U-NM’s NYT Bestseller Paul Andrew Hutton on the American Old West

In this week’s episode of The Learning Curve, co-hosts U-Ark Prof. Albert Cheng and Dr. Helen Baxendale of Great Hearts Academies speak with Paul Andrew Hutton, Distinguished Professor of History Emeritus at the University of New Mexico and author of the New York Times Bestseller, The Undiscovered Country: Triumph, Tragedy, and the Shaping of the American West. Prof. Hutton discusses the central themes of his new book and explains how the American West became foundational to the nation’s identity. He reflects on iconic figures such as Daniel Boone, Red Eagle, Davy Crockett, Mangas Coloradas, and Kit Carson, and emphasizes the enduring significance of Sitting Bull, the Hunkpapa Lakota leader who played a pivotal role in the Plains Indian Wars and the 1876 victory at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Drawing on his extensive historical research, Hutton also explores how through “Buffalo Bill” Cody's Wild West Show the cowboy emerged as a powerful worldwide symbol of American individualism, resilience, and self-determination. In closing, Prof. Hutton reads a passage from his book, The Undiscovered Country: Triumph, Tragedy, and the Shaping of the American West.