Cover of Texas

Texas

Spanning four and a half centuries, James A. Michener's monumental saga chronicles the epic history of Texas, from its Spanish roots in the age of the conquistadors to its current reputation as one of America's most affluent, diverse, and provocative states. Among his finely drawn cast of characters, emotional and political alliances are made and broken, as the loyalties established over the course of each turbulent age inevitably collapse under the weight of wealth and industry. With Michener as our guide, Texas is a tale of patriotism and statesmanship, growth and development, violence and betrayal—a stunning achievement by a literary master.

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Praise for Texas

"Fascinating."—Time

"A book about oil and water, rangers and outlaws, frontier and settlement, money and power . . . [James A. Michener] manages to make history vivid."—The Boston Globe

"A sweeping panorama . . . [Michener] grapples earnestly with the Texas character in a way that Texas's own writers often don't."—The Washington Post Book World

"Vast, sprawling, and eclectic in population and geography, the state has just the sort of larger-than-life history that lends itself to Mr. Michener's taste for multigenerational epics."—The New York Times

Audience
adult
Length
epic · 1472 pages

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Liked Texas? Here’s where I’d start.

These suit anyone who liked Texas. Sign in and mark a few books for picks shaped around your own taste.

  1. The Warriors Shares historical fiction, fiction, history
  2. The Promise Shares historical fiction, fiction, Texas
  3. From Sea to Shining Sea Shares historical fiction, fiction, history
  4. Independence! Shares historical fiction, fiction, western

“People who read Texas tend to reach for these next.”

  1. Lone Star: A History Of Texas And The Texans
  2. The Immigrants
  3. Beulah Land
  4. War and Remembrance

“If you want more of the same (historical fiction about american history), start with these.”

  1. Home from the Hill
  2. Love Is a Wild Assault
  3. The Train to Estelline
  4. Monday, Monday

“If it was the history that hooked you, try one of these.”

  1. Magnolia City
  2. The Abduction of Smith and Smith
  3. The Shadow of God: A Novel of War and Faith
  4. The Emperor's Coloured Coat: In Which Otto Prohaska, Hero of the Habsburg Empire, Has an Interesting Time While Not Quite Managing to Avert the First World War

“These start from a similar idea, even if they go somewhere else with it.”

  1. Conquistadors
  2. The Big Rich: The Rise and Fall of the Greatest Texas Oil Fortunes
  3. The Son
  4. Finding Florida: The True History of the Sunshine State