Talking Texas History

Best Texas History Books To Dig Deeper

If you listened to our six-part series on turning-point documents in Texas history, Gene and Scott now lay out a listener-friendly reading list with suggestions on what to pick up when you’re ready for deeper analysis and debate. If you're looking to build your Texas history bookshelf, this episode is for you. We have a list of the books we discuss in the links below, but this is just the starting place. Other books by these authors are also worth reading, and exploring. Subscribe, share the show with a friend who loves history, and leave a review so more people can find us. Books: Donald E. Chipman and Harriet Denise Joseph, Spanish Texas, 1519 - 1821, [https://www.amazon.com/Spanish-Texas-1519-1821-Caldwell-Heritage/dp/0292721803/ref=sr_1_2?crid=34WI0538ZTHL2&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.XDQk7zPP3t7mNUgKANduSwrkwmurL63WawpwEfrii8iWGg-vgcRn2--GSJQmQlrXoKTuGSTy43ADdbP722tKi_-YlKV9IebOBTw1S953Y65Y4FHx2JGt6e1aRBwJRMGjko9D7FRLKndj0C_NhtWbTVzWkXqeof4l6JwiBDpNkVCSPLyE9E58JTEZUVLtRdxhs7jmfp8SwVYtmw1hiv1qt04oN6YSSTEdQUksSRGcscM.2aBOfPvvKbYm8qzuhNiODTcpkriJuUOYtJRdziicSw0&dib_tag=se&keywords=donald+chipman&qid=1781025915&s=books&sprefix=donald+chipman%2Cstripbooks%2C169&sr=1-2] Revised   Alvar Nunez Cabeza De Vaca, Chronicle of the Narvaez Expedition [https://www.amazon.com/Chronicle-Narvaez-Expedition-Penguin-Classics/dp/0142437077/ref=sr_1_1?crid=20A8B6O2T5QSH&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.KZAVQEOKvAhsZk0F57dv3ai8MO8xSzFv6HphGTesVBlojWAOM-0g3l9kOAt9uWVSrmjurr-CUcGwyOwucFeZpaceiPqMU4U6tILNJrC0p1OEIL3TW7-CTrkwBJJnR9VTcy7Dh00Hj8fQ6UYB_1tgUfM3WAcbXclB9FsZfki1uq7dgnhkA_XfUgr-gxkNd3jxwAD0cxnIM6KKWg4z6TIZgIzKhTTJXVem7dw10Ev-D7w.tNKLQoH8ZjByYLOKIsL1mv78iARj0E_lwOodtJ_SB88&dib_tag=se&keywords=Chronicle+of+the+Narvaez+Expedition&qid=1781025994&s=books&sprefix=chronicle+of+the+narvaez+expedition%2Cstripbooks%2C187&sr=1-1]  Alex Krieger, We Came Barefoot, Naked and Barefoot, The Journey of Cabeza Devaca across North America [https://www.amazon.com/Came-Naked-Barefoot-Archaeology-Ethnohistory/dp/0292742355/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ApDBDC8AnqRSwoS_NprJpsHiTPEOd16TwF_7ypuXeafGjHj071QN20LucGBJIEps.7Z19qPCu6v3nnYZTcivtJkz_7t7ofrzn6Pm83sseHos&qid=1781024330&sr=1-1]  Andrés Reséndez, A Land So Strange: The Epic Journey of Cabeza de Vaca [https://www.amazon.com/Land-So-Strange-Journey-Cabeza/dp/0465068413/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2HICCJY5I2IIN&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.gc_VgfOuu9KenQmGmfHG4vf1aDfnFX0bTG0u-93BFjTryXtQXJpI2GYaFzR4MsPR8FKmJjuegSyjG12cCJmOllflyOyRXk-tww7Drz3_yST_h9yW4HCpd5TCWo_p_VjFBUqVEQQX3s0q7XzQdX0Ot5s_LmN-87hbcB9Evf0DbENVt-Qb5sBIJfc_ZFIp-oihwhebSWxHGLpwWO9-bzZPoGOIxaGT-vqgnH4hz5tDhdA.B7_7fGM-OHTJs0NLxpZahWyUBUkH6vUmvGWADX-f7vg&dib_tag=se&keywords=a+land+so+strange&qid=1781024393&s=books&sprefix=a+land+so+strange%2Cstripbooks%2C176&sr=1-1] Stephen L. Hardin, Texian Iliad: A Military History of the Texas Revolution [https://www.amazon.com/Texian-Iliad-Military-History-Revolution/dp/0292731027/ref=sr_1_1?crid=XAVVK6ELUHXE&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.lKIc7k-rUUKfYpVpO65V1w.maq7Pn40L20cEFNBS-DFSA-uYa9QfGibKt2JIlJ-Zos&dib_tag=se&keywords=Texian+Iliad%3A+A+Military+History+of+the+Texas+Revolution&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1781024447&s=books&sprefix=texian+iliad+a+military+history+of+the+texas+revolution%2Cstripbooks%2C301&sr=1-1] Paul D. Lack, The Texas Revolutionary Experience: A Political and Social History, 1835-1836 [https://www.amazon.com/Texas-Revolutionary-Experience-Political-Southwestern/dp/0890967210/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0] Sam W. Haynes, Unsettled Land: From Revolution to Republic, the Struggle for Texas [https://www.amazon.com/Unsettled-Land-Revolution-Republic-Struggle/dp/1541645413/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.uZc-npF3SeUBtxgGCdLz5BVMK0p7hMRWvu0VJiokgvXsTc2nZ6ffDNCo9G_ddYh_mJie-IF5x3LU5qEOhq7J2XutxUJhQTeuPAo5z3K5EAQ.gKnseOZ9Ovq3KospC5c-fFbo-lpXTMinNuipMOvlD9k&qid=1781022735&sr=1-1] H. W. Brands, Lone Star Nation: How a Ragged Army of Volunteers Won the Battle for Texas [https://www.amazon.com/Lone-Star-Nation-Battle-Independence/dp/1400030706/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.31RlZSdAxI3eEfCvyDHXvHUCDievZoaVhnS-qYvkiXFEqxdQkp_x3wajRlOw8DtK.P4MVkBpjS42iyrkJLWb90n7JjIDq1B1hhfGLzdgyHz0&qid=1781024522&sr=1-1] Andrew Torget's Seeds of Empire, Cotton Slavery and the Transformation of the Texas Borderlands [https://www.amazon.com/Seeds-Empire-Transformation-Borderlands-1800-1850/dp/1469645564] Greg Cantrell, Stephen F. Austin: Empresario of Texas [https://www.amazon.com/Stephen-F-Austin-Empresario-Texas/dp/0300090935] James Crisp, Sleuthing the Alamo: Davy Crockett's Last Stand and Other Mysteries of the Texas Revolution [https://www.amazon.com/Sleuthing-Alamo-Crocketts-Revolution-Narratives/dp/0195163508/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.SZ13iZEVlHbcs0vZHtpZGNmT1a-iwOLqK2rqgS5FyJZLon3wfov8gBH-X6osBN1srJezaMmwI0H3kTFmJpQsRQ.09PJBQN-M406Wh5mXliZLU3iwYPFngehID9atn3guFo&qid=1781024732&sr=1-1] Carl Moneyhon, Texas After the Civil War: The Struggle of Reconstruction [https://www.amazon.com/Texas-after-Civil-War-Reconstruction/dp/158544362X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=VPQRL6ML4L08&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.iAgPwcingptBCAgVGvZ_-vmJbEzTLIAxX0b8FZZ_Xb-ZyCm_aCSRlKEqLAjnFw7z00s2u3Zn0f8zk4GfATxeUMt5iVlmX5qevUO10ypM_jIZtq7C4RWFkyso5XHZr7Vwsx8GwNjKeziPm_TBpkWyd9FzcJl5frEopb3qvRt2JZnfMwUsVAqMu9SIXOZ__xW1zBy_TABzgvSevqbWmQqH-AuP8BWX9fw5sBo6PdenGL4.iqqNdnM0oqd64g4JKQHy8B4B7cfA0d2p4XxuvgyjrYU&dib_tag=se&keywords=carl+moneyhon&qid=1781024850&s=books&sprefix=carl+moneyhon%2Cstripbooks%2C137&sr=1-1] Randolph B. Campbell, Grass Roots Reconstruction in Texas, 1865 to 1880. [https://www.amazon.com/Grass-Roots-Reconstruction-1865-1880-Randolph-Campbell/dp/0807121940/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=9Jdov&content-id=amzn1.sym.f8e88413-4697-42ea-9bf7-b28eb886330d&pf_rd_p=f8e88413-4697-42ea-9bf7-b28eb886330d&pf_rd_r=140-5646405-1534310&pd_rd_wg=rWOuw&pd_rd_r=b3111004-85b9-4d0a-a342-c8baa888347d] James Smallwood, The Feud That Wasn't: The Taylor Ring, Bill Sutton, John Wesley Hardin, and Violence in Texas [https://www.amazon.com/Feud-That-Wasnt-sponsored-University-Commerce/dp/1603440178/ref=sr_1_1?crid=RDS1G1EZVNIG&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.q4XbZoMhDS4REbwbHtOcIw.dgCR-uR1NOuXkoD9-2i-EaxjJw20QgyxSL1xJb5Di5I&dib_tag=se&keywords=The+Feud+That+Wasn%27t%3A+The+Taylor+Ring%2C+Bill+Sutton%2C+John+Wesley+Hardin%2C+and+Violence+in+Texas&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1781025232&s=books&sprefix=the+feud+that+wasn%27t+the+taylor+ring%2C+bill+sutton%2C+john+wesley+hardin%2C+and+violence+in+texas%2Cstripbooks%2C258&sr=1-1] Barry Crouch, The Freedmen's Bureau in Black Texas [https://www.amazon.com/Freedmens-Bureau-Black-Texans/dp/0292712197/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.6lnJSyJStSZj3JGFy17CorEsSCv5K9_mFRkn4Mmk4hY.ODExvb9DVSGxtyG9C3Ma9ewK3-BnV0dNeDkGHFOE58M&qid=1781025282&sr=1-1] Greg Cantrell, Feeding The Wolf: John B. Rayner and the Politics of Race, 1850 - 1918 [https://www.amazon.com/Feeding-Wolf-John-Rayner-Politics/dp/0882959611/ref=sr_1_2?crid=33MRO844N8ZDA&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.yMU51GrBlBhaeB4PrO6laymEjLCf0gcI-c5Kkcpe61lK44Vpeo5yfrJ9heBO6pbwmQEkiqQIRX0gHT0Z4_K4cinyEEaXZXS7Z2akgfidSnBh4tf8mDDnXtN5shCr8iDZraGGnq_Y4v6S06upz27WbbGGa5CzbEaTtboI-EyDsrU_dAnAKklffzCg78oq2i6c4VPEDF5ywdtV3BLnSwhpeDEJeEBHvSVrO1gqGnIqKqE.h9EL9w4vTGQvcyKWMoMStJB4kLYHO_Hn8fL4Cfl64e0&dib_tag=se&keywords=Feeding+the+wolf&qid=1781025333&s=books&sprefix=feeding+the+wolf%2Cstripbooks%2C193&sr=1-2] Lewis Gould, Progressives and Prohibitionists: Texas Democrats in the Wilson Era [https://www.amazon.com/Progressives-Prohibitionists-Democrats-History-Reprint/dp/0876111215/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.6Sdo4x6kUwSZ5H1iVPq6IE4cjCgnKo18C7lmgq4mIFUS1wg-QXCk-xNW8g9GivX-IL0yId61537-sDcjvw8GrBg_dn7mDmOjI7jjkk94Tkfg1xXs3O6lTuqYknTwZFiCRHLr6YAGl2iCeZr43wI0va7opsyEvwHWP1vYosqpHXIc474IFgDxEGuS8nwh3Qk23yWbLR34wezRLHjyujdBcu4KpvZKekObhJYN-4EzqvQ.9f--VAwiZf-lJ5mGGhQoCumaznZLAsXkGlClzbNIU_I&qid=1781025430&sr=1-1] Alwwn Barr, Reconstruction to Reform: Texas Politics, 1876 to 1906 [https://www.amazon.com/Reconstruction-Reform-Texas-Politics-1876/dp/0870744445/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.B0mxsRQxR0VXZ0t1HZyS-ejOzNytWuMOimVeR81YnkZxr-eeYEsm9zWTm2hHDXTq_NjjymlbX_sYbVNU8a0JrDCoVzSwWW_AftJ7je7-o-U_qK8ljUA9aJdiiLQku6SQ.cVxWorzPk7gz-qyRZTR42UcSXPXR4yrvsHf6hk_3f-I&qid=1781025563&sr=1-1]

Texas Documents, Part 6: Keeping the American Promise

We complete our series on documents that made Texas history by looking a  president who was full of contradictions and still could tell the truth at exactly the right moment. Lyndon B. Johnson’s March 15, 1965 address to Congress, “The American Promise,” delivered in the shadow of Selma and months before the Voting Rights Act of 1965 becomes law. If you’ve never read “The American Promise,” click the link below to read the text and watch the video. If you enjoy deep dives into Texas history, civil rights history, and the craft of historical interpretation, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave us a review. LBJ's "The American Promise" at The American Presidency Project: https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/special-message-the-congress-the-american-promise#docmedia [https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/special-message-the-congress-the-american-promise#docmedia]

Texas Documents, Part 5: The Cleburne Demands II

In this episode Scott and Gene wrap up their conversation on the Farmer's Demands.  Farmers wanted company workers to get paid in real money instead of company scrip, stop railroad rebates that favored the rich and powerful of their day, end convict leasing, and force the country to look honestly at wages and living conditions. That sounds like a modern platform, but it’s Texas history and it’s rooted in the 1886 Cleburne meeting of the Farmers Alliances. We pick up the last demands from the Cleburne platform and unpack what they were really aiming at: making American politics answer to working people when corporations and concentrated wealth feel untouchable. Many of these ideas we associate with Progressivism, New Deal liberalism, and a stronger federal role in the economy grow out of this Populist revolt.   If you enjoy smart, grounded conversations about Texas history before and beyond the Alamo, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a review so more listeners can find us.

Texas Documents, Part 4: The Cleburne Demands

In this episode, we look at an 1886 newspaper article that captures a moment when Texas farmers stop grumbling and start drafting demands. From the small town of Cleburne, the Farmers Alliance lays out an early blueprint for American populism, and we use that document to follow rural life in the late nineteenth century.  If you like primary sources, Texas political history, or the roots of the People’s Party and the Populist movement, hit play, share the episode with a history friend, and leave a review. What part of the Cleburne platform feels most familiar today?

Texas Documents, Part 3: John H. Reagan and The Future Texas Refused

As we continue our look at important documents in Texas' past, John H. Reagan's letter of 1865: the Civil War was lost, secession was finished, slavery was over, and survival meant embracing a new order. We unpack John H. Reagan’s prison letter—its stark realism, its calls for legal protections for freedpeople, and its blueprint for rebuilding Texas through reconciliation, immigration, and industry—and place it against the charged backdrop of early Reconstruction. If you value history grounded in documents rather than myths, this conversation opens a sharper lens on Reconstruction, Texas history, and the choices made—and refused—after 1865. Subscribe, share with a friend who loves Texas history, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway or question.