Seeds of Empire

“Written in a clear, engaging style, and supported by prodigious research in both Mexican and U.S. archives, Seeds of Empire offers a complete reconfiguration of this period of Texas history.  It will undoubtedly serve as the standard work on the topic.” — American Historical Review

“A well-argued, brisk survey of the formative decades of modern Texas that challenges us to reconsider why it is that the legacy of slavery continues to haunt our civic and cultural life, both in Texas and throughout the nation.” — Western Historical Quarterly

“Torget ultimately has crafted a work to which scholars of the U.S.-Mexico borderlands should aspire — one that effectively balances U.S. and Mexican sources and addresses vital historical issues resonating from shifting national and imperial spaces.” — Journal of American History

“The most nuanced and authoritative rewriting of Texas’s origin myth to date.” — Texas Monthly

“Deeply researched and clearly written.” — Journal of Southern History

“Well written, expertly researched, and interpretatively ambitious, Seeds of Empire immediately moves to the front ranks of monographs examining the long Civil War era on both sides of the Rio Grande.” — Journal of the Civil War Era

“Incisive and accessible . . . bridges borderlands history with that of the Atlantic World, crafting a multifaceted view of the rise of ‘King Cotton’ across borders and oceans.” — CHOICE

"Deeply researched and artfully written . . . Seeds of Empire brings new insight and nuance to the story of early Texas. . . . This is a fine and valuable addition to the library of Southwestern history, and it’s a pleasure to read, as well. — Dallas Morning News

“Expertly supports thoughtful arguments and deeply expands our understanding of the intersection between cotton, slavery, and empire.” — H-Net Reviews

“An insightful volume [that] provides a new analysis focused on the development of cotton farming.” — Southwestern Historical Quarterly