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Tried reading this off and on over a few years and just couldn’t finish. Not sure why since Texas is one of my favorite places!
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Lone Star Nation: How a Ragged Army of Volunteers Won the Battle for Texas Independence - and Change
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From bestselling historian and long-time Texan H. W. Brands, a richly textured history of one of the most fascinating and colorful eras in U.S. history—the Texas Revolution and the forging of a new America. “For better or for worse, Texas was very much like America. The people ruled, and little could stop them. If they ignored national boundaries, if they trampled the rights of indigenous peoples and of imported bondsmen, if they waged war for motives that started from base self-interest, all this came with the territory of democracy, a realm inhabited by ordinarily imperfect men and women. The one saving grace of democracy—the one that made all the difference in the end—was that sooner or later, sometimes after a terrible strife, democracy corrected its worst mistakes.” —from Lone Star Nation Lone Star Nation is the gripping story of Texas’s precarious journey to statehood, from its early colonization in the 1820s to the shocking massacres of Texas loyalists at the Alamo and Goliad by the Mexican army, from its rough-and-tumble years as a land overrun by the Comanches to its day of liberation as an upstart republic. H. W. Brands tells the turbulent story of Texas through the eyes of a colorful cast of characters who have become a permanent fixture in the American Stephen Austin, the state’s reluctant founder; Sam Houston, the alcoholic former governor who came to lead the Texas army in its hour of crisis and glory; William Travis, James Bowie, and David Crockett, the unforgettable heroic defenders of the doomed Alamo; Santa Anna, the Mexican generalissimo and dictator whose ruthless tactics galvanized the colonists against him; and the white-haired President Andrew Jackson whose expansionist aspirations loomed large in the background. Beyond these luminaries, Brands unearths the untold stories of the forgotten Texans—the slaves, women, unknown settlers, and children left out of traditional histories—who played crucial roles in Texas’s birth. By turns bloody and heroic, tragic and triumphant, this riveting history of one of our greatest states reads like the most compelling fiction, and further secures H. W. Brands’s position as one of the premier American historians.
null pages, Paperback
First published November 12,2003
This edition
- Format
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null pages, Paperback
- Published
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January 1, 2004 by Doubleday Publishing
- ISBN
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9780385507417
- ASIN
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0385507410
- 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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Rating(4.3 / 5.0, 100 votes)
5 stars
48(48%)
4 stars
29(29%)
3 stars
23(23%)
2 stars
0(0%)
1 stars
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100 reviews All reviews
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[After second reading, revised rating to 3.5, down from 4]
A thorough and able telling of the historical events leading to and through the Texas Revolution and their annexation into the United States. Though the book ends well (its flourish in an examination of Sam Houston's having to preside over the dissolution of the annexation he strove so hard to facilitate), through most of its length the narrative merely navigates from event to event. It makes good use of epistolary sources and written accounts from several sides of the conflict, but it serves mostly as a summary.
As I've just completed Ron Chernow's masterful biography Alexander Hamilton, I admit that H.W. Brands' treatment suffers in comparison, and likely depresses my reaction to Lone Star Nation. Brand's work is a good introduction to the subject, and covers the primary points of Texas' movement toward independence - expressing nuanced views of most characters involved - but it ultimately feels like a utilitarian treatment.
A thorough and able telling of the historical events leading to and through the Texas Revolution and their annexation into the United States. Though the book ends well (its flourish in an examination of Sam Houston's having to preside over the dissolution of the annexation he strove so hard to facilitate), through most of its length the narrative merely navigates from event to event. It makes good use of epistolary sources and written accounts from several sides of the conflict, but it serves mostly as a summary.
As I've just completed Ron Chernow's masterful biography Alexander Hamilton, I admit that H.W. Brands' treatment suffers in comparison, and likely depresses my reaction to Lone Star Nation. Brand's work is a good introduction to the subject, and covers the primary points of Texas' movement toward independence - expressing nuanced views of most characters involved - but it ultimately feels like a utilitarian treatment.
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Good account of the events leading up to the war for independence in Texas, the brief revolution, and ultimate decision to break from the US in 1861. Story focuses mostly on the history (biography) of key players in the war (Bowie, Crockett, Austin, Houston, Santa Ana, etc) vs. broader stories about the events on the ground.
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The story of Texas is a good one... and this book brings legends like Sam Houston and Davy Crockett to life. Funny. Well-researched and balanced.
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Brands produced a book that has a highly readable style. He hits the high points of the Mexican and Republic eras, but rarely gets into too much detail. The major characters, such as Austin, Travis, and Houston are covered just enough so that you don't think of them as iconic heroes. Two things struck me as interesting: the Texas army were total mavericks--unwilling to follow a command unless it suited them. Also, the Texas Republic was inept at governing. It had no power, couldn't tax and needed an Army but couldn't pay for it. All the while, the political visionaries knew that Mexican statehood was just not gonna happen. I'll read more by this author.
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Like all Texans who went to Jr High in the public school system, I had a Texas History course. Battles at Gonzalez, Alamo, Goliad, San Jacinto, some politics, a new republic, the end. The primary characters were remote paragons of Western self-reliance and sacrifice. If that history class had been taught with THIS book, it would've been so much more interesting. Brands does a good job painting Austin, Travis, Bowie and Houston as real people - warts and all. He also paints Santa Anna, Gen. Urrea, Gen DeLaPena and others as people - warts and all. The story reads like a grand epic full of characters you understand. The battle plans always felt disjointed and confusing - here they're explained and presented in a rich context that sets the scene so well you understand it all. This is a great read for those new to the subject and it is so well written that Texas History buffs will enjoy revisiting their favorite subject.
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This was a very good book concerning Texas history with the primary focus on the Texas Revolution. Brands does a great job making the book very readable and I especially appreciated the thorough sketches of the major players in the history of Texas at that time: Stephen F. Austin, Sam Houston, Jim Travis, David Bowie, Davy Crockett, and Santa Anna.
I was especially struck by the different character of the American and Texan Revolution. The American revolution being largely initiated by statesmen and the Texas revolution being largely initiated by frontiersmen. It was interesting to read about the relationship between Sam Houston and his Army and the providential nature of their ultimate victory.
I was especially struck by the different character of the American and Texan Revolution. The American revolution being largely initiated by statesmen and the Texas revolution being largely initiated by frontiersmen. It was interesting to read about the relationship between Sam Houston and his Army and the providential nature of their ultimate victory.
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Just a fantastic history of Texas. Brands writes in a compelling, accessible manner, and his work is obviously impeccably researched. His retelling of the Alamo and other battles bring the scenes to life, and multiple perspectives on both sides of the war are presented. Where instances of historical disagreement arise, Brands gives fair treatment to each side while assessing their respective merits. A great read for anyone who likes history.
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