This history of Texas reads like a novel. Brands tells a lively story of the origins of Texas as an independent nation and a state.

Brands quotes more from actual documents than other authors that I have read on the same subject. The author reproduces a portion of a report from an official of the government of Mexico dated 1830, for example. Further, he does not merely idolize the individuals behind the Texan Revolution against Mexico, he shows their flaws as well.

Brands, without being multicultural for multiculturalism's sake, documents both the Hispanic and the Anglo contribution to Texas' independence. He does so without giving saccharine descriptions of either group's leadership or their ability to always get alone with one another, either before or after 1836.

And, in the years leading up to the Texas Revolution, he doesn't sidestep the slavery question either.

That honest eye is important, because in the last section of the book, he carries the story of Texas forward through 1865.

Compelling popular history of the battle for Texas's independence. Old mnyths destroyed, new ones made. Very entertaining. Loses a point for his love of his latinate vocabulary. O.K. I get it, you have a vocabulary vastly superior to mine. And I'm doubly pissed off when my 80,000 word dictionary doesn't conatin an entry on the word you used. This is only a minor distraction to a great narrative.

A great history of the creation of Texas and how it ended up being a part of America. Strong personalities and a great story. Fun read (or listen)!

Listened to the unabridged audiobook on Audible.com.

A captivating retelling of the birth of Texas, which filled in some gaps left from my junior high Texas history class. Includes a good dose of analysis regarding the impact of the Texas revolution/annexation on US history.

I just completed Lone Star Nation: How a Ragged Army of Volunteers Won the Battle for Texas Independence - And Changed America by H.W. Brands. This is the third or fourth book I have read from Mr. Brands and he has become a favorite of mine. I realized when i saw this book that he had written that I really had little knowledge of the whole story of Texas founding and annexation. I knew the basic story and bits, but honestly, except for the Alamo, we skimp over this part of our history because it is not a particularly proud one. We literally stole it.
It is a fascinating story and honestly got me thinking about a lot of things. One of them was the facts that Texas succeeded from Mexico with, in reality, very little effusion of blood, blinded successionists to the thoughts of just how bloody a civil war would get.

A great book about the Texas Revolution that almost reads like an adventure novel.

H.W. Brands tells the stories of the main leaders of the Revolution and their respective backstories: Stephen F. Austin, Sam Houston, William B. Travis, James Bowie, Davy Crockett... All his given to understand why they fought in the war. Lesser-known but nonetheless important figures are also followed such as Herman Ehrenberg's incredible fate.

All events are vividly described with of course a crucial spot given to the Alamo and the battle of San Jacinto. This book is quite event-driven so I recommend it for those who want to know what happened without expecting much-detailed descriptions of the life on the Texian frontier.

Great read as part of a U.S. history marathon.

I’m going to keep this review simple. I love H. W. Brands. I’d love to sit and listen to a whole semester of that guy’s lectures. I thought I understood the history of Texas pretty well having lived there for 10 years, but I was wrong. Brands set me straight. Another job well done.

I have read several H. W. Brands history books. His style is assessable and well-researched. They are also books you can drop into and return to. This is how I read Brands very entertaining and interesting history of Texas.
tMy favorite book on Texas’s revolution is THREE ROADS TO THE ALAMO by William C. Davis, which covers the lives of David Crockett, James Bowie, and William Barret Travis. In Brands' book, I liked the sections on Sam Houston and Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna (whose life would make a great miniseries).
tBrands covers the issue of Slavery but mostly the impact it had on Texas’s desire to be a slave state. It impacted greatly the national debate if they would get statehood. I felt this section was well done and perhaps could be expanded into an expanded book.
tI guess my message is that readers not get their view of this history from the movies or from those who see participants through a hero-worshiping lens. For the most part, those drawn to Texas where running from something in the USA. Some left behind debts and wives.

t

Texas history is fascinating. This author does a great job combining the lacking story of Native Americans, who were divided in loyalties, the sparse Mexican population in Texas, and the complicated founding of the colony by Austin and his father. Many Americans were welcomed into Texas as Mexican citizens in order to populate the area and to provide a buffer between powerful native tribes like the Comanches and the native Mexicans. The conflict of Mexican citizenship made Austin and many colonists torn, but it was the usurpation of power by Santa Anna that cut the final ties of loyalty. Dictatorship exacerbated the many differences between the two peoples and pushed the Texans into rebellion.

Oftentimes, Texas history lacks the broader political context of the Mexican nation and Austin's position as founding father and colonial governor put him the middle of domestic political chaos in Mexico City. This political turmoil and Santa Anna's feckless dictatorship (including his severe flaws) are key factors as to why the Texans, as stubbornly independent as they were, could declare independence and keep it. His discussion is also important regarding slavery (as protected property)as it added to the motivation to rebel against an anti-slavery Mexican government (though it certainly tolerated Americans calling their slaves as workers. It also virtually enslaved native Americans for various purposes). Slavery caused Houston's his greatest heartache later when he refused to support secession in order to protect it.

Finally, Brands carefully explains the foolish decision of the Texan absentee rebel commanders to deploy at the Alamo, the cravenness of Santa Anna in insisting on executing hundreds of prisoners at Goliad overruling the objectors within his chain of command, his stupidity and vanity, and how the thirst for revenge in the face of no quarter motivated the Texans to win.

This book chronicles the early 19th century story of the group of people (the first Texans really) who struggled for independence from Mexico. The book ends with the "re-annexation" of Texas to the United States. The story is told from the viewpoint of both Mexico and Texas via the players and places on both sides -- from Santa Anna, to Andrew Jackson, to Sam Houston, to Stephen Austin, to the Alamo. I found it to be very well-researched and balanced and was very engaging throughout. 4.5 stars!