James A. Ford and the Growth of Americanist Archaeology tells the story of Ford's role in the development of culture history, the dominant paradigm in the field from roughly 1914 to 1960. By studying Ford's life and the major part he played in the rise and fall of culture history, authors Michael J. O'Brien and R. Lee Lyman explore the underpinnings of the paradigm. To understand the state of Americanist archaeology today requires an understanding of what culture history embodies. James A. Ford and the Growth of Americanist Archaeology presents a thorough examination of the culture-history paradigm through a unique biographical approach. Students and scholars of archaeology and the history of archaeology will benefit from this work.