Texas: James A. Michener

Charting the formation of several great dynasties from the age of the conquistadors to modern times: The Rusks, who amassed a legendary fortune by their own rules, the world be damned; the Quimpers, the wheeler-dealers who lustily embrace the taller-than-life myth of Texas; the Cobbs, who parlayed an empire of cotton into unchallenged political wealth; the Garzas, a clan of peasants, bandits and scholars who have the deepest native roots.