Historian Jerry Thompson tells the story of what historian William H. Goetzmann has called a “wild and vivid land.” From Coahuiltecan Native Americans and colonizers along the Rio Grande, to oil wildcatters of the brush country.
In this book, Thompson details 6 centuries of history in detailed text and illustrations. It was on the South Texas border that the Mexican War began and the Civil War ended. Over the centuries the border area has been the setting for extraordinary events.
For instance, readers will see steamboat commerce on the Rio Grande; the Civil War cotton trade; the cattle industries; the coming of railroads in the 1880s; and the citrus, oil, and gas industries of the twentieth century. Above all, this book of remarkable pictures and stories is the kind one returns to again and again.
The South Texas border becomes vivid in the mind—a singular and an unforgettable encounter.
Bryan (verified owner) –
A beautiful book. This is meant to be an heirloom of a historic story.
Don Hoyt (verified owner) –
Beverly B. Rodriguez (verified owner) –
This book was a Christmas present for my husband Mike Rodriguez, Jose Miguel Rodriguez de Garcia y Hinojosa. His family was Basque and received a colonial Spanish land grant in Nuevo Santander. He loved the history as told in “A Wild and Vivid Land”.
I am a member of Copiah Chapter, NSDAR in Mississippi. Recently, the descendants of these colonists who paid the Spanish tax collected in 1780 to monetarily help the American Revolution cause. I am trying to get more history of the area and hopefully entice my daughter into joining NSDAR through that line rather than my patriot lines. She and I also enjoyed reading this volume. Maria is trying to learn to speak better Spanish since reading it.
Ronald Switzer (verified owner) –
Enjoyable and accurate