Texas (novel)

Texas
1st edition cover
Author(s)	James Michener
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Historical novel
Publisher	Random House
Publication date	1985
Media type	Print (Hardback)
Pages	1096pp.
ISBN	0-394-54154-5

Texas (1985) is a novel by James A. Michener based on the history of the Lone Star State. Characters include real and fictional characters, explorers (particularly Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca), Spanish and German Texan settlers, ranchers, oil men, aristocrats, Chicanos, and others, all based on extensive historical research.

Although Michener received a tremendous amount of support from the Texas government, with then-Governor Bill Clements offering him access to numerous state archives and research staff at the University of Texas at Austin, the novel was not well received in the state. Texas Monthly magazine awarded James Michener its Bum Steer of the Year Award (given to people who have done something to merit ridicule or embarrassment) for the novel's hackneyed dialogue and tendency to resort to stereotypes.^[1]

It was adapted into a 1994 made-for-TV movie of the same name, directed by Richard Lang and featuring actors such as Stacy Keach, Benjamin Bratt, Rick Schroder, and Patrick Duffy. The TV daytime series Texas is not related to the book or film.

References

^ 1986 Bum Steer Awards, Texas Monthly, February 1986

External links

Texas (1994) at the Internet Movie Database

Works by James A. Michener

Novels	The Fires of Spring (1949) • The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1953) • Sayonara (1954) • Hawaii (1959) • Caravans (1963) • The Source (1965) • The Drifters (1971) • Centennial (1974) • Chesapeake (1978) • The Watermen (1979) • The Covenant (1980) • Space (1982) • Poland (1983) • Texas (1985) • Legacy (1987) • Alaska (1988) • Caribbean (1989) • Journey (1989) • The Novel (1991) • South Pacific (1992) • Mexico (1992) • Recessional (1994) • Miracle in Seville (1995) • Matecumbe (2007)

Non-fiction	The Future of the Social Studies (1939) • The Voice of Asia (1951) • The Floating World (1954) • The Bridge at Andau (1957) • Rascals in Paradise (1957) • Japanese Prints (1959) • Report of the Country Chairman (1961) • Iberia (1968) • Presidential Lottery (1969) • The Quality of Life (1970) • Kent State: What Happened and Why (1971) • Firstfruits, A Harvest of 25 Years of Israeli Writing (1973) • Sports in America (1976) • About Centennial: Some Notes on the Novel (1978) • United States of America (1982) • Collectors, Forgers — And A Writer: A Memoir (1983) • All We Did Was Fly to the Moon (1985) • Six Days in Havana (1989) • Pilgrimage: A Memoir of Poland and Rome (1990) • The Eagle and the Raven (1990) • My Lost Mexico (1992) • The World Is My Home (1992) • Writer's Handbook (1992) • Creatures of the Kingdom (1993) • Literary Reflections (1993) • William Penn (1994) • Ventures in Editing (1995) • This Noble Land (1996) • A Century of Sonnets (1997)

Short story collections	Tales of the South Pacific (1947) • Return to Paradise (1951) • Selected Writings of James Michener (1978)

Film, TV and theatrical adaptations	South Pacific (musical) (1949) • The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1953) • Return to Paradise (1953) • Sayonara (1957) • Until They Sail (1957) • South Pacific (film) (1958) • Hawaii (1966) • The Hawaiians (1970) • Centennial (1978) • Space (1985) • Texas (1994) • South Pacific (film) (2001)