God Save Texas A Journey into the Soul of the Lone Star State

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author — and native Texan: an incisive, engrossing journey through the Lone Star State that explores the region’s history, culture, and politics while holding the stereotypes up for rigorous scrutiny.

God Save Texas is a journey through the most controversial state in America. It is a red state in the heart of Trumpland that hasn’t elected a Democrat to a statewide office in more than twenty years; but the cities are blue and are among the most diverse in the nation. Oil is still king, but Texas now leads California in technology exports. The Texas economic model of low taxes and minimal regulation has produced extraordinary growth but also striking income disparities. Texas looks a lot like the America that Donald Trump wants to create. And Wright’s profound portrait of the state not only reflects our country as it is, but as it was and as it might be.

“A godsend…Thorough and concise…A brilliant analysis.” Newsday

“Terrific…. Wright’s words could speak for both Texas and America.” The Dallas Morning News

“Vivid…. Illuminating…. [It’s] a testament to Wright’s formidable storytelling skills that a reader will encounter plenty of information without ever feeling lost.” The New York Times

“Compelling…. Timely…. There is a sleeping giant in Texas, and Wright captures the frustration and the hope that reverberate across the state each time it stirs.” The Washington Post

“Beautifully written…. Essential reading [for] anyone who wants to understand how one state changed the trajectory of the country.” NPR

“Superb…. [Wright’s] most personal work yet, an elegant mixture of autobiography and long-form journalism, remarkably free of elitist bias on the one hand, and pithy guidebook pronouncements on the other.” The New York Times Book Review

LAWRENCE WRIGHT is a staff writer for The New Yorker and the author of nine previous books of nonfiction, including In the New World, Remembering Satan, The Looming Tower, Going Clear, Thirteen Days in September, and The Terror Years, and one novel, God’s Favorite. His books have received many prizes and honors, including a Pulitzer Prize for The Looming Tower. He is also a playwright and screenwriter. He is a longtime resident of Austin.