TEXAS

A timely state history that sheds light on today’s national political and cultural landscapes.

Johnson, professor of history at Loyola University Chicago, establishes his bona fides early as someone who “grew up in Texas.” Johnson’s previous work on the Mexico-Texas borderlands, including Revolution in Texas: How a Forgotten Rebellion and Its Bloody Suppression Turned Mexicans Into Americans (2003), is apparent in the geographic and chronological range of the book as well as in its inclusivity. As Johnson explains, “This book tries to be a history of all Texans, not just descendants of white southerners like me.” The author distills information from previous Texas histories, including Stephen Harrigan’s Big Wonderful Thing (2019) and more specific studies to create a readable, quick-moving narrative. Occasionally, he skims over important context, like the Mexican-American War, which receives a brief treatment and is never identified by name. Nevertheless, Johnson successfully highlights lesser-known people and details, like the presence of a 10,000-square-foot pavilion dedicated to the culture, lives, and achievements of Black Texans at the 1936 Texas Centennial Central Exposition and the fact that today’s Christian-infused state politics were preceded by many late-19th-century Texas Christians who argued vociferously for the strict separation of church and state. Johnson also adds nuance to the oft-told stories of the Texas Revolution and its heroes, like Sam Houston, who opposed secession (though he was a slaveowner) and was relieved of his gubernatorial duties when he refused to take an oath of allegiance to the Confederacy on the eve of the Civil War. Johnson persuasively argues that understanding the history of Texas, a state full of contradictions and surprises, is essential for understanding the “history of the United States.”

A compelling account of a complicated, conflicted, and cantankerous state.