3.5 stars

A visit to Big Bend National Park last Christmas, reached by a long, empty drive from Southern California, spurred my interest in "Texas Blood." This was a month after the election of Donald Trump and you do see a lot of places in desperate need--places so remote and ramshackle it's hard to understand how or why people are living there.

"Texas Blood" takes on some of that question by explaining how people got to West Texas and their dedication to staying there. Roger D. Hodge uses his own family as an example of the kind of people trekked out to this hot, empty, at times beautiful place; their toughness, their passion, their nimble way of grabbing the opportunities that were presented.

It's the stuff of a Western, but "Texas Blood"did not rope me in. There's a lot of good anecdotes and good observations but I was never able to connect with Hodge's family stories. The history/genealogy/personal aspect does not feel organic--I wanted to put aspects on 3 x 5 cards and move them around the kitchen table until I found the right layout to propel the story. A little hard going, but if you're hardcore for Texas, this book could be a goldmine for you.

~~Candace Siegle, Greedy Reader