[close] Mary Jo Powell's Texas begins with a panorama of the vast Texas landscape, from the Piney Woods to Big Bend Country, before turning to the people of the land now called Texas. She begins with those who inhabited the area before the Spanish arrived, the story of the Alamo, the movement from independent nation to state, the role of slavery in Texas, the state's role in the Civil War and reconstruction, and how the state survived both World Wars and the Depression. Along the way, Powell addresses some uniquely Texan phenomena, such as the myth and realities of the Texas cowboy, how the discovery of oil and logging changed the land and its identity, and the rancorous and spirited world of Texas politics, which made its mark on US politics with the rise of Lyndon B. Johnson and the Bush family. It also introduces readers to the spicier side of the state, including its food, the movies it inspired, its music, and its writers. [close]