Review of Stampede City: Power and Politics in the West Edited by Chuck Reasons

Stampede City inquires into the boom and bust generated by the petroleum industry in Calgary, Alberta, between the mid 1970s and early 1980s. Calgary is Canada\u27s sixth largest population center but is the corporate and financial center of the country\u27s petroleum industry. In economic terms, what benefits that industry benefits the city. The authors of this book argue that what is good for the petroleum industry, however, is not always good for all inhabitants of Calgary. The headings of Stampede City\u27s nine lively and provocative chapters reflect many of the authors\u27 sentiments: Calgary: Where Free Enterprise costs a little more ; Oil: You can bank on it ; City Hall: Public Funds and Private Interests ; Real Estate: The Land Grab ; The Media: Corporate Cheerleaders ; The Stampede: Cowtown\u27s Sacred Cow ; It\u27s Just a Game? The 1988 Winter Olympics ; Western Separatism: Counter-elite of the Marginalized ; and Casualties of Progress