SOCIAL SCIENCES

God Save Texas: A Journey into the Soul of the Lone Star State

by Lawrence Wright
Knopf. Apr. 2018. 352p. illus. ISBN 9780525520108. $27.95; ebk. ISBN 9780525520115. HIST
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OrangeReviewStarPulitzer Prize winner and longtime Austin resident Wright (The Looming Tower; The Terror Years) delivers an impressive ode to the Lone Star State in this work that is outside his typical journalistic focus. Written in a balanced tone, this narrative examines Texas' historical, political, and social fabrics that make the present tapestry, revealing a portrait of one of the most perplexing American states. Wright's analyses of Hurricane Harvey and 2017 legislative battles, along with the ambush of Dallas police officers in 2016 give the work currency. However, this reviewer wishes that Wright would have had a chance to evaluate the Astros' championship and the Sutherland Springs church massacre. Beyond that untimely omission, the author has done a masterful service of revealing both the warts and beauty of Texas' big state of mind.
VERDICT Highly recommended for Texans and non-Texans alike, who are interested in works about the current zeitgeist.
Reviewed by Jacob Sherman, John Peace Lib., Univ. of Texas at San Antonio , Mar 01, 2018
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