The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 96, July 1992 - April, 1993 Page: 595
681 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Book Reviews
NORMAN D. BROWN, Editor
The Texas Heritage: Second Edition. Edited by Ben Procter and Archie P. McDonald
(Arlington Heights: Harlan Davidson, Inc., 1992. Pp. xiii+366. Introduc-
tion, black-and-white photographs, illustrations. $14.95, paper.)
This new edition of The Texas Heritage, like its predecessor, is a collection
which, in its first ten chapters, details the history of the Lone Star State in
chronological order. Then it switches to topical format to tip its hat at most of
what currently is fashionable in historical circles: the Tejano experience, the civ-
il rights movement, and women. Also included are chapters on some items more
uniquely Texan: cowboys, the oil and gas industry, the Texas Rangers, and
sports.
The authors of these chapters offer little new in the way of research. Rather
their strong point is synthesis, each of them drawing upon years of investigation
to shed light-in some twenty pages-on his period of specialization. As always
in such efforts, the results are uneven in quality. Most of the articles show dili-
gence in compressing difficult subject matter into the length requirements, but
a few look like rehashed standard lectures from an undergraduate survey Texas
history course. Moreover, almost every user of this book will argue the space al-
lotment for topics, each believing his or her favorite period should have been al-
lowed more pages. For example, Spanish-Mexican Texas gets only seventeen
brief pages, sports thirty.
On balance, however, The Texas Heritage is a fine survey of a subject difficult to
capture in one brief volume. The editors have done their work so deftly that the
work of fifteen Texas historians flows together without major omissions or jar-
ring gaps, and a brief bibliography at the end of each chapter offers suggestions
for those wanting to do additional reading.
My major complaint is that this volume, obviously intended for use in the col-
lege Texas history survey course, has no index. I recall that several years ago Dr.
Seymour "Ike" Connor, then professor of Southwestern history at Texas Tech,
was asked to review a beautifully printed and excellently edited volume of docu-
ments pertaining to San Sabi's mission and presidio. Ike's review made brief
comment about the book's worthy content and beautiful format, then noted it
had no index. The rest of his review was an index for the book. In examining this
volume, I find it has worthy content, and its format is above average. All it really
needs is an index. If Ike reviews The Texas Heritage, I hope he sends me a copy.Temple
ODIE S. FAULK
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 96, July 1992 - April, 1993, periodical, 1993; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101215/m1/665/: accessed April 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.