Certain provincialism, like provincialism everywhere, has the effect of preventing insight into the way things work. If one would understand the United States, one must become acquainted with its parts. This is impossible if the parts--the states and the leading cities--are assumed to be no more than miniature clones of the nation.This book examines one of the provinces. It also represents an effort to get beyond a popular regional approach, the trademark of which is often sentimentality or reverse provincial chauvinism. Texas deserves to be studied because it matters itself and because it is an important piece in the puzzle of modern American politics. - from the Preface.