A Texan in England

Austin, Texas, U.S.A.: Univ of Texas Press, 1990. Second Printing . Trade Paperback. Very Good. 5 1/4" x 8. 285 Pages Indexed. A 1990 Edition of the 1944 Copyright.. In 1943, J. Frank Dobie was invited to become the second American scholar (Henry Steel Commanger was the first) to lecture under the newly founded professorship in American history at Cambridge University. And the invitation held even after Dobie explained that his knowledge of history consisted mainly of facts relating to the length of the horns of Longhorn steers, the music inherent in coyote howling, the duels Jim Bowie fought with his knife, and the habits of ghosts in guarding Spanish treasure. This humorous and moving book may not establish whether J. Frank Dobie conquered England or whether England conquered the Texan, but it is full of original and surprising conclusions. A Texan in England is the story of professoring at Cambridge, of dons, train rides, farmers, larks, pubs, gardens, and free minds. Contents in 15 Chapters: Professoring at Cambriddge, Glimpses of People, Two Lords and a Dog, In Winter's Darkjness, Kind Hearts, English Conservatism, Rememberers, Farmers Fens and Earthworms, The Lark at Heaven's Gate, Gardens under Bombs and Spires, Coffee in Wales, There's Heather for Remembrance, I Always Did Like Harmony, At the Anchor, and What England Did to Me. Dobie made this trip to England in October 1943 almost two years before the war in Europe would be over and there were still many American and Allied servicemen stationed in England. This is a book about Texas and England and the year a Texas professor and author who was too old fight in the war but felt better about that by at least getting closer to the fighting and teaching American/Texas history to young cadets of the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy.