Lone Star: A History of Texas and the Texans

I had to keep reminding myself Fehrenbach was not actually in Texas 40,000 years ago because his book, Lone Staris so detailed, so expansive that it felt like he should have been. In 719 pages Fehrenbach details every aspect of Texas one could imagine. From practically primordial beginnings to present day the birth, growth and development of Texas is detailed. Everything from agriculture, architecture and attitude to wars (civil and great) is meticulously described. Other reviews have used the words expansive, panoramic, extensive, vast, comprehensive, detailed...and I would have to agree. Not a stone in Texas is left unturned when it comes to recounting the political, the people, the powers, the progression of the state. What sets this show more book apart from other histories of Texas is the fact that Fehrenbach is from Texas. One can hear the passion for his home state woven into every knowledgeable sentence. show less

Lone Star is seven hundred sixty-seven pages of fascinating stories about Texas. It’s all here---the original peoples, the Spanish explorers, the Mexican settlers, the American settlers, the wars, and Texas as part of Mexico, Texas as an independent nation, and Texas as part of the United States. As I read along, I kept thinking how much reading these stories explains a lot about the way Texas is now---the conflicts on the border today mirroring conflicts on the border many years ago, the desire of Texans to be independent of a central government, the way the rainfall on the land has shaped the agriculture and ranching of the state. A compelling read.

This books was originally published in 1968. I have the first edition. It offers an interesting portrayal of what race relations were like in Texas in the decades leading up to the 1960s. For example, a chapter title is "Red Ni**ers, Red Vermin" regarding the Indian Wars. Mexican Americans and African Americans do not fare much better in this history of Texas; however, it does give an accurate portrayal of Euro-American attitudes towards people of color in these decades of Jim Crow legislation in Texas. As a native Texan of Mexican American heritage, I can say it's definitely a worthwhile read.

Reading this book is like listening to your favorite football team or baseball team's radio broadcast. If you are not bothered by the "homer" perspective of the broadcaster it is great. A little more objective perspective may be nice if you are not a fan of that team.
TR Fehrenbach is a Texas homer. So if you have lived your whole life in Texas and love the state like it if heaven on earth you will love this book.

Clearly the best book on the subject of the development of Texas up to the period of the early twentieth century, written in a very entertaining way by a true master of the art. Simply a great read.

By far the best general history of Texas available to date: readable and accurate. This is a sterling classic!