Like most passionate nations, Texas has its own private history based on, but not limited by facts--John Steinbeck For the most part, this is an enjoyable read but it is occasionally clouded by bias, ignorance, and errors.
In the realm of military history, Haley does not understand military organization terminology. He ranks Philip Sheridan as a division commander in 1867 when he was a department commander. (329) Earlier, in describing the 2nd Texas Infantry Regiment, Haley writes that "when it was repatriated after capture, [it] could muster no more than a brigade." (316)
There is an overworking of the term "yahoo" and a strong bias against organized religion. This bias manifests itself in the constant degradation of the Second Great Awakening as being oppressive and moronic. For example: "The frosty certainty with which early church leaders viewed their right to schoolmarm over the lives of their followers and others was rooted more in the unlettered [emphasis mine] Second Great Awakening than it was in any biblical warrant." (279) Has the man not read the Gospels or the Letters of Paul (especially those to Timothy and Titus)?
Finally, there are some oversights. Texas music receives little coverage other than Bob Wills and Janis Joplin. Sports? Do sports matter to Texans? Most glaring is the assassination of Kennedy. No mention of Oswald, Warren Commission, or how the nation reacted to Texas, and in particular, to Dallas. Enjoyable, but read with caution.
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