Aug. 13th, 2023

The Blurb On The Back:

God Save Texas takes us on a journey through the most controversial state in America.


Texas is a Republican state in the heart of Trumpland; but it is also a state in which minorities form a majority (including the largest number of Muslim adherents in the United States). The cities are Democrat and among the most diverse in the nation. Oil is still king but Texas now leads California in technology exports and has an economy only somewhat smaller than Australia’s.

Lawrence Wright has written an enchanting book about what is often seen as an unenchanting place. Having spent most of his life there, while remaining deeply aware of its oddities, Wright is as charmed by Texan foibles and landscapes as he is appalled by its politics and brutality. With its economic model of low taxes and minimal regulation producing both extraordinary growth and striking income disparities, Texas, Wright shows, looks a lot like the America that Donald Trump wants to create. This profound portrait of the state, completed just as Texas battled to rebuild after the devastating storms of summer 2017, not only reflects the United States back as it is, but as it was and as it might be.


The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Lawrence Wright is a writer, journalist and fellow at the Center for Law and Security at New York University. A mix of travelogue, anecdotes of his life in Texas and overview of Texas’s history, politics and economy, I enjoyed Wright’s conversational writing style but didn’t feel like I understood the contradictions within the state, partly because he skewers towards the view of the privileged rather than those with a lower income.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

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