A Texan in England

In 1943 J. Frank Dobie was invited to become the second American scholar (Henry Steel Commager was the first) to lecture under the newly founded professorship in American history at Cambridge University. And the invitation held even after Dobie explained that his knowledge of history consisted mainly of facts relating to the length of the horns of Longhorn steers, the music inherent in coyote howling, the duels Jim Bowie fought with his knife and the habits of ghosts in guarding Spanish treasure. The humorous and moving book may not establish whether I. Frank Dobie conquered England or whether England conquered the Texan, but it is full of original and surprising conclusions. A Texan in England is the story of professoring at Cambridge, of dons, trains rides, farmers, larks, pubs, gardens, and free minds.