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  • A Man Absolutely Sure of Himself: Texan George Washington Littlefield by David B. Gracy II
  • M. Scott Sosebee
A Man Absolutely Sure of Himself: Texan George Washington Littlefield. By David B. Gracy II. (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2019. Pp. 450. Photographs, notes, bibliography, index.)

Texas has had its share of larger-than-life figures, men and women who have captured the state and national imagination and become more legendary after their deaths than they were when they lived. George Washington Littlefield may not be as well-known as Sam Houston, but he certainly fits into that category. He lived when Texas was in transition from an isolated frontier to a modern state, and Littlefield personified that change. Through his life he navigated commercial ventures from agriculture to finance and real estate. Along the way, he offered public service, notably as an influential regent and benefactor of the University of Texas. David Gracy’s title, A Man Absolutely Sure of Himself, is an accurate description of a Texan who imposed his will and personality on almost every venture he undertook.

Gracy correctly places Littlefield within the sphere of other late-nineteenth-century business figures like Andrew Carnegie or John D. Rockefeller. George W. Littlefield may not have presided over such memorable industrial enterprises as theirs, but he was still an empire builder who identified and then took advantage of economic opportunities during the Gilded Age. Gracy acknowledges the debate among historians and other chroniclers about whether such capitalists were robber barons or captains of industry. To his credit, he does not categorize Littlefield as either. Although I suspect he has a definite opinion, he allows the reader to form a conclusion.

Gracy’s narrative is a fine balance. A Man Absolutely Sure of Himself is no hagiography, but neither is it an exercise in damning a man who, at times, could be accused of exploitation. He places Littlefield squarely in his epoch: despite actions that contemporary commentators would find questionable, or even objectionable, it was not possible for him to act differently. In many ways, Gracy’s account demonstrates how Littlefield grew and changed right along with the state he called home. Born in 1842 on the edge of the new nation’s frontier, Littlefield ended his life as a leader of a growing university, a proponent of advanced education, a benefactor of pursuits of knowledge, and a friend of President Theodore Roosevelt, the era’s emblematic Progressive. Along the way he traversed almost every aspect of a commercial career, founding a ranch, a town, and a bank, and also erecting a building that was the defining feature of Austin for decades, the nine-story Littlefield Building.

David Gracy’s work is a fine biography. It is chronologically arranged and a thorough accounting. True to the notable archivist he is, Gracy has delved deeply into primary documents and has methodically and [End Page 103] scrupulously detailed Littlefield’s life. His story traces the transformation of his subject while it also describes the nuance and texture of a man who could have become a caricature in less skilled hands. A relative of Littlefield, Gracy offers valuable insights about the man in a clear and engaging writing style that will draw general as well as academic readers. This book is a beneficial contribution to Texas, western, and southern historical studies.

M. Scott Sosebee
Stephen F. Austin State University
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