Synopses & Reviews
In
Gone to Texas, historian Randolph Campbell ranges from the first arrival of humans in the Panhandle some 10,000 years ago to the dawn of the twenty-first century, offering an interpretive account of the land, the successive waves of people who have gone to Texas, and the conflicts that have made Texas as much a metaphor as a place.
Campbell presents the epic tales of Texas history in a new light, offering revisionist history in the best sense--broadening and deepening the traditional story, without ignoring the heroes of the past. The scope of the book is impressive. It ranges from the archeological record of early Native Americans to the rise of the oil industry and ultimately the modernization of Texas. Campbell provides swift-moving accounts of the Mexican revolution against Spain, the arrival of settlers from the United States, and the lasting Spanish legacy (from place names to cattle ranching to civil law). The author also paints a rich portrait of the Anglo-Texan revolution, with its larger-than-life leaders and epic battles, the fascinating decade of the Republic of Texas, and annexation by the United States. In his account of the Civil War and Reconstruction, he examines developments both in local politics and society and in the nation at large (from the debate over secession to the role of Texas troops in the Confederate army to the impact of postwar civil rights laws). Late nineteenth-century Texas is presented as part of both the Old West and the New South. The story continues with an analysis of the impact of the Populist and Progressive movements and then looks at the prosperity decade of the 1920s and the economic disaster of the Great Depression. Campbell's last chapters show how World War II brought economic recovery and touched off spectacular growth that, with only a few downturns, continues until today.
Lucid, engaging, deftly written, Gone to Texas offers a fresh understanding of why Texas continues to be seen as a state unlike any other, a place that distills the essence of what it means to be an American.
Review
"What we finally have in Gone to Texas, then, is a history for a diverse, mature, and self-confident people willing to take a balanced look at their own past. It's a quantum leap forward from T.R. Fehrenbach's classic Lone Star, first published in 1968 . . . "--Texas Books in Review
"A sweeping history of the outsized state and its bellweather politics.... A well written survey."--Kirkus Reviews
"The best, most comprehensive account of the Lone Star saga I know of, the place to start if you prefer Texas history to Texas mythology."--Fritz Lanham, Houston Chronicle
"The new standard history of America's most unusual state. It is a balanced account, beautifully written, with verve and wit."--William H. Goetzmann, Jack S. Blanton, Sr. Chair of History and American Studies, University of Texas at Austin
"One of the very best crafted, thoroughly researched, and masterfully presented histories in one volume ever written about this state. It establishes standards of scholarship and literary merit that will endure for years to come.... Nothing short of an historical tour de force."--Light T. Cummins, Guy M. Bryan, Jr. Professor of History, Austin College
"Authoritative, gracefully written, and fully conversant with the newest scholarship, this book will henceforth be the standard history of Texas for both academic and general readers--a significant historical and cultural achievement."--John B. Boles, William P. Hobby Professor of History, Rice University
"Eminent scholar Randolph Campbell presents a full length portrait, unsparing of blemishes and scars, that stands alone in its thoroughgoing portrayal of the Lone Star State's luminous past. Campbell's colorful pageant of the winners, sinners, heroes and highbinders who roamed the legendary landscape of that 'other country'--Texas--is a dandy, best of breed. Gone to Texas will inform and excite Texans, while inviting others to go to Texas in the pages of this book."--Kent Biffle, Texana columnist, The Dallas Morning News
"Anyone who believes that the history of Texas is written only in tub-thumping braggadocio will quickly be set straight by this superb history of the Lone Star state. A leading historian of Texas, Campbell writes with authority and clarity about one of the nation's most distinctive components. His thoroughly contemporary approach sets early Texas history firmly within the checkered development of Mexico and keeps African-Americans, both slave and free, as well as native tribes at the center of his story. His coverage of such matters as the Texas Revolution, the state's 10 years as an independent republic and the cattle business are models of their kind, and surely no one has written so well while so briefly about how Texas became Southern.... What is best about the book and will make it attractive beyond Texas borders is Campbell's healthy skepticism about claims that Texas is unique among the states."--Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
Gone to Texas 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.
Striking a balance between revisionist and traditional approaches to history, author Randolph B. Campbell tells the stories of the colorful individuals and events that shaped the history of Texas, giving equal treatment to the lives of men like Sam Houston and to women and minorities in Texas's history. He addresses the fact that Texas is widely regarded as a special state-a place with a story that appeals to millions of people, many of whom have never even been there-and examines what created this idea of Texan distinctiveness. Organized chronologically, the text focuses on five main themes: Texas as a "forgotten" province of the Spanish empire that was only protected when some other nation threatened to occupy it; the interpretation of the Texas Revolution as a clash between two disparate cultures rather than as a deliberate, pre-conceived plan by the U.S. to steal the province from Mexico; the identification of Texas as a Southern rather than Western state in terms of its demographic, cultural, economic, and political influences and development; Texas's distinction not as a "unique" state but rather as the exaggerated embodiment of traditional American ideals and emotions such as individualism, personal liberty, and violence; and the two-hundred-year-old history of Texas as a destination for immigrants seeking new opportunities.
Vividly capturing the adventure and conflict of this state's legendary past, Gone to Texas is ideal for undergraduate courses in Texas history.
About the Author
Randolph B. Campbell is a Professor of History at the University of North Texas. A past president of the Texas State Historical Association, he is the author or co-author of seven books on nineteenth-century Texas history, including
Sam Houston and the American Southwest and
An Empire for Slavery: The Peculiar Institution in Texas, 1821-1865. Table of Contents
1. The First Texans
2. Exploration and Adventure, 1519-1690
3. Spanish Texas, 1690-1779
4. Spanish Texas in the Age of Revolutions, 1779-1821
5. Mexican Texas, 1821-1835
6. The Texas Revolution, 1835-1836
7. The Republic of Texas, 1836-1846
8. Frontier Texas, 1846-1861
9. Empire State of South, 1846-1861
10. The Civil War, 1861-1865
11. Reconstruction, 1865-1876
12. Old West and New South, 1865-1890
13. An Era of Reform, 1891-1920
14. The "Prosperity Decade" and The Great Depression, 1921-1941
15. World War II and The Rise of Modern Texas, 1941-1971
16. Modern Texas, 1971-2001
Afterword: Texas in the New Millennium