A Texan in England

by J. Frank Dobie

1944: by J. Frank Dobie- He was both amusing and yet viewed as way different.

Genres: History

405 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1980

About the author

Called the "Storyteller of the Southwest," James Frank Dobie was born in 1888 on his family's cattle ranch in Live Oak County. During his long life, J. Frank Dobie would live astride two worlds: a rugged life on a Texas cattle ranch and the state's modern centers of scholarly learning.

Dobie came to Austin in 1914 to teach at the University of Texas. In time he pioneered an influential course on the literature of the Southwest. By the late 1920s, Dobie discovered his mission: to record and publicize the disappearing folklore of Texas and the greater Southwest. Dobie became secretary of the Texas Folklore Society, a position he held for 21 years.

J. Frank Dobie Dobie was a new kind of folklorist—a progressive activist. He called for UT to admit African-American students in the 1940s—long before the administration favored integration. Dobie's vocal politics led to his leaving the University in 1947, but he continued writing until his death in 1964, publishing over twenty books and countless articles.

The inscription on Dobie's headstone in the Texas State Cemetery reads: "I have come to value liberated minds as the supreme good of life on earth." J. Frank Dobie was not content to simply preserve Southwestern heritage within libraries and museums. He gave life to that heritage and informed generations of Texans about their rich history.

Reviews

[Nate · Rating 5 out of 5]

This man’s prose is deserving of far greater acclaim than it appears he ever got.
I wish he had been less intentionally vague in his describing where he was at times but his meandering thoughts and observations were poetic and in the best tradition of American authors.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dobie spent some time in England and tells of his experiences. He gives his impressions of the people and the country in a sometimes humorous vein.

[Rosie Ochoa · Rating 5 out of 5]

My mother sent this book to me when I decided to take a year with my husband and move to his home country. I am from Texas, he is from England. I was really struggling with the culture, weather, food etc. and a few months into my year in England, this book showed up in the post from my mom. It changed everything. I have read this book several times extensively and with a pencil in hand because everything in this book rings true today. Dobie is ahead of his time and is so in tune with the differences between American and English culture. His love of nature, birds and English gardens, his ability to recognize machines taking over human jobs as a detriment to society, when he speaks of politics: "the kind of people we can trust humanly are the kind of people we can trust governmentally", his knowledge of poetry is incredible and his ability to see things for what they really are I found impressive and made me proud to be a Texan. It also helped me change my mindset and embrace everything England had to offer.

[Sam Rennick · Rating 4 out of 5]

The brief synopsis above speculates at to whether Dobie conquered England, or England conquered Dobie. It's definitely the latter. I read this book very long ago and could not possibly recall a single chapter, but what I do recall is Dobie's informed, perceptive tribute to the English character. This is an endearing book, impossible not to like. It's about England, yes, but there's something else. If you are among those (and you are not rare) who believe there isn't much more to Texas than a cowboy on a horse, you will think differently after reading this book.

[Bull · Rating 2 out of 5]

This feels like a collection of stories and, as with any collection, it is a bit uneven.

Enjoyed the first 2/3 of the book with slice-of-life human interest stories, which must be Dobie's forte not having read any of his other stuff. Towards the end, tho, he gets a bit wordy. Seems to have fallen into his English Lit professor persona with highfalutin references to Greek (?) philosophers meant to impress us and turns of phrases that took two reads of the same sentence to figure out.

[Michele Lawson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is J. Frank Dobie's travel log of his time in England during WWII and all the interesting places he went. He wrote eloquently of all the individuals of the British Isles he met, but so very little about the war in Britian and throughout the world. It was almost like the war was an afterthought and it irked me that he was teaching and traveling through Britian while other were dying on the battlefield. Just not a fan of this one.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a texan and a long time Dobie fan who has recently added anglophile to my list of desciprtors. So of course I loved this book, even went to his local pub on my trip to Cambridge. I'll probably read it again sometime this year, now that I've been there.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it!