Missive #422

Glory, God and Gold is a narrative history by Paul Wellman, published in 1954.The title refers to motivations for the conquest of the New World. As such, they served the tendency toward imperialism. — Wikipedia

I could not find any book promos for this book and there are very few customer reviews. Not a very popular book today, just lucky that it is still available at archive.org as part of of the Mainstream Of America series. It is a good history of the Southwest including Texas which some people consider part of the Southwest. The author writes popular history, a broad genre of historiography, that takes a popular approach, aims at a wide readership, and usually emphasizes narrative, personality and vivid detail over scholarly analysis. Much better than the academic historians.

“HISTORY,” said Sir Walter Scott, “is the essence of innumerable biographies.”
Amen to that, say I; and particularly when one seeks to weave into a single skein the countless threads of the story of four hundred years of strife in a sprawling wild land toward the slow goal of civilization.
In this book I have sought to tell, insofar as it can be done, the history of the American Southwest in terms of the lives and deeds of the men and women who played the chiefest roles in it. An army is impersonal; still more so is an economic or a social trend. But when these are reflected in the acts, ambitions and achievements, as well as the disappointments and despairs, of the principal actors, they become personal; and the history therefore more vivid and perhaps comprehensible. From “A Word To The Reader” by Paul I. Wellman

The only news I have from here is about the weather. It is going to be COLD. Starting tomorrow morning for the following 5-6 days the highest low temperature in the forecast is 26°F with the lowest low to be 17°F. I checked my propane level and think I have enough to get through the cold spell but need to check it again next week.