Sam Houston

In the decades preceding the Civil War, few figures in the United States were as influential or as controversial as Sam Houston. In Sam Houston, James L. Haley explores Houston’s momentous career and the complex man behind it. Haley’s fifteen years of research and writing have produced possibly the most complete, most personal, and most readable Sam Houston biography ever written. Drawn from personal papers never before available as well as the papers of others in Houston’s circle, this biography will delight anyone intrigued by Sam Houston, Texas history, Civil War history, or America’s tradition of rugged individualism.

Sam Houston is the winner of numerous awards, including:

T. R. Fehrenbach Book Award, Texas Historical Commission

Coral Horton Tullis Memorial Prize, Texas State Historical Association

Spur Award, Biography, Western Writers of America

In the decades preceding the Civil War, few figures in the United States were as influential or as controversial as Sam Houston. In Sam Houston, James L. Haley explores Houston's momentous career and the complex man behind it. Haley's fifteen years of research and writing have produced possibly the most complete, most personal, and most readable Sam Houston biography ever written. Drawn from personal papers never before available as well as the papers of others in Houston's circle, this biography will delight anyone intrigued by Sam Houston, Texas history, Civil War history, or America's tradition of rugged individualism.

Library Journal

There is no shortage of good biographies of Houston, and the bicentennial of his birth (1993) created a cottage industry of lives, such as Marshall de Bruhl's Sword of San Jacinto (LJ 2/15/93) and John Hoyt Williams's Sam Houston: A Biography of the Father of Texas (LJ 12/92), both out of print. Haley (Texas: From Frontier to Spindletop) argues that most biographies fail to provide a completely accurate picture of the man and that, despite over 60 biographies, Houston remains a mystery in many ways. Using an amazing array of primary source materials, including many recently discovered Houston papers in scattered collections, Haley explores a more personal angle, looking at what "made Houston tick" by examining topics that were important to Houston himself (e.g., Native American dealings). From his rise and fall in Tennessee politics and through his many roles in Texas, Haley paints a lively picture of a sometimes deeply troubled man. While this is not a definitive biography, it is a refreshing, important look at a weighty yet often overlooked figure in American politics. Ample illustrations and Haley's easy style make the book accessible to lay readers, while his exhaustive research should appeal to academics. Recommended for public and academic libraries. Mike Miller, Dallas P.L. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

James L. Haley is an independent scholar living in Austin, Texas. He is the author of numerous books, including The Buffalo War: The History of the Red River Indian Uprising of 1874 and Apaches: A History and Culture Portrait (OU Press).