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Title: Lone Star Nation : How a Ragged Army of Volunteers Won the Battle for Texas Independence - andChanged America by H.W. BRANDS ISBN: 0-385-50737-2 Publisher: Doubleday Pub. Date: 10 February, 2004 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.75 (4 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Excellent Short History
Comment: W.R. Brands has written a wonderful book that captures the essentials of the history of the Republic of Texas in a single, can't-put-it-down, volume. If you read only one book on Texas history, this is the one you want to read.
Rating: 4
Summary: Entertaining history in the classic style
Comment: In the modern history profession, awash in tides of retrospective sociology, economic determinism, and "the rediscovered voices of marginalized peoples," the old-fashioned style of history and history-writing is sometimes belittled as "kings and battles." "Lone Star Nation" by H.W. Brands is very much a "kings and battles" book. Heavy on drama and personality and light on sociology, anthropology, and dry statistics, Brands' book is popular history told as an adventure story. It's an exciting adventure, and Brands has done a good job telling it.
The "kings" here are the towering figures in the Texan epic: Austin, Houston, Bowie, Crockett, Travis, plus Santa Anna, Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, and a host of smaller players. And the battles are epic too: Not only the literal battles of the revolution, but Austin's fight to establish and defend his colony; Santa Anna's for political control in Mexico; the Alamo; Goliad; the battle in the U.S. Congress over annexation; and finally, Governor Sam Houston's losing fight against the secessionist drive in 1861. In many ways, the early sections of this book especially are a series of biographies, tied together by the common theme of the settlement of Texas.
While most of these men come across as heroic, Brands' portrait of them is not unvarnished (the book isn't *that* old-fashioned). In fact, Brands shows how many of them achieved their heroic memory in spite of their failings, inadequacies, or downright unpleasantness. Similarly, I commend the author for his even-handed portrayal of Santa Anna, his unvarnished look at the slaughter that was the "battle" of San Jacinto (168 years ago today!) -- as well, of course, as the slaughters at the Alamo and Goliad -- and the decidedly unheroic influence of racism and nationalism on both sides of the fight.
I've said in other reviews that I agree with the statement that all history is ultimately biography, and "Lone Star Nation" is definitely personality-driven history. More "serious" academic historians may view that as a failing. But the general fan, looking for an exciting true story with larger-than-life characters, could do a lot worse than to settle down in these pages and discover the causes and consequences of the story in which the Alamo played such a memorable part.
Rating: 5
Summary: Excellent Preparation for "The Alamo"
Comment: Publication of "Lone Star Nation" is well timed, with the imminent theatrical release of "The Alamo." Brands' book is excellent preparation for seeing the movie.
A gifted storyteller, Brands brings to life the extraordinary tale of the Texans' against-the-odds struggle for independence. All the great, larger-than-life personalities are vividly portrayed -- Santa Anna, Austin, Crockett, Bowie, etc. However, Sam Houston clearly emerges as the most sympathetic character. Brands shows how little control Houston wielded over an ill-discipined, poorly-trained, largely volunteer fighting force. Out-manned and out-gunned, Houston's strategy combined a steady retreat toward the U.S. border with appeals to his mentor, Pres. Andrew Jackson, to intercede. It was the restiveness (and insubordination) of his troops that finally compelled Houston to turn and face Santa Anna, leading to the breathtaking rout of the Mexican regulars at San Jacinto, and the capture of the self-proclaimed "Napoleon of the West."
Brands has written many stellar histories, including biographies of Ben Franklin and Theodore Roosevelt as well as an opus on the California Gold Rush. "Lone Star Nation" is another five-star installment in that pantheon. A compelling story well told.
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Title: Lone Star Rising by William C. Davis ISBN: 0684865106 Publisher: Free Press Pub. Date: 06 January, 2004 List Price(USD): $27.00 |
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Title: Sacrificed at the Alamo: Tragedy and Triumph in the Texas Revolution (Military History of Texas Series, No. 3) by Richard Bruce Winders ISBN: 1880510804 Publisher: State House Pr Pub. Date: March, 2004 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Eighteen Minutes: The Battle of San Jacinto and the Texas Independence Campaign by Stephen L. Moore ISBN: 1589070097 Publisher: Republic of Texas Press Pub. Date: January, 2004 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Washington's Crossing (Pivotal Moments in American History) by David Hackett Fischer ISBN: 0195170342 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: February, 2004 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
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Title: Alamo Traces: New Evidence and New Conclusions by Thomas Ricks Lindley, Stephen Harrigan ISBN: 1556229836 Publisher: Republic of Texas Press Pub. Date: September, 2003 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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