Details - William Pitt Ballinger
WILLIAM PITT BALLINGER
Texas Lawyer, Southern Statesman, 1825-1888
By John Anthony Moretta
Barker Texas History Center Series, no. 7
Don E. Carleton, editor
Texas State Historical Association
348 pages, 6 x 9 inches
16 illustrations, index
ISBN 0-87611-199-1, paper
2000
"John Anthony Moretta has written more than a biography of William Pitt Ballinger. In reality he has fashioned a superb study of an era in Texas history and the history of the South."–Stanley Siegel, University of Houston
Few people have played a more important role in the history of Texas than William Pitt Ballinger. This thoroughly researched and engagingly written biography brings Ballinger to life as one of the most compleat men of his time: lawyer, soldier, public servant, civic leader, author, editorialist, naturalist, education reformer, and bibliophile.
In Ballinger's fascinating life and career we see reflected some of the most important issues of his era, including secession, slavery, corporations, and the law. The social, political, and cultural climate of Texas, the South, and the nation are revealed through the life, eyes, and mind of this remarkable, articulate man whose life spanned much of the nineteenth century.
John Anthony Moretta received his Ph.D. in history from Rice University. He is professor of history at Central College, Houston Community College, and teaches at the University of Houston.