Being Texan: essays, recipes, and advice for the Lone Star way of life
Description
The editors of Texas Monthly explore what it means to be a Texan in this anthology packed with essays, reportage, recipes, and recommendations from their renowned list of contributors.
Big hats, big trucks, big oil fortunes—Texas clichés all. And while those elements do flourish throughout Texas, they alone hardly define the place. The Lone Star State is and has always been a great melting pot, home to sprawling cities, trailblazing innovators, and treasured traditions from all over, many of which become ingrained in popular culture and intertwined with the American ideal.In this collection, the editors of Texas Monthly take stock of their multifaceted, larger-than-life state, including the people, customs, land, culture, and cuisine that have collided and comingled here. Featuring essays, reportage, recipes, and recommendations from the magazine’s legendary roster of contributors, and accompanied by original drawings, Being Texan explores the landscapes that are home to more than 29 million people; the joys and idiosyncrasies of Texan life; underappreciated episodes of Texas history; and distinctive strains of Texan arts and culture.
Illuminating, surprising, and entertaining, Being Texan reveals the Lone Star State in all its beauty, vastness, and complexity.
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Published Reviews
Publisher's Weekly Review
Contributors to Texas Monthly consider "what it means to be Texan" in this lighthearted collection. Mimi Swartz's essay "Strong Texas Women" discusses Gov. Ann Richards and journalist Molly Ivins, as well as 21st-century role models Beyoncé, Simone Biles, and Lizzo. Sterry Butcher notes that less than 2% of the state's territory is federal land ("Texas, in other words, is held by Texans"); David Courtney provides an amusing round-up of "weirdly named towns" (among them, Ding Dong, Wink, and Fink), and Wes Ferguson identifies Texas's "most dangerous creatures," including black widow spiders, scorpions, and fire ants. Elsewhere, John Spong discusses how the John Sayles film Lone Star redefined the Texas western by depicting "the way everyday Brown, Black, and white Texans were dealing with the state's cruel racial history," and Skip Hollandsworth incisively analyzes how novelist Larry McMurtry "elevated and eviscerated with the kind of marrow-piercing observations only ever allowed native sons." Readers will also find recipes for cheese enchiladas, Viet-Cajun crawfish, and a cactus juice cocktail to wash them down. This entertaining compendium captures the allure of the Lone Star state. (Nov.)
Publishers Weekly Reviews
Contributors to Texas Monthly consider "what it means to be Texan" in this lighthearted collection. Mimi Swartz's essay "Strong Texas Women" discusses Gov. Ann Richards and journalist Molly Ivins, as well as 21st-century role models Beyoncé, Simone Biles, and Lizzo. Sterry Butcher notes that less than 2% of the state's territory is federal land ("Texas, in other words, is held by Texans"); David Courtney provides an amusing round-up of "weirdly named towns" (among them, Ding Dong, Wink, and Fink), and Wes Ferguson identifies Texas's "most dangerous creatures," including black widow spiders, scorpions, and fire ants. Elsewhere, John Spong discusses how the John Sayles film Lone Star redefined the Texas western by depicting "the way everyday Brown, Black, and white Texans were dealing with the state's cruel racial history," and Skip Hollandsworth incisively analyzes how novelist Larry McMurtry "elevated and eviscerated with the kind of marrow-piercing observations only ever allowed native sons." Readers will also find recipes for cheese enchiladas, Viet-Cajun crawfish, and a cactus juice cocktail to wash them down. This entertaining compendium captures the allure of the Lone Star state. (Nov.)
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