The Texas State Historical Association is pleased to offer a newedition of Stephen F. Austin: Empresario of Texas, Gregg Cantrell's path-breaking biography of the founder of Anglo Texas.Cantrell's portrait goes beyond the traditional interpretation ofAustin as the man who spearheaded American Manifest Destiny.Cantrell portrays Austin as a borderlands figure who couldnavigate the complex cultural landscape of 1820s Texas, then aportion of Mexico.His command of the Spanish language, respect for the Mexicanpeople, and ability to navigate the shoals of Mexican politicsmade him the perfect advocate for his colonists and often for all ofTexas. Yet when conflicts between Anglo colonists and Mexicanauthorities turned violent, Austin's accommodationist stancebecame outdated.Overshadowed by the military hero Sam Houston, he died at theage of forty-three, just six months after Texas independence.Decades after his death, Austin's reputation was resurrected andhe became known as the "Father of Texas." More than just anicon, Stephen F. Austin emerges from these pages as a shrewd,complicated, and sometimes conflicted figure.

Hardly were the last shots fired at the Alamo before the Texas Revolution entered the realm of myth and controversy. French visitor Frederic Gaillardet called it a "Texian Iliad" in 1839, while American Theodore Sedgwick pronounced the war and its resulting legends "almost burlesque." In this highly readable history, Stephen L. Hardin discovers more than a little truth in both of those views. Drawing on many original Texan and Mexican sources and on-site inspections of almost every battlefield, he offers the first complete military history of the Revolution. From the war's opening in the "Come and Take It" incident at Gonzales to the capture of General Santa Anna at San Jacinto, Hardin clearly describes the strategy and tactics of each side. His research yields new knowledge of the actions of famous Texan and Mexican leaders, as well as fascinating descriptions of battle and camp life from the ordinary soldier's point of view. This award-winning book belongs on the bookshelf of everyone interested in Texas or military history.