Texas “a whole other country”-a slogan that promotes tourism as much within the Lone Star State as elsewhere-is familiar to native Texans and those adopted sons and daughters who “got here just as quickly as they could.” Texas is as varied as East Texas timberland, hundreds of miles of seashore, prairies of the Central and High Plains, and the dry desert of far West Texas. When traveling abroad and asked, “Where are you from?” residents of forty-nine of the United States usually respond, “the USA.” Nearly every citizen of the Lone Star State will answer “Texas!” The world encourages such chauvinism. Mass media celebrates and exploits Texas and Texans in television and motion pictures about the Alamo, Texas Rangers, the oil industry, and athletics, to name only a few genre. Texans’ pride in their distinctiveness increases when their state is paraded-or satired-and they consciously “pass it on” to succeeding generations. But what does it mean to be a Texan? How did Texas come to be as it is? Texas: A Compact History provides answers to such questions about Texans and Texas. It tells the story of Texas history and provides thoughtful interpretations about the state’s development, all with the general reader in mind-in a brief, easily read narrative. ARCHIE P. McDONALD is the author of numerous books dealing with various aspects of Texas history, including Back Then: Simple Pleasures and Everyday Heroes (State House Press, 2005)
Click Here For More Information
Generally not that great. The book in general is okay, but the author apparently had no one to edit the book for him. On page 16, NASA is called the “National Air and Space Agency” (it’s the National Aeronautics and Space Administration). Later in the book (around p.225), NASA is called the “National Space and Aeronautics Administration”, which doesn’t even make sense (NSAA?).Those are small things to be sure, but basic facts like those make you question the accuracy and thoroughness of the research performed before writing the book. Also, as another reviewer has mentioned, the author repeatedly uses words that grammatically make no sense (euphony instead of euphemism is just one of probably five examples I can think of).The book is a quick read and is filled with basic facts that give the reader a general understanding of the history of Texas, but I suspect there are better texts than this one that accomplish that feat.
Enthusiastically recommended for anyone who wants to quickly familiarize themselves with Texas history. Texas: A Compact History condenses hundreds of years of Texas history into a no-nonsense chronological narrative. A phrase in bold marks the main topic being discussed every few paragraphs, allowing for quick and easy browsing of highlighted historical events. An index rounds out this easy-to-follow guide, especially ideal for browsing prior to traveling to Texas for business or pleasure. “The elimination of the buffalo produced two significant results in Texas. It forced the Indians to remain on reservations to obtain food and it opened th plains for the spread of cattle raising.” Enthusiastically recommended for anyone who wants to quickly familiarize themselves with Texas history.
Not for adults This book is appropriate for, perhaps, a junior high school or high school student. The language is very basic, the historical analysis is very superficial, the formatting is sometimes sloppy (one of the poems placed as epigraphs to each chapter is supposed to be in two columns, but the columns run together, which makes the poem incomprehensible), and there are embarrassing typos (“functions” for “fluctuations,” “euphony” for “euphemism,” etc.).The book has two virtues. First, I’m not aware of any information that’s actually false, so at least you can learn the basic facts of Texas history from this book. (But take this with a grain of salt, because I barely know any Texas history!) Second, at 230 pages, it’s very short and can be read in a day or two. (That second factor was the reason I bought the book.) But for my next book on Texas history, I’m going to try Campbell’s “Gone to Texas,” which is twice as long but has excellent reviews.