Texas: A Novel

Texas: A Novel James A Michener Being a "born" Texan, I've read this book at least three times. Thought I remembered every line & verse, but each time I reread this very interesting, colorful, pride-inspiring novel, I find something I forgot from the first go-round. After reading this novel(very many well researched historical facts)you'll understand a little better why Texans are tough. We had/have to be to survive, & our history confirms it. I'm not proud of how my ancestors treated minorities(wouldn't you know I finally figured out why, after I grew up, my grandfather, who was a Texas Ranger, called me his "Black Crow." My birth father was a "blood" Choctaw, & the rest of his grandchildren were "white."You're right....he didn't like Indians, etc. But "in the day," that was the way things were. Wonder what our excuse is for the way things still are today? Regardless, come on, read this very fast-moving, steady paced, exciting book. You'll learn a lot, & enjoy the time you spent learning.

Michener (RIP) wrote incredible epic novels about a variety of places, including this one about Texas. Each chapter introduces intriguing characters. You learn a lot as you're entertained and enthralled.

As a transplant from California to Texas, we have found that the culture and the pride in this state are unprecedented and wanted to understand why and how it came about. My husband began reading the Lone Star which is a historical factual book--even longer than Texas. But my book was obviously the most exciting as I finished mine about three weeks ago and he is still struggling with his. Both books give clear examples, stories, and amazing facts about Texas and although it took me 62 years and my husband 70 years, we got here as fast as we could! Texans are a different breed and in order to understand this, you just have to live here, get to know these wonderful people and then read the history.

Great book

It took me 6 months to read this 1500 page novel. This was not because I am a particularly slow reader, but it was such a thought-provoking book, that it sent me to the internet to do further research on many occasions. At the end of the book, I learned that Michener spent 30 months in Texas doing his background research for this novel. Without the internet. The history of Texas, like history everywhere, is a violent and ugly portrayal of humanity. Fortunately, there are sparks of grace and kindness and the sheer desire to survive that kept me going. The characters are all three dimensional and fascinating, even the ugly spirited ones. It gave me a good understanding of why Texas, and the US in general, is such a disturbing place in 2025.

This book is surely one of the most pleasant ways to learn the vast history of Texas, a most unusual place as the author notes. The attention to historical detail and the clear distinction between fact and fiction are meticulous, which was the author's trademark judging from other books. Regarding the fictional component,it appears that in pursuit of packing in the large history, the story became very long, too long in my opinion. I would have preferred fewer characters in a more compact story. Not surprisingly, the sheer number of characters made it hard to develop them evenly. Some of them simply disappear, or surface much later in the book in a one sentence update. I recommend this book for readers that view books as an opportunity personal development as well as entertainment - readers that prefer entertainment only will likely find the length too daunting. I am in the former group and I felt very productive as a reader, learning basic Texas history while relaxing with a nice story.

My father moved our family from CA when I was four years old. I grew up in the Fort Worth area, finished high school in a small farming community high scbool near Decatur TX and graduated from Texas Tech College at Lubbock in 1960. Joined the Navy and retired 26 years later from military service , before becoming involved in the construction industry for another 30 years. However, during my career, my folks remained in Texas, as small business owners in Ft. Worth, TX area, farmers in the Decatur TX area, ranchers near Stephenville, TX, and retirees in Alpine, TX, Fredricksberg, TX and San Angelo, TX. This, combined with my schooling years, allowed me to become fully aware of the differences in climate and topography through out the state. Although Michener's TEXAS relies on fictions characters to describe the making of the State of Texas, it allows the reader to undestand why Texas has developed to the level and standing it has within the USA. Having experienced Texas for the last 75 years in various manners, I could relate to Michner's Texas and learned more of its history. If you want to know why Texas has the traits it has today, read TEXAS.

This is an epic, in some ways typical, historical novel by James Michener. It is quite lengthy and is as big as the State. Mister Michener had written other novels similar to this. He does a lot of research. Then he writes fiction about various families as they wend their way through the history of the state. This novel reminded me most of “Hawaii” and my personal favorite, “Centennial”, which is about Colorado. I agree with another review that I read herein that there is a lot of ethnic and racial content that may be offensive to the reader. I do not for one minute believe that Mister Michener himself struggled with those issues. However it is a fact that those issues were part of our national history and Texas history and Mister Michener depicted this. I still often found it cringeworthy. I have read numerous, but not all, novels authored by Mister Michener. My favorite are “Centennial”, “Hawaii”, “Caravans”, and “The Fires of Spring”, in that order. I liked this novel and am glad that I read it, but it never really captured my thrall. If one has already read “Centennial”, this novel is structured along the same lines. In summary, I liked, but did not love this novel. I am glad that I read it. I would caution a reader that there are passages that may offend one’s sensitivity. It is quite lengthy and I would not read this novel again without a really good reason to do so. Thank You for taking the time to read this review.

アメリカのテキサス州の歴史を，白人の入植時代から現代まで描く長編小説．いくつかの家系を追ってその子孫の物語として語ってゆくMichener独自の手法はいつも通りだが，この作品では1章おきに，テキサス州の歴史教育を考える委員会のメンバーに選ばれた富豪や大学教授ら数人が意見をたたかわせて，現在の視点から州の歴史を考え直すという趣向が加えられている． テキサス州は17世紀以来，フランス，スペイン，メキシコの支配を受け，1836年にはテキサス共和国として独立，その後大論争の末にアメリカの一部となるという，アメリカ50州の中でも特にかわった歴史をもつ．そのためもあって，テキサス州，テキサス人は他州，アメリカ人一般とは一線を画す，素晴らしい州，優秀な人間であるという強烈な「お国自慢」 が現在もなお根強く残っているという点はなかなか興味深い．インディアンとの戦い，奴隷問題，農業，酪農，フットボール，油田開発など，各時代のさまざまなトピックスが人間ドラマの中で語られて行く．最近とかく話題になっているメキシコ移民の問題も，既に19世紀から綿々と続いていることがよくわかる．例によってちょっと長すぎるのが玉に瑕であるが，文句なしに楽しめる歴史超大作．

Desideravo questo libro ormai introvabile in libreria e anche in biblioteca, perché autore sconosciuto ai giovani, benché famoso anni fa e dai cui romanzi sono stati tratti vari film e serie TV. Ora l'ho trovato in formato e.book

i haven't read it yet but Mitcheneris always good. The service was excellent as usual. Thank you

Excellent - blows away a lot of myths

Lecture personnelle (il est difficile de conseiller un tel pavé à son entourage) ! L'histoire est découpée en tableaux, suivant la méthode MICHENER, les personnages sont superbement décrits, et certains épisodes sont à mourir de rire (comtés "secs", perdrix au nid, art et football...) mais peut-être l'humour est-il involontaire ? Un film "TEXAS" inspiré du livre concerne surtout la guerre d'indépendance. Un livre de James Lee BURKE "TEXAS FOR EVER" accompagne le film. Bref, TEXAS et MICHENER sont hautement recommandables.