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Wonderful detailed description of the colonization and revolution of Texas with new insights and interpretations.
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Lone Star Nation
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This detailed account of the history and personalities that gained Texas independence in 1836 is quite an earful. The author goes way back into the ancestry of Houston and Austin families, gives a nice view of Jacksonian politics (Sam Houston was a protégé of Andrew Jackson), and lets his audience in on the story of Mexican politics. All of this is quite fascinating, and at the end one marvels at the miracle of Texas gaining its independence and the tragedies that resulted from it in 1846 and then in 1861. Don Leslie gives a splendid and energetic reading. He does well with the narrative and renders credible accents for the quotations, which are often lengthy.
15 pages, Audio CD
First published November 12,2003
This edition
- Format
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15 pages, Audio CD
- Published
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January 1, 2004 by Books on tape
- ISBN
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9780736699310
- ASIN
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0736699317
- Language
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English
About the author
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Henry William Brands was born in Portland, Oregon, where he lived until he went to California for college. He attended Stanford University and studied history and mathematics. After graduating he became a traveling salesman, with a territory that spanned the West from the Pacific to Colorado. His wanderlust diminished after several trips across the Great Basin, and he turned to sales of a different sort, namely teaching. For nine years he taught mathematics and history in high school and community college. Meanwhile he resumed his formal education, earning graduate degrees in mathematics and history, concluding with a doctorate in history from the University of Texas at Austin. He worked as an oral historian at the University of Texas Law School for a year, then became a visiting professor of history at Vanderbilt University. In 1987 he joined the history faculty at Texas A&M University, where he taught for seventeen years. In 2005 he returned to the University of Texas, where he is the Dickson Allen Anderson Centennial Professor of History and Professor of Government. ~ He has written twenty-two books, coauthored or edited five others, and published dozens of articles and scores of reviews. His books include Traitor to His Class, The Money Men, Andrew Jackson, The Age of Gold, The First American, TR, The Strange Death of American Liberalism, What America Owes the World, and The Devil We Knew. His articles have appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the International Herald Tribune, the Boston Globe, the Atlantic Monthly, the Smithsonian, the National Interest, the American Historical Review, the Journal of American History, the Political Science Quarterly, American History, and many other newspapers, magazines and journals. ~ His writings have received critical and popular acclaim. The First American was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the Los Angeles Times Prize, as well as a New York Times bestseller. The Age of Gold was a Washington Post Best Book of 2002 and a San Francisco Chronicle bestseller. Andrew Jackson was a Chicago Tribune Best Book of 2005 and a Washington Post bestseller. What America Owes the World was a finalist for the Lionel Gelber Prize in international affairs. The Wages of Globalism was a Choice Outstanding Academic Book winner. Lone Star Nation won the Deolece Parmelee Award. ~ He is a member of various honorary societies, including the Society of American Historians and the Philosophical Society of Texas. He is a regular guest on national radio and television programs, and is frequently interviewed by the American and foreign press. His writings have been published in several countries and translated into German, French, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.
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100 reviews All reviews
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H.W. Brands
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This is a very nicely written history of how Texas became a state. There's a lot of research, and some things glossed over other places gets more attention here. It's a great recounting of some facts that most don't know.
The American Revolution, Civil War, and World War II seem to get most of the attention from historians and the reading public. This books is a good step in the direction of correcting that.
Strongly recommended to Texans, history buffs, and anyone willing to learn more about America's past.
The American Revolution, Civil War, and World War II seem to get most of the attention from historians and the reading public. This books is a good step in the direction of correcting that.
Strongly recommended to Texans, history buffs, and anyone willing to learn more about America's past.
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H.W. Brands is a masterful writer and has a gift for putting pen to paper spellbinding historical retellings. This book is not just about the Alamo and the main characters we all remember: David Crockett, Jim Bowie; and William Travis. While it amply provides that important part of Texas history and details those three larger-than-life figures, there’s a lot more to it than that. Even before the reader gets to the Alamo, Brands starts at the beginning of what we know as Texas and how it was from geologically formed and the early history of it. It’s a fascinating foundation that patiently and carefully bring the story in full focus as the pages keep turning.
There are so many fascinating events and colorful characters that Brands explores and delves into which makes this book a very worthwhile read. The reader will learn about, not limited to, Moses and son Stephen Austin, Sam Houston, James Fannin, Andrew Jackson, and the charming but cunning dictator of Mexico, Santa Anna. The battles that lead up to the disastrous Alamo are key to understanding it better, and of course the aftermath: one cannot be sentient and not be flipping pages furiously wanting vengeance over the massacre. The book is well-written, educational, fascinating, and full of suspense and drama. I would highly recommend this book to readers as well as H.W. Brands’s other works as they also are unfailingly entertaining.
There are so many fascinating events and colorful characters that Brands explores and delves into which makes this book a very worthwhile read. The reader will learn about, not limited to, Moses and son Stephen Austin, Sam Houston, James Fannin, Andrew Jackson, and the charming but cunning dictator of Mexico, Santa Anna. The battles that lead up to the disastrous Alamo are key to understanding it better, and of course the aftermath: one cannot be sentient and not be flipping pages furiously wanting vengeance over the massacre. The book is well-written, educational, fascinating, and full of suspense and drama. I would highly recommend this book to readers as well as H.W. Brands’s other works as they also are unfailingly entertaining.
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I really enjoyed this book. I have been very interested in Texas history since I was old enough to know what I had read. My hero has always been Sam Houston. I cannot explain how much he has inspired me over the years. Thanks Mr Brands for writing this book.
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Surprisingly enjoyable read for someone who doesn't read a lot of nonfiction. Brands' writing mixes non-stuffy analysis with fascinating excerpts from the letters and diaries of Texas' founding fathers. He portrayed them in all their flawed, drunken, grandiose, family-abandoning glory and yet one still is awed by their bravery, vision and spirit of adventure. As a non-native Texas who has lived in the Lone Star State most of my adult life, I found it a fascinating read!
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A great historical account of Texas in its formative years - I enjoyed the fine blend of historical facts and the insight into the people who were caught up in these times. I was reminded of another life I lived as 7th grade Texas History teacher.
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Rarely does a title do justice to the story. This one does. You will finish this book with a deep understanding of how the Texas War for Independence totally re-shaped the development of the modern U.S. as we know it. You may find yourself wondering, "what would the western U.S. look like today if events had taken a different turn?" Oh, and for you non-Texans who still don't get our fiercely independent, self-reliant, this-country-would-be-a-total-mess-without-us attitude, GET THIS book and read it thoroughly!
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