Lone Star Navy

The little known naval force that helped Texas gain independence from Mexico

The definitive account of the incomparable Lone Star state by the author of Fire & Blood: A History of Mexico. T. R. Fehrenbach is a native Texan, military historian and the author of several important books about the region, but none as significant as this work, arguably the best single volume about Texas ever published. His account of America's most turbulent state offers a view that only an insider could capture. From the native tribes who lived there to the Spanish and French soldiers who wrested the territory for themselves, then to the dramatic ascension of the republic of Texas and the saga of the Civil War years. Fehrenbach describes the changes that disturbed the state as it forged its unique character. Most compelling is the one quality that would remain forever unchanged through centuries of upheaval: the courage of the men and women who struggled to realize their dreams in The Lone Star State.

"Lone Star Planet" by H. Beam Piper, John Joseph McGuire. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.

Does Texas’s experience as a republic make it unique among the other states? In many ways, Texas was an “accidental republic” for nearly ten years, until Texans voted overwhelmingly in favor of annexation to the United States after winning independence from Mexico. Single Star of the West chronicles Texas’s efforts to maneuver through the pitfalls and hardships of creating and maintaining the “accidental republic.” The volume begins with the Texas Revolution and examines whether or not a true Texas identity emerged during the Republic era. Next, several contributors discuss how the Republic was defended by its army, navy, and the Texas Rangers. Individual chapters focus on the early founders of Texas—Sam Houston, Mirabeau B. Lamar, and Anson Jones—who were all exceptional men, but like all men, suffered from their own share of fears and faults. Texas’s efforts at diplomacy, and persistence and transformation in its economy, also receive careful analysis. Finally, social and cultural aspects of the Texas Republic receive coverage, with discussions of women, American Indians, African Americans, Tejanos, and religion. The contributors also focus on the extent that conditions in the republic attracted political and economic opportunists, some of whom achieved a remarkable degree of success. Single Star of the West also highlights how the Texas Republic was established on American political ideology. With the majority of the white settlers coming from the United States, this will not surprise many scholars of the era. In some cases, the Texans successfully adopted American political and economic ideology to their needs, while other times they failed miserably.

A fascinating biography of veteran Marine Corps officer Colonel John W. Thomason, dedicated soldier and talented artist. “On a spring morning in 1917, in fact the very day the United States declared war on Germany, a twenty-four-year-old Texan strode into the recruiting office of the Marine Corps branch of the Texas Naval Militia at Houston, and let it be known somewhat emphatically to authority there present that he desired to enlist. They assigned him to Company A, 1st Texas Battalion of Marines, and the same day they packed him off on the first train through town bound for New Orleans. “Within a month’s time he was appointed a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps, and for the ensuing twenty-seven years he was to devote his life to that branch of the naval service. During those years he served within the continental limits of the United States, in France and Germany, aboard ship and ashore in the Caribbean, in Cuba, in certain of the Central American Republics, in the Orient, and briefly in the South Pacific. “This newly-commissioned young officer, John William Thomason, Jr., of Huntsville, Texas, brought with him into the Marine Corps a variety of skills and talents. Throughout his service career he was to continue to employ his unusual abilities and to develop them and to contribute materially not only to the betterment of his Corps but also to his fellow comrades. He was unique in a service where uniqueness is not unknown but rather wherein individuality is encouraged for the common good. His record in combat as well as in the administrative field was outstanding in a military organization long known to demand perfection as a matter of course. And at his death in 1944, it would appear he left the artistic, the literary, and the military worlds far wealthier than he had found them.”

Texas announces it will leave the United States and form a new country. Families, friends, and professionals across the United States see old loyalties broken and new loyalties forged in the fires of personal ambition and necessity. Unknown, average young people find themselves on the tip of the spear of the upstart Texas Defense Force, formed to protect the new country. In a night that will forever change his destiny, going-nowhere sales clerk Michael Minze discovers he has a talent for killing, and bright but underachieving student Ann Militzer is offered a graduation present she can't refuse as a reward for her loyalty: the keys to a supersonic warplane. The leadership of the United States vows to stop Texas from seceding. And war ravages the nation.

A single mom must face her first love--and the father of her daughter--when he comes back to town in this reunion romance from #1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery! Skye Titan's wealthy father thinks he can still dictate his daughter's choice in men. Now widowed and a single mother, Skye isn't the yes-girl she once was. Especially since the love of her life is back in Texas after eight long years. He won't like the answers to the questions he's asking. About why she left him at the altar. And about her eight-year-old daughter. Former Navy SEAL Mitch Cassidy comes home to find nearly everything different. His wounds from battle have changed the way people treat him. His cattle ranch is suddenly organic. But time hasn't touched his desire for Skye—or the sting of her betrayal. Forget lip service. He's asking that luscious mouth of hers to reveal the truth. But will Mitch be able to put the past aside to help Skye get out from under her father's thumb…and help himself recover from a broken heart?