Lone Star Nation

How a Ragged Army of Courageous Volunteers Won the Battle for Texas Independence

By: H.W. Brands

Narrated by: Don Leslie

Length: 17 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

From best-selling historian and longtime Texan H. W. Brands, a richly textured history of one of the most fascinating and colorful eras in U.S. history - the Texas Revolution and the forging of a new America.

"For better or for worse, Texas was very much like America. The people ruled, and little could stop them. If they ignored national boundaries, if they trampled the rights of indigenous peoples and of imported bondsmen, if they waged war for motives that started from base self-interest, all this came with the territory of democracy, a realm inhabited by ordinarily imperfect men and women. The one saving grace of democracy - the one that made all the difference in the end - was that sooner or later, sometimes after a terrible strife, democracy corrected its worst mistakes." (Lone Star Nation)

Lone Star Nation is the gripping story of Texas's precarious journey to statehood, from its early colonization in the 1820s to the shocking massacres of Texas loyalists at the Alamo and Goliad by the Mexican army, from its rough-and-tumble years as a land overrun by the Comanches to its day of liberation as an upstart republic.

H. W. Brands tells the turbulent story of Texas through the eyes of a colorful cast of characters who have become a permanent fixture in the American landscape: Stephen Austin, the state's reluctant founder; Sam Houston, the alcoholic former governor who came to lead the Texas army in its hour of crisis and glory; William Travis, James Bowie, and David Crockett, the unforgettable heroic defenders of the doomed Alamo; Santa Anna, the Mexican generalissimo and dictator whose ruthless tactics galvanized the colonists against him; and the white-haired President Andrew Jackson whose expansionist aspirations loomed large in the background.

Beyond these luminaries, Brands unearths the untold stories of the forgotten Texans - the slaves, women, unknown settlers, and children left out of traditional histories - who played crucial roles in Texas’s birth. By turns bloody and heroic, tragic and triumphant, this riveting history of one of our greatest states reads like the most compelling fiction, and further secures H. W. Brands's position as one of the premier American historians.

©2004 H.W. Brands (P)2004 Books on Tape, Inc.

Critic reviews

"It's hard to think that the story could be better told." (Publishers Weekly)
"Brands' impressive integrative account of the fabled Texas revolution of the 1830s relates key incidents and displays trenchant psychological insights, engraving both with the fundamental forces involved....[An] excellent, fair-minded chronicle." (Booklist)
"The author is so conversant with the intricacies of his subject that he assumes a degree of familiarity in the reader....Of the legendary characters who died there, Mr. Brands is notably clear-eyed." (The New York Times)

Lone Star Nation is an American story

Would you listen to Lone Star Nation again? Why?

Yes. As a new Texan resident who's raising children in the Lonestar State, this book gives me a thorough understanding of our new home's heritage.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Lone Star Nation?

I enjoyed getting to know the lives of the Texas "founders" before they came to Texas.

What does Don Leslie bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

As a daily 2-hour commuter, audio books make it possible for me to be a "reader" again. Carving out additional time would be nearly impossible with work and family obligations.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. I looked forward to every drive so I could hear what happens next.

Riveting

An absorbing history, sweeping in scope, thrilling in incident, uncommonly well written and superbly read. One of the best audiobooks I have encountered.

Great Texas History book

What did you love best about Lone Star Nation?

It was written from primary source research and offered a factual history of the making of the Lone Star State

Who was your favorite character and why?

Non-fiction work

What does Don Leslie bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He used regional accents (including more than one from Mexican and US states) that brought the historical quotes to life.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Nope, just very informative.

Any additional comments?

Great reference for anyone that is curious how the one current US state once belonged to a foreign country, and was a independent republic before it entered the union.

Excellent voices by the narrator

I recently moved to Texas, and this was a wonderful introduction to her history. The narrator does a marvelous job with voices and really adds a lot to the story

Excellent performance of a well written story

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The author weaved a fascinating story and the performance was superb.

More depth than expected, less breadth.

I had expected a more wide ranging history of the state. Instead, I recieved an EXTREMELY detailed history of its devlopment around the Alamo fight time period. Good details on the players, and lots of material from the time period.

But I was expecting it to cover a greater period of time. When I got to halfway through the second part of the download and was still hearing about the same people, I gave up. Just sooo much detail of the same period. Good, but not what I washoping for...

So if you are looking for a well done coverage of the creation of the state, rather than a history of the state itself, then you will be happy.

Texas languages butchered

This is not an in-depth study of the Texas Revolution. It is more of a survey. From that perspective, however, it is an excellent survey. What I just couldn't get past was how badly the narrator absolutely butchered the place names. I am a native, whose family has been here over 150 years. I can let you slide in hen you mispronounce 'Bejar', I tolerated the mispronunciation of Tonkawa and Karankawa. Mispronouncing San Saba , was annoying, Butchering Anahuac was irritating, but when he insisted on calling Brazoria "Brazo-rhea", I could no longer listen.

Narration detracts from an otherwise good read

I'm a fan of Audible, and have enjoyed the past selections I've made.

The narration of this (good) book is detracting from the overall experience. I'm not sure what level of quality control is applied to the process, post authoring the book. This narrator is clearly not from Texas, apparently didn't bother to learn the pronunciation of names / places unfamiliar to him, and apparently nobody bothered to listen to his work. I'm not sure to whom the responsibility falls for such a review, but it didn't happen. The result is a 'read' that is less than it could be, and cheapens the work of a good author. To be clear, I'm not talking about an isolated incident; the mispronunciations are so frequent and so distracting that it detracts from the story.

Signed,
A Texan

too many mispronunciations

it's hard to like this when there are so many incorrect pronunciation throughout the entire book. it's also disturbing that the logo for the book has the Texas flag with the white to the right. any Texan knows the white is to the observer's left with the flag is hung vertically