Deep in the Heart: The Texas Tendency in American Politics

Cowboy politics is in. When George W. Bush announced a new American policy of pre-emptive attack against potential enemies in 2002, he ushered in the triumph of Texas values over the American agenda. This book traces in lucid and engaging style the fascinating influence of the Texas warrior culture from the Alamo to the present day. This is not a history of Texas, but much Texas history is entwined with American national politics. This book locates such diverse phenomena as Cold War politics, the Kennedy assassination, U.S.-Mexican immigration policies, Texas death penalty practices, and recent U.S. Middle East policy in the context of this Alamo attitude. While the Texas influence has always been strong, and has ebbed and flowed, never has it been stronger, especially as a guiding force in American foreign policy. Today, people around the world perceive this Manifest Destiny swaggering style in our foreign policy. Because of its sheer size, its border wars with Mexico, its ten-year history as an independent republic, and its having been settled by a warrior culture originating in the English-Scottish borderlands and arriving in Texas via the southern Appalachians, Texas is unique in American politics. The author does not assert that Texas causes, or is the sole cause of, our various policies or of so many violent events. Rather, he demonstrates convincingly that the Texas warrior culture provides a fascinating context for national politics in a way that no other state's political culture can claim.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Visions and Revisions of the Alamo Bordering on Chaos Circling the Wagons Lone Star Rising Pop Goes the Alamo Lone Star Noir Davy Crockett in Vietnam Apocalypse Now and Then Other Lines, Other Sands Son of a Gun Alamo America

About the Author :
JAMES MCENTEER is an independent scholar, a journalist, and the author of Fighting Words: Independent Journalists in Texas. He is a former Fellow of the Joan Shorenstein Center for the Press, Politics and Public Policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Review :
"Jim McEnteer has done it again, focusing on the robust Alamo culture of Texas (shoot first, ask questions later) to explain the essence of President Bush's equally robust, pre-emptive approach to foreign policy in the post 9/11 world. It's obviously a controversial theme, but very relevant, and written in a clear and engaging style that reflects McEnteer's background in journalism and scholarship. I highly recommend this book."-Marvin Kalb, Senior Fellow, Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics, and Public Policy John F. Kennedy School of Government Harvard University ?Deep in the Heart is a vigorous critique of the direction of US politics since the 1910s, and especially since the presidency of George W. Bush. McEnteer writes a powerful political history centered on the "Alamo" tendency in American politics evident since the 1830s, waxing and waning in its impact through history, but climaxing with the Alamo attitude of the George W. Bush administration. The book is well-documented, relying on a mixture of primary and secondary sources....Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, and researchers/faculty.?-Choice ?The value of Deep in the Heart is that it helps us to see that what may seem like current aberrations are, unfortunately, not aberrations at all.?-Great Plains Research ?This book is well researched and documented. Its conclusion is controversial in many circles....The book is aimed at a general audience but would be a good read in political science or history courses.?-Perspectives on Political Science "The value of Deep in the Heart is that it helps us to see that what may seem like current aberrations are, unfortunately, not aberrations at all."-Great Plains Research "This book is well researched and documented. Its conclusion is controversial in many circles....The book is aimed at a general audience but would be a good read in political science or history courses."-Perspectives on Political Science "Deep in the Heart is a vigorous critique of the direction of US politics since the 1910s, and especially since the presidency of George W. Bush. McEnteer writes a powerful political history centered on the "Alamo" tendency in American politics evident since the 1830s, waxing and waning in its impact through history, but climaxing with the Alamo attitude of the George W. Bush administration. The book is well-documented, relying on a mixture of primary and secondary sources....Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, and researchers/faculty."-Choice