James L. Haley

Surveys the life of Stephen Austin, an American pioneer, who later became one of the founders of Texas.

Sam Houston was one of the most colorful and legendary figures of American history. During his life he held an astonishing range of high positions: governor of two states (Tennessee and Texas), congressman (Tennessee), senator (Texas), and president of the Republic of Texas for most of its period of independence. He was an ardent expansionist who helped to make "manifest destiny" a reality, and more than any other individual, he was responsible for Texas's entry into the. United States. But Houston was a complex man whose life was marked by failures and despair. He had a lifelong alcohol problem, which probably caused the rapid dissolution of his first marriage, a scandal that forced him to resign the governorship of Tennessee. Following that disgrace, Houston fled into Indian Territory and oblivion. After years of wandering in the wilderness, he came to Texas and political rebirth. Houston's military fame, forged in the War of 1812. Brought him to the attention of his commanding general, Andrew Jackson, who made Houston his protege and nurtured Houston's military and political career. In Texas, Houston's fellow settlers, determined to break free from Mexico, chose him to command the Texas Army. After a series of tactical retreats, Houston won a decisive victory at San Jacinto, crushing the army of Mexican General Santa Anna and guaranteeing Texas's independence. But even Houston's own officers. Quarreled over his victory and how much credit Houston deserved for it. As governor of Texas in 1861, Houston, fiercely pro-Union, refused to swear allegiance to the Confederacy when Texas joined the new Southern nation, and he was forced from office. He died in 1863, a bloody war raging as he had predicted it would following secession. This is a vivid and exciting biography of one of the giants of nineteenth-century America.

Located in the Oklahoma Collection.

A fascinating and fun look at the Lone Star State’s history, culture, and people Texas is the country's second-largest state by size and population. It has a unique and varied history, having been ruled by a succession of nations―from which the term “six flags over Texas” sprang―before becoming an independent republic. From its traditional oil, cattle, and cotton industries to the modern energy, electronics, computer, aerospace, and biomedical industries, Texas has become an economic powerhouse. It’s known for its low taxes, diverse population, thriving universities, and art scenes. Exploring the state’s fascinating history, people, myths, culture, and trivia, The Handy Texas Answer Book takes an in-depth look at this fascinating and diverse state with the bigger-than-life personality. Learn about the original Indigenous peoples, the Spanish, French, and Mexican colonizations, the independence from Mexico, the ties to the Confederacy and United States, devastating hurricanes, football culture, fast-growing cities and urban sprawl, food, attitude, and much, much more. Tour landmarks from the Alamo and cattle ranches to the Rio Grande and the state capital. Learn about famous sons and daughters, including Lyndon Johnson, Sam Houston, Howard Hughes, Janis Joplin, and Renée Zellweger. Sports, the government, parks, and cultural institutions are all packed into this comprehensive guide to the state of Texas. Find answers to more than 950 questions, including: What accounts for Texas’s odd shape? Why was Sam Houston such a polarizing figure? Why did Mexico invade Texas in 1842? What was the origin of the rodeo? What were the final terms on which Texas entered the Union? What Texas country boy changed Texas law forever by breaking his leg? What are the natural divisions within the Panhandle-Plains? How did Texas become such a locus of evangelical churches? How big do alligators get in Texas? What was the world’s first enclosed, air-conditioned sports stadium? How many rattlesnakes are dispatched at the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup? Is it true that the modern computer chip began in Texas? Illustrating the unique character of the state through a combination of facts, stats, and history, as well as the unusual and quirky, The Handy Texas Answer Book answers intriguing questions about people, places, events, government, and places of interest. This informative book also includes a helpful bibliography, appendix of governors and presidents, thorough historical timeline, and an extensive index, adding to its usefulness.

Chronicles the Lone Star state's history from the arrival of the Europeans in the sixteenth century, to the conflict at the Alamo, to the state's contradictory role in America today, in an account that explores its diverse cultural heritage.

"Track the facts about the Alamo, the Galveston hurricane, and the great state of Texas! When Jack and Annie came back from their adventure in Magic Tree House #30: Hurricane Heroes in Texas, they had lots of questions. Why is Texas called the Lone Star State? What was the Alamo? When was the Galveston hurricane? Why was it so terrible? Find out the answers to these questions and more as Jack and Annie track the facts about Texas. Filled with up-to-date information, photographs, illustrations, and fun tidbits from Jack and Annie, the Fact Trackers are the perfect way for kids to find out more about the topics they discover in their favorite Magic Tree House adventures. Did you know that there's a Magic Tree House book for every kid? Magic Tree House: Adventures with Jack and Annie, perfect for readers who are just beginning chapter books Merlin Missions: More challenging adventures for the experienced reader Fact Trackers: Nonfiction companions to your favorite Magic Tree House adventures"-- "A history of the state of Texas including the Galveston hurricane of 1900"--

The most recent state to join the union, Hawaii is the only one to have once been a royal kingdom. After its "discovery" by Captain Cook in the late 18th Century, Hawaii was fought over by European powers determined to take advantage of its position as the crossroads of the Pacific. The arrival of the first missionaries marked the beginning of the struggle between a native culture with its ancient gods, sexual libertinism and rites of human sacrifice, and the rigid values of the Calvinists. While Hawaii's royal rulers adopted Christianity, they also fought to preserve their ancient ways. But the success of the ruthless American sugar barons sealed their fate and in 1893, the American Marines overthrew Lili'uokalani, the last queen of Hawaii. James L. Haley's Captive Paradise is the story of King Kamehameha I, The Conqueror, who unified the islands through terror and bloodshed, but whose dynasty succumbed to inbreeding; of Gilded Age tycoons like Claus Spreckels, who brilliantly outmaneuvered his competitors; of firebrand Lorrin Thurston, who was determined that Hawaii be ruled by whites; and of President McKinley, who presided over the eventual annexation of the islands. Not since James Michener's classic novel Hawaii has there been such a vibrant and compelling portrait of an extraordinary place and its people.--From publisher description.

Bliven Putnam Naval Adventure, Book 2 Chronicles the period leading up to the War of 1812 from the perspective of brig commander Bliven Putnam, who disrupts British merchant shipping before an encounter with an old nemesis leads to a reunion. "Commander Bliven Putnam faces the biggest military conflict between the United States and Britain since the Revolution in this high seas adventure by award-winning historian James L. Haley. At the onset of the War of 1812, the British control the most powerful navy on earth and, to keep up their numbers, they are forcing helpless American traders into service against their own flag. In the midst of public outrage and competing voices in the U.S. Navy, President Madison and his cabinet members are divided on a course of action. Bliven Putnam, late of the Battle of Tripoli, is dispatched to Washington, D.C., to serve as a decisive voice--or perhaps a scapegoat--and finds himself drawn into a new kind of warfare: politics. Bliven's diplomatic responsibilities are soon exchanged for command of a new twenty-gun brig, the U.S.S. Tempest. But the journey to captain will prove to be more physically and psychologically taxing than Bliven expects. Especially when an old nemesis from a disastrous Naples encounter, Lord Arthur Kington, is prowling the sea. Aboard the H.M.S. Java, Kington is taking prizes and disrupting American merchant shipping, and he's pressed Bliven's oldest friend, Sam Bandy, into service. Overhauled, overmatched, and unprepared, both Bliven Putnam and his young nation are heading into a battle more personal than anyone could know. With exquisite detail and guns-blazing action, A Darker Sea illuminates this unforgettable period in American history."

Bliven Putnam Naval Adventure, Book 1 Captain Bliven Putnam returns, venturing into the Pacific to fight pirates in Malaya and match wits with the royals in Hawaii, in this next installment of award-winner James L. Haley’s gripping naval saga. Following the naval victories of the War of 1812 and the Second Barbary War, the United States is finally expanding its navy to take a place of prominence in world affairs. Bliven Putnam, now Captain of the sloop of war Rappahannock, has come into his own as a leader and is ordered to the Pacific. But with this new tour of duty to last more than two years, his patient wife, Clarity, unwilling to accept such a brief time together, at last puts her foot down. If she can’t keep Putnam with her, then she’ll just have to go with him. As Putnam sets sail for his new home port in Honolulu, Clarity joins a new missionary effort from Boston to Hawaii. On their respective paths, the Putnams encounter a new breed of pirate and meet an unexpected force of nature: Kahumanu, the formidable queen of the Hawaiian Islands. Inspried by the real-life Olowalu Massacre and the famed Congregationalist missoin of 1819, this third outing will be unlike any adventure the Putnams have faced before.

Bliven Putnam Naval Adventure, Book 4

Bliven Putnam Naval Adventure. Book 1 It is 1801 and President Thomas Jefferson has assembled a deep-water navy to fight the growing threat of piracy, as American civilians are regularly kidnapped by Islamist brigands and held for ransom, enslaved, or killed, all at their captors' whim. The Berber States of North Africa, especially Tripoli, claimed their faith gave them the right to pillage anyone who did not submit to their religion. Young Bliven Putnam, great-nephew of Revolutionary War hero Israel Putnam, is bound for the Mediterranean and a desperate battle with the pirate ship Tripoli. He later returns under legendary Commodore Edward Preble on the Constitution, and marches across the Libyan desert with General Eaton to assault Derna--discovering the lessons he learns about war, and life, are not what he expected.