Texas Blood

Seven Generations Among the Outlaws, Ranchers, Indians, Missionaries, Soldiers, and Smugglers of the Borderlands

By: Roger D. Hodge

Narrated by: Roger D. Hodge

In the tradition of Ian Frazier's Great Plains, and as vivid as the work of Cormac McCarthy, an intoxicating, singularly illuminating history of the Texas borderlands from their settlement through seven generations of Roger D. Hodge's ranching family.

What brought the author's family to Texas? What is it about Texas that for centuries has exerted a powerful allure for adventurers and scoundrels, dreamers and desperate souls, outlaws and outliers? In search of answers, Hodge travels across his home state - which he loves and hates in shifting measure - tracing the wanderings of his ancestors into forgotten histories along vanished roads. Here is an unsentimental, keenly insightful attempt to grapple with all that makes Texas so magical, punishing, and polarizing. Here is a spellbindingly evocative portrait of the borderlands - with its brutal history of colonization, conquest, and genocide; where stories of death and drugs and desperation play out daily. And here is a contemplation of what it means that the ranching industry that has sustained families like Hodge's for almost two centuries is quickly fading away, taking with it a part of our larger, deep-rooted cultural inheritance. A wholly original fusion of memoir and history - as piercing as it is elegiac - Texas Blood is a triumph.

©2017 Roger D. Hodge (P)2017 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Hypnotically written, deeply researched, profoundly elegiac - the adverbs pile up, and with good reason. Roger D. Hodge has written a wonderful book about our most vexed and peculiarly American state, with an eye for detail and anecdote that's as loving as it is merciless." (Tom Bissell, author of Apostle)

" Texas Blood blends the personal and the historical to create a vivid portrait of a place unable to transcend its violent past. Roger D. Hodge is a very gifted writer, and he tells his story with the energy of a perfectly paced novel." (Ron Rash, author of Serena)

Forgotten Texas

Great book about a forgotten area of Texas…. In today’s world of constant political commentary, I prefer when political leanings are left aside no matter what side they are on. The occasional political jab I felt took away from the true text of the book…. Overall however it is a good listen and was read well…

Going Home

I'm a native Texan living in Florida, and was fascinated by this story which might have included my own ancestors. I didn't feel quite confident of the narrator, though, even if he did get through the toughest words. I thought I knew Texas geography pretty well, but the book seemed to skip around the state. I was most interested in the reports of current border patrol efforts, since I have been from El Paso to Juarez. The book seemed to back up my hunch that a 5.7 billion dollar wall is the last thing Texas needs!

A lot of nothing.

"Texas history" book about one guys family and the current technology the border patrol uses.

Terrible

I have never listened so long to so much minutia. I thought that it would never end.

Boring

The excessive detail about his family made this a big bore. The book would have been improved if he delved more into the history of this borderland area of Texas.