Being Texan: Essays, Recipes, and Advice for the Lone Star Way of Life

Contributors to Texas Monthly consider “what it means to be Texan” in this lighthearted collection. Mimi Swartz’s essay “Strong Texas Women” discusses Gov. Ann Richards and journalist Molly Ivins, as well as 21st-century role models Beyoncé, Simone Biles, and Lizzo. Sterry Butcher notes that less than 2% of the state’s territory is federal land (“Texas, in other words, is held by Texans”); David Courtney provides an amusing round-up of “weirdly named towns” (among them, Ding Dong, Wink, and Fink), and Wes Ferguson identifies Texas’s “most dangerous creatures,” including black widow spiders, scorpions, and fire ants. Elsewhere, John Spong discusses how the John Sayles film Lone Star redefined the Texas western by depicting “the way everyday Brown, Black, and white Texans were dealing with the state’s cruel racial history,” and Skip Hollandsworth incisively analyzes how novelist Larry McMurtry “elevated and eviscerated [Texas] with the kind of marrow-piercing observations only ever allowed native sons.” Readers will also find recipes for cheese enchiladas, Viet-Cajun crawfish, and a cactus juice cocktail to wash them down. This entertaining compendium captures the allure of the Lone Star state. (Nov.)