The Blazing Southwest is Superb History of S.W.
Paul Wellman's History Books of the American West are Outstanding
Jun 16, 2009
The Blazing Southwest, by Paul Wellman, (Fireside Press, 1954) is yet another positively excellent account of the settling of the American West. Like two other books by Wellman (Death in the Desert and Death on the Prairie) The Blazing Southwest is thoroughly fascinating and informative.
This book is divided into four main sections; the first section, "The Travails of Texas," deals largely with Texas history and people; the next sections deal with the Civil War and the great cattle drives north. All parts of the book are well documented and excellently written. Some of the material covered in this book is also covered in his other books in more detail, however.
Texas History
In this book, "The Travail of Texas" was outstanding. Wellman presented a precise and detailed early account of Texas history as the area was traded between Spain, France, Mexico and later the young United States. When Wellman writes, names one may have heard all one’s life suddenly become real. Events become more than just a paragraph in a school text book. Wellman has a way of recounting people and events that make them highly exciting and keep one turning the pages.
Non-Texans, often lack understanding or appreciation for Texas pride and the macho image projected by the title of “Texan.” But reading Wellman’s account of Texans and their incredible history is nothing short of stimulating and plain awe-inspiring.
This story goes beyond Texas, though. It basically goes to the heart of the expression, “A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.” How often in modern times are men’s actions deemed heroic anymore? How often in a society that insists there are no differences between men and women, do men get the opportunity to claim the right to “do what they gotta do.” While many individuals pursue careers that enable them to adopt this stance, like law enforcement officers and soldiers, all too often people never experience personal contact with this sense of manhood.
Famous Texans
Sam Houston’s part in Texas history is unparalleled as far as showing a man who was not only brave, but of outstanding character, strength, determination and dedication. He is just one of many individuals, however, who contributed to Texas’ great history. Jim Bowie was another, and Austin, and so many more.
There is no question that Texans made their share of blunders and wrong decisions in the course of their tumultuous history, particularly when it came to their blatant abuse of the friendly Cherokee Indian Nation. But when those long rifles fired, there was no mistaking who was pulling the triggers! Mexicans tasted Texan firepower on more than one occasion, as did many others.
Wellman’s book is well worth reading. The problem, unfortunately, is that finding copies in the United States is almost impossible. This writer found it necessary to purchase the book from an English book seller. Indeed, one must wonder why an American History book was published by a British press to begin with!
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