Great Plains Studies, Center for
Date of this Version
1992
Abstract
In Texas: A Modem History David G. McComb, professor of history at Colorado State University, wanted to provide the "adult reader" with a "brief, narrative history" that would capture the "ethos," "flavor," and "rhythm" of Texas (p. vii). He has succeeded. In seven short chapters (or 186 pages) he has spanned a myriad of historical subjects from the earliest Indian tribes, the Spanish conquest, the Alamo, and the cattle and oil industries to the present-day social, political, and "economic complexities. At the same time he has woven into his story the humanness of Texans and Texas. Moreover, he has enhanced the narrative with anecdotes (such as the "Bowie Knife," "Quanah Parker," and the "Astrodome"), photographs (including an offshore oil derrick, Jean Lafitte, and Houston freeways), as well as maps (such as the major state railroad systems). Without question, he has crafted a popular history that should appeal to a wide audience.
Comments
Published in Great Plains Quarterly 12:1 (Winter 1992). Copyright © 1992 Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska–Lincoln.