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Post by sloanrodgers on Mar 9, 2010 19:10:05 GMT -5
I bought this book last week and it seems interesting for one without a complete narrative form. It's called: The Texas That Might Have Been. Before Margaret Swett Henson passed away, she collected numerous letters to Gen. Albert Sydney Johnston from Sam Houston's bitter political enemies. Johnston's friends M. B. Lamar, James Love, Albert Triplett Burnley, Charles Harrison, J. B. Ransom and a Kentucky cabal hoped to entice the general into runs against Houston for Texas president and governor. The book is edited by some guy named Donald E. Willett and has really good introductions by him and Henson. From what I've read so far, these politicos and schemers seem to have hated Gen. Houston primarily because he wasn't a Whig and a dirty Unionist, who was trying to bind their Texas Republic to the United States. The obvious premise from the title and the text is that Texas would be a very different place if they had been successful and blocked Houston from public office instead of the other way around. Thank God for a crafty old Raven. The Texas That Might Have Been. www.deastore.com/book/the-texas-that-might-have-margaret-swett-henson-donald-willett-texas-a-e-m-university-press/9781603441452.html
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Post by sloanrodgers on Mar 11, 2010 7:00:13 GMT -5
I had trouble sleeping last night, so I read some of the letters, then noticed that our old friend, Dr. James E. Crisp from the Emily Wars gave this book high praise on the back dust jacket. He also gave kudos to Willett for finishing Henson's work. I havn't heard anything on Jim Crisp in ages and hope he's doing well.
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Post by TRK on Mar 11, 2010 7:39:18 GMT -5
Thanks for the mini-review of the book, RR. What are the earliest letters in the book: late 1850s, or do they go back further than that?
Ditto on Dr. Crisp.
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Post by Kevin Young on Mar 11, 2010 9:26:11 GMT -5
Jim was in Dallas this past weekend. He was signing copies of a "new" version of Dan Kilgore's How Did Davy Die.
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Post by Allen Wiener on Mar 11, 2010 10:17:54 GMT -5
I just ordered that online and was notified that it shipped a few days ago. I think the book is the same, but has a new intro by Crisp, as with his edition of the Perry translation of de la Pena.
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Post by sloanrodgers on Mar 11, 2010 21:26:35 GMT -5
Thanks for the mini-review of the book, RR. What are the earliest letters in the book: late 1850s, or do they go back further than that? Ditto on Dr. Crisp. I'm not at home with the book right now, but I believe the letters start in late 1839 after Johnston returned to his old Kentucky home. Until I found this book, I didn't know he hated Houston so much. After all as president, Houston made Johnston General of the Republic's army. Strange, but maybe I just don't understand the man or the time period.
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Post by sloanrodgers on Mar 13, 2010 4:14:59 GMT -5
One thing I found interesting with this book. There is a reference in one of the introductions to Johnston sending Gen. Houston a letter and apparently challenging him to a duel. I wonder if Gen. Houston told him to take a number.
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