography of a man who didn't talk much about himself. 1
      Ridge led a professional life largely organized around other people's work—supporting and critiquing it. In addition to editing the JAH, Martin was the associate editor of the Southern California Quarterly, and he co-edited both the Histories of the American Frontier from University of New Mexico Press and the American West in the Twentieth Century Series from Indiana University Press. He sat on the editorial boards of nine other journals, two encyclopedias, and, for twenty years, America: History and Life. He judged some two dozen prizes, including four Pulitzer Prizes. He could do these things especially well because he cared about high standards and clear and succinct writing in the active voice with perfect Chicago-style citations. . . .
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