Michener has done it again. The master epic storyteller neatly traces the rise of the Texan state from its earliest beginnings as an 'outpost' of the Spanish/Mexican empire, through to its slow takeover by the norteamericanos/anglos.Along the way we read about the trials and tribulations of various families that uproot their families from various states in the North such as Mississippi, Oregon, North Carolina you name it. But most importantly there is a large influx of immigrants from overseas from areas such as Germany, Ireland, Poland and many more.The Germans, escaping poverty and looking for greater freedom in their pursuit of their religious faith travelled to Texas on perilous sea voyages. The ones that got there ended up building beautiful towns like Fredericksburg. The main families around which the story hangs are the Macnabs, with Texas Ranger Otto Macnab one of the main characters of the book.Other 'heros' of the book include Earnshaw Rusk (and his millionaire Texan oil tycoon descendant Ransom Rusk) - a headstrong Quaker minister who starts off trying to save the Comanche Indians, latter marries a woman who was held captive and tortured by the Comanche for years and then finally becomes a wily 'investor' and 'Texas gambler'. There are of course the 'villains' of the story, depending on which way you look at it. For example, Santa Anna was a villain (albeit a great Mexican general too), famous for his crushing victory at the Alamo, but more notorious for ordering those captured at Goliad to be summarily shot/executed.Michener taught me how close Santa Anna came to defeating the American army in the war against Mexico. If he had, he would have gone down in history as the 'Napoleon of the Americas'. Amos Peavine, or 'Rattlesnake Peavine' is one of the most interesting characters in the book, a mostly cold-blooded killer/arm-for-hire who steals and sells guns for the Comanche and someone who sounds like he just stepped straight out of a Clint Eastwood hardboiled western with showdowns at sunset and everything, stepping straight off the the legends of film into this book. This is just a basic overview of some of the 'highlights' of this story but there are really so many that I recommend you just go out and read this book but be forewarned - it is very very long. And as some other reviewers have pointed out on GR, the last 200 pages of the book do tend to drag a bit with a few interesting parts here and there. However, the first 800 pages are fantastic! This is another page-turner from Michener. You will find it incredibly addictive. What a great writer and what a great researcher to uncover this amount of information which helped him connect the dots to conjure up this grand epic. Normally I would give most Michener books 5 stars easily but the last 200 pages, while still interesting, are a bit poor in comparison to the great first 800 pages. I was even surprised at the end to read about Lyndon B. Johnson, George Bush (senior) and even Willie Nelson, all who hail from Texas. Highly recommended.
I finally finished it. Not quite history, not quite fiction, this book was... well, historical fiction. And it really taught me why I don't like historical fiction. Many of the made-up historical "facts" are pointless, the characters are one-dimensional, and everything about Texas has to make it into the plot, no matter how unrelated. Armadillos... football... hunting... Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders... chicken-fried steak. That said, there were reasons I kept reading this 1096-page behemoth. Since moving to Texas three years ago, I have become curious about Texas history and culture, and this book familiarized me with both, and gave me perspective on the character and political views of Texans. It had just enough plot to keep me reading, on a cheap level. But that's about it. Some of the sentiments, while perhaps true in the minds of many Texans, had no place in a historical work:"[Scottish descendants:] would govern India and South Africa and New Hampshire, and wherever they went they would leave schools and hospitals and libraries, for they were the seeds of greatness and of civilization." p. 269"When it seemed that Santa Anna... was about to trap the fleeing Houston and his entire ragtag of defenders, one of those romantic miracles occurred which still convince Texans that God is on their side.""The slave, Cobb reflected, lived well, under the loving care of kind masters." p. 592"Around the world, in all times and places, whenever men go on an ethical rampage they feel that they must discipline women. 'Your dresses are too short.' 'You tempt men.' 'Your behavior is salacious.' 'You must be put in your proper place.' This stems, of course, from the inherent mystery of women, their capacity to survive, their ability to bear children, the universal suspicion that they possess some arcane knowledge not available to men. Women are dangerous, and men pass laws to keep them under restraint..." p. 853Um, may I propose that it actually stems, of course, from the inherent agressiveness of men and their need to feel superior to women? I mean, whose perspective are we coming from here? Sometimes Michener expresses such sentiments as thoughts of the characters, but sometimes they come from the anonymous narrator. It is clear that such quotes, while hopefully not representing the attitudes of Michener or of modern Texans, represent primarily the attitudes of white male Texans throughout Texas history. Yes, there is positive discussion about women, Indians, slaves, and Mexicans, but the unseen narrator is decidedly a white male. This aspect of the book left me with a bad taste in my mouth.All in all, I would prefer to read my history from a history book. But the Alamo chapter was great.
What do You think about Texas (2002)?
I came upon this book in a rather circuitous manner In 2012 I discovered the writings of James Lee Burke,whose stories are set in the Louisiana-Texas areas of the US. I became so enthralled by his descriptions of the land and the people there that I made a trip to the desert area around Big Bend National Park so that I could feel the spirits there for myself.The country still has a distinct frontier flavor, one that in this fast changing world reflects an independent and perhaps self indulgent nature. As I drove through small towns where business was poor and the people poorer, where desert rats with their half buried trailers and battered TV antennas lifting their withered hands skyward marked a pause in the barren landscape I asked myself what the history of all this was.I don't like history books. I find that they are inevitably biased and lifeless. Historic novels on the other hand, while they too may be inaccurate, usually succeed in giving the reader a tactile sense of what real people were going through when the events, the dates, and places were being recorded by the historians.While in San Antonio I discovered a magical used book store and inside it I came face to face with Texas. When such an obvious confrontation happens I assume there is something important to be learned so of course I bought it.Anyone who can keep a coherent trend of thought going through 1322 pages probably warrants 5 stars but the book dawdles off in the last stretch and falls short in my opinion when it attempts to look into the future of the State.That said, it is an amazing work. Michner captures the large and significant movements of people beginning with the invasion of the Jesuit led Spanish and followed by the Mexicans, the Immigrants and the Settlers. The major influences of these groups as reflected in land, cattle, slavery, guns, religion and football is traced through various families in typical Michner style and one is left gasping for breath with the immensity of the exploitation of resources for, well I suppose the word is power. The land and it's resources have been ravaged in such a repetitive fashion that one wonders where Texas goes from here. But as Michner demonstrates, Texans have historically shown that they can recreate themselves, not once, but many timesPerhaps the answer to the question of how and where Texas will resurrect is "To Washington." "Don't Mess With Texas" is certainly more than a bumper sticker and maybe now the whole country will have to come terms with a State that still believes it is a country rather than simply part of a whole.I found the book fascinating, informative and thought provoking. It was a wonderful compliment to my journey, a journey which captured my heart, brought tears to my eyes for what might have been, and left me with a feeling of spaciousness in my mind for the unlimited possibilities of humankind if we can ever learn the true lessons of our past
—Keith Willcock
Again a tale of men (mostly) at their most heroic, resilient, and innovative and also at their most ignoble, unreasonable, greedy and grasping and (brutally) intolerant as it provides a broad pageant of history of what is now Texas... The framing device of the task force is again Mr Michener at his most inspired and serves to create a viable lens for the stories of the Lone Star state down the ages - from the first Spanish settlements, the Americans' arrival, war and Independence, the Civil War, and the troubled legacy afterwards - Ku Klux Klan, oil discovery and the like. At one ends, it leaves you disgusted at the callous disregard of human life and vibrant difference and the lack of ethics in business, but on the other, the larger-than-life characters and activities compel some sense of awe. Characters are, again as usual, drawn very well and the appearance of historical figures is woven seamlessly - especially Sam Houston, and Ulysses Grant's cameo...
—Vikas Datta
I don't know if you've ever been to Alberta, but I've carved enough soil there to fill the Saddledome in Calgary; well, not be but the guys movin dirt on our crews. You'll never see a land like burying pipe, we'll do as much as four kilomters a day. And we go places, though sections of farmland, the puplic can't go. So, I've seen to river crossings on the North Saskcatuan, Peace, Red Deer and Bow rivers the public never will, few people ever have; save the families that have farmed that land, sometimes for generations. I saw lanformation that left me in awe of God's beauty and majesty, while treated with sightings of antelope, coyotes, bufalo (they're back) and horses, cattle, did I say bufalos? I love those humungous animals. All this under that deep blue Alberta sky, clear as crystal, it's dry air allowing visibility to the ends of the earth, litterally (the horizon). Then at night the northern light would put on a show . . . awesome!!! I love winters in Alberta! Oh, back to Texas. If you read Texas, a land of many lands, you'll see the resemblance between Texas and Alberta, which I call 'North Texas!' Do a study! An amazing land, Alberta, and yes Texas as well. lol
—Robb Houle
