frustrating and backwards. Thorough coverage.

As a native bleeding-heart liberal Texan, there weren't any surprises in this book for me. Some of our classic lore is in this book (Clayton Williams, anyone?), but the focus is on Texas-izing the nation. The state's ridiculous approach to sex education, or any education for that matter as in the No Child Left Behind program, is one focus. Our ridiculous State Board of Education ninnies who don't believe in evolution OR public education, coming to your textbooks! My favorite was her coverage of the (lack of) environmental regulation. She also covers our ridiculous tax structure, with no state income tax but property taxes that drive people out of their homes and high sales taxes. Anyway, I love Gail Collins's NY Times columns and this book has a lot of the same humor. It is, overall, a bummer. Texas sucks and we're dragging you down with us! Somehow I still feel both proud and embarrassed to say I'm from Texas. One more thing, the book is really up-to-date, she covers the 2012 presidential election and the decline of Slick Rick in the primaries. A good political read with not too much nitty gritty. It did make me miss Molly Ivins. Nobody writes about Texas politics like Molly Ivins, and Collins does give her some mention in the book.

I won this book in a Goodreads First Reads giveaway. My opinions are my own.

Full disclosure: I am a Texan. And not just a little bit. I am an eighth-generation Texan. I’m also an attorney and a proud Democrat. I am only giving this book one star because of the lack of citations. The Notes section at the end of the book was lacking. Chapter 13 had no notes or citations at all, and there were things in the book that were wrong. This book is not well-researched, and many of her claims in the text were unsupported.

Disclosure: I won a free copy of this on Goodreads. I'm also a long-time resident of Texas.

Regarding the facts and arguments of her case, for the most part I accept them. I believe her portrayal of Texas as the wackiest of the states sells short so many others - I was in Louisiana for the David Duke/Buddy Roemer/Edwin Edwards election, and certainly Florida has plenty of hijinks for us all to laugh and/or cringe about - but it is probably fair to say that Texas does currently have a disproportionate influence on the country. I also feel that's often not a good thing.

However... I find myself agreeing with many of the other reviewers that the author's outlook, her superior attitude is, at the very least, grating. While quotes given are often bitterly funny, whether intentionally (Molly Ivins) or otherwise (Rick Perry), I repeatedly found myself wondering what the author hoped to accomplish here. Her presentation is certainly not likely to persuade people who are not already of her viewpoint.

Perhaps I have just reached a point where I am tired of authors and commentators mocking instead of trying to have constructive discussions, but if that doesn't bother you then you may appreciate the book more.

I am hanging my head in shame after reading this book about my home state. I didn't think it was possible for me to be any more embarrassed by my home state than I already have been but Gail Collins reveals just how low things have sunk back there and sadly, I fear it may be impossible to fix at this point. She completely nails it with her depictions of Rick Perry and George W. Bush. This book, more than anything, illuminates for me why I had to get out of Texas. It just didn't fit me and where I was in my life anymore. While some of her findings are more intriguing than others (her stuff on the economic crisis was a bit more of a slog) for the most part, this is a well-crafted, well-researched and sadly accurate depiction of what has happened to our country and where we can put most of the blame. After her "When Everything Changed", Collins has proven that she knows how to write a good, thorough but non-boring work of non-fiction that is both illuminating and saddening.

Gail Collins has taken a hard look at the Lone Star State and found it wanting. She examines trends in politics, policy, taxes, health and education. Although her wry sense of humor shines through, you can sense the frustration she feels at the sheer pig-headedness of Texas politicians. I felt like banging my head on the steering wheel. as I listened in my car.
I was born and raised in Texas and am very familiar with the outsize sense of pride Texans feel for their home, but it is time for them to take an honest look at the damage that is being inflicted on it's citizens and the rest of the nation. Ms. Collins backs up her case with a boatload of statistics. I listened to the audio, but I understand there is a large notes section at the end of the book.

Seriously Texas, get your shit together.

"Sometimes, Texas's most important export is not oil but irony." Tee hee, Gail Collins. Tee hee.

As a fan of Collins, I'm giving it a 4. For non-fans, I'd say a worth-your-time 3.

Good book. I especially enjoyed the early parts about Texas history and how that history has led us to where we are today.