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mama_chicharra's review against another edition
Don’t have time for this one now. Will try again later.
laraeh's review against another edition
5.0
A sweeping examination of Texas history that reads like an epic novel. This book made me think deeply about this state in all of its strengths and faults. I both read and listened to this book, and the narration by George Guidall is superb.
rick2's review against another edition
5.0
Fantastic. A bit of a slog to read in one go, it’s very dense, but I can see myself referring back to it regularly in the future.
mollye1836's review against another edition
4.0
This is a thoughtful, generous consideration of the many different components of Texas history and culture, conveyed in an enjoyable narrative style.
momey's review against another edition
5.0
enjoyable read and, of course, informative. only read up to beginning of 20th century as i figure i know more than i need to about 20th century Texas history fro Robert Caro
thomaskerwin's review against another edition
4.0
This is a very long book that covers the breadth and depth of Texas history — I think you already know if it’s for you or not
socraticgadfly's review against another edition
3.0
Ideally, I'd give it 3.5 stars. But, given all the hype around it? And in anticipation of yet more?
Three stars it is.
And why?
On the big picture side, this isn't totally a Gertrude Stein book, but ... to some degree, yes, "there's no there there."
Harrington may have laid out a marker of popularizing history that doesn't repeat Texas legends ad nauseum. He's good at that.
But, especially coming from someone who's a novelist? I found it kind of boring. I am not sure what he could have done to rectify it —other than not try to bite this whole enchilada off, as something that's not really novelistically inclined, especially if you're deliberately legend-killing.
I did have a couple of specific nits to pick, which were going to guarantee a four-star rating before I realized it's just not "jazzy."
First, last I checked, I'm still in the United States, not the CSA. Given Southern names to the major Civil War battles just lost me. Related to that, though he did OK on not Reconstruction Republican Gov. Edmund J. Davis totally under the bus, overall, his treatment of Reconstruction was ... bland within the above blandness.
I think it was the Texas Observer that said he did best when focused on "Great Men" (and Women) portions of his history. He probably should have done that even more.
Second? I don't like Texans trying to "possess" Georgia O'Keefe. She wound up in New Mexico, and while her love for the Southwest may have been first sparked by Palo Duro Canyon, when she wanted to settle down, it was at Abiquiu, not the Texas Panhandle.
So, 500 pages of vignettes of, say, the Nacogdoches world — Spanish, French, Angl0 — then Sam Houston, then E.J. Davis, then Quanah, then maybe Pappy O'Daniel, then maybe Cactus Jack, then the basics on LBJ, then maybe the man who made Shrub Bush president: Bob Bullock.
Another way to look at this book just dawned on me. It's probably worth another star as a popularizing history of the state for non-Texans and recent move-ins. Other than that? If you know non-legendary Texas history, you can move on.
One of the few things I learned from this book, really, was that cowboys of the 1800s were sometimes called waddies.
And, no, I don't care if Lawrence Wright is one of the primo blurbers of this book. After all, I three-starred HIS book on Texas history and culture too.
Three stars it is.
And why?
On the big picture side, this isn't totally a Gertrude Stein book, but ... to some degree, yes, "there's no there there."
Harrington may have laid out a marker of popularizing history that doesn't repeat Texas legends ad nauseum. He's good at that.
But, especially coming from someone who's a novelist? I found it kind of boring. I am not sure what he could have done to rectify it —other than not try to bite this whole enchilada off, as something that's not really novelistically inclined, especially if you're deliberately legend-killing.
I did have a couple of specific nits to pick, which were going to guarantee a four-star rating before I realized it's just not "jazzy."
First, last I checked, I'm still in the United States, not the CSA. Given Southern names to the major Civil War battles just lost me. Related to that, though he did OK on not Reconstruction Republican Gov. Edmund J. Davis totally under the bus, overall, his treatment of Reconstruction was ... bland within the above blandness.
I think it was the Texas Observer that said he did best when focused on "Great Men" (and Women) portions of his history. He probably should have done that even more.
Second? I don't like Texans trying to "possess" Georgia O'Keefe. She wound up in New Mexico, and while her love for the Southwest may have been first sparked by Palo Duro Canyon, when she wanted to settle down, it was at Abiquiu, not the Texas Panhandle.
So, 500 pages of vignettes of, say, the Nacogdoches world — Spanish, French, Angl0 — then Sam Houston, then E.J. Davis, then Quanah, then maybe Pappy O'Daniel, then maybe Cactus Jack, then the basics on LBJ, then maybe the man who made Shrub Bush president: Bob Bullock.
Another way to look at this book just dawned on me. It's probably worth another star as a popularizing history of the state for non-Texans and recent move-ins. Other than that? If you know non-legendary Texas history, you can move on.
One of the few things I learned from this book, really, was that cowboys of the 1800s were sometimes called waddies.
And, no, I don't care if Lawrence Wright is one of the primo blurbers of this book. After all, I three-starred HIS book on Texas history and culture too.