NPR

'Big Wonderful Thing' Sets Us Straight On Texas, Moving Away From The Mythology

Stephen Harrigan's sprawling history of the Lone Star state showcases his enthusiasm for Texas; it's an endlessly fascinating look at how the state has evolved over the years.
View of the Texas Gulf Coast (from Houston to Beaumont) taken in 1969 from space during the Apollo 9 mission.

It's hard to think of another writer with as much Lone Star credibility as Stephen Harrigan. The Austin-based writer contributed to Texas Monthly magazine for decades, and his best-known book, The Gates of the Alamo, is widely considered to be the best novel about the epic battle ever written.

Harrigan, essentially, is to Texas literature what Willie Nelson is to Texas music.

And his latest book might just be the one he, a sprawling history of the Lone Star state, showcases Harrigan's enthusiasm for Texas ⁠— it's an endlessly fascinating look at how the state has evolved over the years.

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