Gone to Texas

A History of the Lone Star State

By: Randolph B. Campbell

Narrated by: Jacob Sommer

Length: 28 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

Gone to Texas engagingly tells the story of the Lone Star State, from the arrival of humans in the Panhandle more than 10,000 years ago to the opening of the 21st Century. Focusing on the state's successive waves of immigrants, the audiobook offers an inclusive view of the vast array of Texans who, often in conflict with each other and always in a struggle with the land, created a history and an idea of Texas.

©2003 Randolph B. Campbell (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Great book, Good information, so so narrator

As a third generation Texan who grew up in Corpus Christi, I enjoyed this book. I learned a lot. The narrator was easy to understand, but he needed to talk with a Texas history teacher in Texas to learn how to pronounce some things Texas. When he mentioned the Karen-Kawa Indians I had no idea what he was talking about until he mentioned they were on the Gulf coast, then I realized he was talking about the Karankawa Indians. Anahuac was butchered also. Oh well, I'll get over it.

Full history, but should have been produced better

The problems will really only bother Texans.
The reader was clearly professional, but mispronounced numerous place and peoples names throughout.
Worst offender: mentioning the Kiowa Indian tribe. The reader says Key-o-wah, when it should sound like Ky-o-wah.
Jim Bowie's last name should sound like "buoy", but was read with the more common "bo-ee"
There are too many more to name.

Read Michener instead.

I adore Texas history! I've lived in Texas off and on for many years and the people and the state really speak to me. This book, however, does not. It's well researched and contains some interesting material but the writing just doesn't shine...and with this topic it needs to. James Michener's "Texas" which, albeit, is historical fiction, will really give you a much better idea of Texas and Texans. I recommend Michener over this.

You gotta get a Texan narrator

The book was great and the narration was good except the narrator didn't properly pronounce the names of many texas names. Bexar= bayhar. Mexia= mahaya. Uvalde= youvaldee. There were others that I can't remember but those stuck out. It is such a Texan thing to have weird pronunciations but someone narrating a Texas book who presumably conferred with the author should know how these things are pronounced in the.. Texan language? I was really confused for about 3/4 of the book thinking to myself, "Now where the hell is bear county?" (His pronunciation of Bexar) Another example of Texans doing things however they damn well please I guess. Other than that I highly recommend this comprehensive and enjoyable book to everyone

Really enjoyed this book!

Too many misspronunciatios of sir names and places.

Very well written and researched. Kudos to the author!

Good Book... Until the end

I really enjoyed the vast majority of this book.

Once we get to the last chapter however, it begins to fall apart and the author starts to show hi true colors.

DISSAPPOINTED.

Annoying mispronunciation

great book, but reader diminishes the work with his repeated mispronunciation of Spanish names and common Texas placemanes. Clearly not a Texan and clearly did not bother to try. Spanish does not have long vowels, but does with this guy. Texans will cringe every time the reader says Seguin, Bastrop or trips over a Spanish name.

Excellent book on Texas History

Would you consider the audio edition of Gone to Texas to be better than the print version?

Not sure...if the print version has pictures then I would say no, but if it's entirely published text, then I'd say sure.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Gone to Texas?

The events surrounding Texas Independence from Mexico is always fascinating to read about.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

The narrator should have learned how to pronounce Texas towns and cities the way they're meant to be pronounced. As a Texas Native, it was extremely frustrating to hear him butcher the names of towns like "Nacogdoces" and "Natchitoches". Even "New Orleans" and "Sabine" were cringe worthy to hear the narrator mispronounce. I understand that by not living in and around these areas there has to be a level of forgiveness for people who can't pronounce them correctly, but if you're going to read the news or much less an audio book on Texas History, at minimum they should know how to pronounce the names correctly.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

"The legends, mystique, and truth behind the Lone Star State"

Any additional comments?

This was an excellent read and great overview of Texas history. I really enjoyed the way "Gone To Texas" was laid out and can appreciate many of the questions posed by Campbell.

GTT will be something that I'd like to re-read every year or so, and as a Texas Native could identify with much of what Campbell was writing about. I also enjoyed his cultural perspectives that offered a look at Texans and the Texas mystique.

From a people perspective, I also enjoyed at how Campbell spoke about the state's darker history when dealing with Indians and slaves. We never really got that perspective in school, so it was good to read about what actually happened during those troublesome times of people learning to live side-by-side and adjust to various cultures.

Pros: a great, exhaustive look at Texas history from the earliest Native people to 2011.
Cons: a bit heavy with all of the political changes and people; however I understand how the politics helped shape Texas into what it is today. Just a little hard to get through compared to the other material.
Bottom line: an excellent summary of Texas history for anyone interested in this great state's origins, history, and future.

Great story, bad pronounciation.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I grew up in South Texas and was used to hearing names pronounced a certain way. This narrator inconsistently mispronounces names like Karankawa, Kiowa, Tonkawa, Refugio, Nueces, Lavaca, Bowie, Anahuac, Rene Robert Cavalier Sieur de la Salle, etc. The tone and tempo of the reading is good, but not getting basic Texan words right is a little distracting.

The proud Texan

Enjoyed this a lot. But the consistent mispronunciation of several towns and individuals was off putting for the true TEXAN’s I did learn much concerning reconstruction era.