“A BEAUTIFUL NEW book. The limitations of Texas’s attempt to combine being somewhere and being successful are apparent in Parker’s gripping story, and suggest that there is still space for new places to attempt new ways to combine place and possibility.”
- The Daily Beast

“RICHARD PARKER HAS undertaken a large and daunting task to wrangle the various components of Texas and produced a single vision of what Texas means to America today. He has succeeded admirably. He has told a compelling and highly readable tale.”
- Bestselling Author and Pulitzer Finalist S. C. Gwynne

“HIS TAKE-HOME MESSAGE... is reminiscent of an old quip from Molly Ivins. Texas, she used to say, is just like anyplace else in America, only more so.” 
-The New York Times Review of Books

“A CRISP ASSESSMENT of fast-changing Texas' recent past, present and future. Whip-smart. A worthy addition to the burgeoning literature on a state that will prove vital to the American future.”
- Kirkus Reviews

“IF YOU THINK you know Texas, be prepared to be surprised, enlightened, and entertained."
-Pulitzer Prize Winner Glenn Frankel

"A COMPREHENSIVE, HIGHLY entertaining overview of Texas' future and its influence on American politics."
​- National Journal

Books by Richard Parker.

ADDITIONAL PRAISE:

"Best Texas book I've read in a long time and I've read 'em all. Strikes just the right historical and political notes."

-Bill Hobby Jr., longest-serving lieutenant governor in Texas history