Five Years in Texas

North, ThomasProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.5

Word count: 267K words
Chapters: 27

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Five Years in Texas by Thomas NorthAuthor: North, Thomas,Language: English, Class: F350.5: United States local history: Mississippi River and Valley. Middle West, Release Date: Jul 15, 2015

Editor's review

Five Years in Texas is a first-hand account by Thomas North based on five years of life in Texas. A work of American local history and Mississippi Valley history, it is available as a free ebook through Project Gutenberg. Its value lies not in literary style but in the first-hand perspective of an outsider observing nineteenth-century Texas society, its natural environment, and everyday life. It is useful for readers studying the history of American westward expansion, local customs, and immigrant experience. Its details of daily life give readers a sense of the period rather than a secondhand overview. As a public-domain ebook, it is easy to search and cite and works well as supplementary reading in regional history. Readers should keep in mind the author's personal biases and the limitations of his era and should not treat the book as an objective general history. Reading alongside maps and background materials is recommended, ideally in a quiet setting suited to close study.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers studying American local history and the history of the Mississippi Valley
General history enthusiasts interested in nineteenth-century life in the American West
Students and researchers who need public-domain English historical sources for searching and citation
Readers who enjoy first-hand documentary narratives and do not mind an older prose style

Not a good fit for

Readers looking for tightly plotted, highly narrative literary works
Beginners who need a systematic general-history framework and modern scholarly annotations
Readers with little patience for old-fashioned English expression and slow-paced narration

Reading tips

First consult a map of Texas and the Mississippi Valley, and locate the places mentioned as you read.
Compare the details of daily life with historical background materials from the same period, distinguishing personal observation from general historical fact.
Take thematic notes and excerpts for future citation or comparison with other local histories.
If reading in English is difficult, read chapter summaries first, then return to the original for close reading of key passages.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a novel or a work of nonfiction?

It is a nonfiction work based on the author's own five years of experience in Texas and belongs to the literature of American local history; it is not a fictional novel. It consists mainly of personal observations, and readers should treat it as a first-hand account rather than a systematic general history.

Can someone with average English read this book?

The book uses older English expressions and fairly long sentences, which can be difficult for non-native readers. It is advisable to get a general idea of each chapter first, then read closely the passages that interest you, consulting reference works for place names and people as needed; there is no need to read every word.

Is this book suitable for citation in historical research?

It can be used as a first-hand source for local history, especially for understanding the details of daily life and social conditions of the time. However, the author has personal biases and the limitations of his era, so citations should be cross-checked against other historical sources and should not be used alone as a basis for general historical conclusions.

What should I keep in mind when reading the electronic edition?

This is a free public-domain ebook from Project Gutenberg, set mainly in plain text and possibly lacking modern annotations and illustrations. Using reading software that supports search and annotation is recommended, as it makes it easier to locate place names and people and to take notes.

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About the author

North, Thomas Author · English · 1535–1604

Thomas North (1535–1604) was an English translator best known for his translation of Plutarch's Parallel Lives. Working from Amyot's French version, he rendered the biographies and sayings of Greek and Roman figures in rhythmic Elizabethan prose, vivid in language and sharp in characterization, and in this way brought classical biography to a wide English readership. The influence of North's translation extended beyond translation itself: Shakespeare's Roman plays, including Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra, show its traces in plot, detail and wording, and scholars generally hold that Shakespeare came to Plutarch mainly through North's English version. The library also holds his work Five Years in Texas, which differs in subject from the translation; public information on it is limited, so it is not discussed here. On the whole, North gave English literature lasting material and idiom through a single translation, and his standing rests chiefly on his role in spreading classical biography.