Diezmo

In 1842, Texas and Mexico were at war, with the United States attempting to annex Texas through diplomacy and Great Britain supporting Mexico. The border was a tragic flashpoint as soldiers from both sides clashed, pillaged, and fought to claim victory or avoid defeat. Among the various more or less Leggi tutto

This is a war book, but not in a "black hawk down" way. It's a history book, but not in the "four score and seven years ago" way. It is a wilderness book but not in the "look at all the beauty of nature" kind of way. For some readers, this may seem to drag on a bit, but for me, the Epilogue gave the Leggi tutto

This is historical fiction based on the 1842 Mier Expedition during which Texian soldiers, many that were young teenagers, crossed the Rio Grande River into Mexico and invaded the village of Ciudad Mier, south of Laredo, in search of provisions. In a battle with the Mexican army at Ciudad Mier they

This book shows what historical fiction can be when done by a great writer. Since this is the first book by Rick Bass I've read, I cannot say how it compares to his other work. What I can attest to is that he brings the story of a Texas Republic-era adventure turned gritty prison story to memorable

The Diezmo(The Tithe) is a top-flight historical novel, artfully told and tied to real events in Texas history. The Mier Expedition, Texans raiding Mexico, is the topic. As Rick Bass's story grew more unbelievable and outrageous, I flipped to the net to fact-check the crazier stuff. Dang. The prison Leggi tutto

3.5 (when will GR let us to fractions of stars please) but in all seriousness n this was a blessedly brief book, not because I didn't enjoy it or it was in some way lacking in quality, but because it was dense and a heavy subject matter whose intensity would've diminished the enjoyability if I'd liv Leggi tutto

It’s now official—all fond memory I had of Rick Bass’s writing when I read his first story collection when it first came out is gone. He is prolific and has many accolades to his resume, so dislike from a shlub like me he has no reason to fret over (or even notice). Here is where we part ways—I made Leggi tutto

(Non) C'era una volta il Texas. Che per esserci passò attraverso la furia sanguinaria di guerre e battaglie di indicibile ferocia; alcune, esemplari sono raccontate in questo romanzo a sfondo storico, pungente e crudo, ma anche carico di pathos, di umanità, di consapevolezza. Un popolo contro un alt Leggi tutto