Book excerpt: How different might our maps look today were it not for the gun? Would there be a Texas were it not for improvements in firearm technology? Texas Independence was won by the gun...and kept by the gun. Firearms put food on the table and kept marauding Indians out of frontier dooryards. In this book, Carroll Holloway introduces us to the men who made the guns that shaped Texas. He walks us through firearm technology throughout our Lone Star history, from Spanish & Mexican rule, through the weapons of the Texas Revolution and the Republic. This non-technical treatise demonstrates clearly the role of the gun in 19th century westward expansion and Texas history.