February 2023
Texas - The Book
Lindsay Martinez
About a year ago, my dad sent me the massive book “Texas” by James Michener. He discovered it at my grandparents’ home in Iowa and decided the book deserved to be sent to me in Texas - via USPS flat rate box since the book clocks in at well over 1,000 pages.
Thus far, the book has mostly been a nice Texas decoration for me (the front cover is adorned with the classic Lone Star State flag). I read about the first two and a half chapters last spring before summer started and I got more interested in doing outdoor activities than in reading. Plus, when I traveled home in the summer to spend some time with friends and family, there was no way I was lugging that huge book with me. This semester, finally, I am aiming to finish this novel. I hope that sharing my goal via Aggie Voice will give me a reading boost. It may also help that my new apartment complex has a rooftop pool that looks like the perfect setting for relaxing on the weekends or evenings and doing some reading.
The premise of “Texas,” written in 1985, is that a group of Texans is convened in Austin by the fictional governor to work together and create a curriculum about the history of Texas. Each task force member represents a somewhat diverse viewpoint within the group and each has some different ideas about the most important events and people from Texas’s past. From there, each chapter of the book is really a chapter of Texas’s history, retelling some notable period by detailing real historic events and characters while also mixing in a few fictionalized ones to make it more novel-like.
The book is from 1985, so some elements feel a little dated – the first chapter included a few male characters questioning why on earth a female task force member could be unmarried. As such, I’ll be reading this book and the author’s interpretation of history with a bit of a critical eye. I’m not sure yet how the book will describe difficult parts of history or the history of Native Americans, African Americans, or Mexican Americans. Overall though, I am hoping to advance my knowledge of Texas history by reading it. I am originally from Montana and though I’ve experienced a few key landmarks from Texas history while living here the past few years - including the Alamo, San Antonio Missions, Fort Worth Stockyards, the Capitol in Austin, and the Rio Grande - I definitely have room to learn more. Texans clearly take a lot of pride in their state and in their history, and I want to understand why. Hopefully this novel will help me do just that.
About the Author
Lindsay Martinez
Lindsay Martinez is a second-year master's student at the department of Rangeland, Wildlife, and Fisheries Management in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Growing up on the outdoors of Great Falls, Montana, her research today focuses on wildlife and conservation, with a current specialization on the conservation of the Ocelot in South Texas. Beyond being an animal lover and outdoors person, Martinez is an avid sports fan, and enjoys the Aggie sports culture.
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