Gone to Texas: A History of the Lone Star State engagingly tells the story of the Lone Star State, from the arrival of humans in the Panhandle more than 10,000 years ago to the opening of the twenty-first century. Focusing on the state's successive waves of immigrants, the book offers an inclusive view of the vast array of Texans who, often in conflict with each other and always in a struggle with the land, created a history and an idea of Texas. An Instructor's Resource Manual and a set of approximately 400 PowerPoint slides to accompany Gone to Texas, Third Edition, are now available to adopters. Please contact your local Oxford University Press representative for details.
Josey Wales is out for the blood of the pro-Union Jayhawkers who raped & murdered his wife. When Wales refuses to surrender, he begins a life on the run from the law, reluctantly befriending a diverse group of whites & Indians on his quest for revenge and a new life.
Josey Wales was the most wanted man in Texas. His wife and child had been lost to pre-civil War destruction and, like Jesse James and other young farmers, he joined the guerrilla soldiers of Missouri--men with no cause but survival and no purpose but revenge. Josey Wales and his Cherokee friend, Lone Watie, set out for the West through the dangerous Camanchero territory. Hiding by day, traveling by night, they are joined by an Indian woman named Little Moonlight, and rescue an old woman and her granddaughter from their besieged wagon. The five of them travel toward Texas and win through brash and honest violence, a chance for a new way of life.
“Gail Collins is the funniest serious political commentator in America. Reading As Texas Goes… is pure pleasure from page one.” —Rachel Maddow A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year (Nonfiction) As Texas Goes . . . provides a trenchant yet often hilarious look into American politics and the disproportional influence of Texas, which has become the model for not just the Tea Party but also the Republican Party. Now with an expanded introduction and a new concluding chapter that will assess the influence of the Texas way of thinking on the 2012 election, Collins shows how the presidential race devolved into a clash between the so-called “empty places” and the crowded places that became a central theme in her book. The expanded edition will also feature more examples of the Texas style, such as Governor Rick Perry’s nearsighted refusal to accept federal Medicaid funding as well as the proposed ban on teaching “critical thinking” in the classroom. As Texas Goes . . . will prove to be even more relevant to American politics by the dawn of a new political era in January 2013.
NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FINALIST • The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Looming Tower—and a Texas native—takes us on a journey through the most controversial state in America. • “Beautifully written…. Essential reading [for] anyone who wants to understand how one state changed the trajectory of the country.” —NPR Texas is a red state, but the cities are blue and among the most diverse in the nation. Oil is still king, but Texas now leads California in technology exports. Low taxes and minimal regulation have produced extraordinary growth, but also striking income disparities. Texas looks a lot like the America that Donald Trump wants to create. Bringing together the historical and the contemporary, the political and the personal, Texas native Lawrence Wright gives us a colorful, wide-ranging portrait of a state that not only reflects our country as it is, but as it may become—and shows how the battle for Texas’s soul encompasses us all.
"The richly diverse ethnic heritage of the Lone Star State has brought to the Southwest a remarkable array of rhythms, instruments, and musical styles that have blended here in unique ways and, in turn, have helped shape the music of the nation and the world." "Historian Gary Hartman writes knowingly and lovingly of the Lone Star State's musical traditions. In the first thorough survey of the vast and complex cultural mosaic that has produced what we know today as "Texas music," he paints a broad, panoramic view, offers analysis of the origins of and influences on specific genres, profiles key musicians, and provides guidance to additional sources for further information." "A musician himself, Hartman draws on both academic and non-academic sources to give a more complete understanding of the state's remarkable musical heritage. He combines scholarly training in music history and ethnic community studies with his first-hand knowledge of how important music is as a cultural medium through which human beings communicate information, ideas, emotions, values, and beliefs, and bond together as friends, families, and communities." "The History of Texas Music incorporates a selection of well-chosen photographs of both prominent and less-well-known artists and describes not only the ethnic origins of much of Texas music but also the cross-pollination among various genres. Today, the music of Texas - which includes Native American music, gospel, blues, ragtime, swing, jazz, rhythm and blues, conjunto, Tejano, cajun, zydeco, western swing, honky tonk, polkas, schottisches, rock & roll, rap, hip hop, and more - reflects the unique cultural dynamics of the Southwest."--Jacket
Winner of the Caughey Western History Prize Winner of the Robert G. Athearn Award Winner of the Lawrence W. Levine Award Winner of the TCU Texas Book Award Winner of the NACCS Tejas Foco Nonfiction Book Award Winner of the María Elena Martínez Prize Frederick Jackson Turner Award Finalist “A page-turner...Haunting...Bravely and convincingly urges us to think differently about Texas’s past.” —Texas Monthly Between 1910 and 1920, self-appointed protectors of the Texas–Mexico border—including members of the famed Texas Rangers—murdered hundreds of ethnic Mexicans living in Texas, many of whom were American citizens. Operating in remote rural areas, officers and vigilantes knew they could hang, shoot, burn, and beat victims to death without scrutiny. A culture of impunity prevailed. The abuses were so pervasive that in 1919 the Texas legislature investigated the charges and uncovered a clear pattern of state crime. Records of the proceedings were soon filed away as the Ranger myth flourished. A groundbreaking work of historical reconstruction, The Injustice Never Leaves You has upended Texas’s sense of its own history. A timely reminder of the dark side of American justice, it is a riveting story of race, power, and prejudice on the border. “It’s an apt moment for this book’s hard lessons...to go mainstream.” —Texas Observer “A reminder that government brutality on the border is nothing new.” —Los Angeles Review of Books
Meet Lucy, an independent-minded Canada goose who is hatched in the beautiful northern wilderness. Her first look at the world is filled with sunshine, wild rivers, lakes, and her close and loving family. Along with her brothers and sister, she is taught the value of working together by her patient mother. But Lucy has other ideas. She is certain that fitting in is not for her. Holly Bea's delightful rhyming text coupled with Joe Boddy's brilliantly colorful and playful illustrations make this book a fun way to teach children the enduring value of teamwork.
A broad and dramatic saga of the American westward migration to Texas between 1817 and 1825, this is the story of 300 families who made their way from all across the United States and four countries to settle in Austin's Colony in Mexican Texas. An in-depth, personal look at the families, this adventure considers why they came to Texas, how they got here, and what they shared together in the early years. Most of their stories begin a decade before their arrival on the banks of the Colorado and Brazos Rivers, from action during the War of 1812, through the early Texas filibusters and expeditions, and under the guidance of Moses Austin and his son Stephen F. Austin. It is at once a story of courage and sacrifice, dangers and tragedy, dedication to a dream and desire for a fresh beginning. The story is diverse and filled with unexpected surprises for both traveler and reader. There are American Indians resisting the settlers, pirates on the prowl, earthquakes and hurricanes and deadly floods taking their toll. These first mostly Anglo settlers included large families, young newlyweds, and single men in commercial partnerships, widows and widowers, the very young and the very old. Some brought slaves, some came destitute, and some came rich and eager. There were the scurrilous and the fugitives among the lot, all collectively signing on to Austin's Colony as the iconic Old 300. Author Paul N. Spellman teaches Texas History at Wharton County Junior College in Richmond, Texas.
