Lone Star Nation
Book Written By: H.W. Brands
Published By: Anchor Books
Published in: New York in February 2005
Book Review Written By: Meg Murphy
H.W. Brands is very good at bringing to life all the famous characters and events that walk through the founding of Texas. Despite years of tall tales, movies and others taking liberties with the facts, on its own the story is a good one. This book is not just about the history of Texas, but details the accounts of the individuals' lives and struggles during the colonization and fight for the independence of Texas. H. W. Brands brings to the reader vivid portrayals of such great men as Andrew Jackson, Stephen F. Austin, and Sam Houston along with a host of lesser known individuals whose pioneering spirits brought them to the Texas borders only to face opposition from Spaniards, marauding and hostile Indian attacks, and ultimately an army of power-hungry Mexican leaders, fearful of the growing numbers of American settlers. He begins by painting a picture of Moses Austin, a failed businessman who, like many others, was driven to this remote border province of Mexico. Austin and his brother successfully operated a lead mine in Virginia, borrowing heavily to finance the venture. A bank downturn left him holding worthless bank notes, starting his push to the Western borders to do business. He ends up over five hundred miles from the United States border at San Antonio de Béxar, the capital of Texas. He negotiates with a hostile Spanish governor for a land deal in the state, if he brings American immigrants inside. Moses's son, Stephen F. Austin, ends up leading a group of settlers to Texas on the promise of his dying father's last wish. Thus begins the balanced, informative account of one of America's best epics. "The land was enough to excite any man's lust, and perhaps emotions more deadly," writes Brands. The author