The Strange Career of William Ellis: The Texas Slave Who Became a Mexican Millionaire
Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Discrimination & Race Relations, History, Americas, United States, 20th Century, Military
| Author: | Karl Jacoby | ISBN: | 9780393253863 |
| Publisher: | W. W. Norton & Company | Publication: | June 13, 2016 |
| Imprint: | W. W. Norton & Company | Language: | English |
| Author: | Karl Jacoby |
| ISBN: | 9780393253863 |
| Publisher: | W. W. Norton & Company |
| Publication: | June 13, 2016 |
| Imprint: | W. W. Norton & Company |
| Language: | English |
**Winner of the Ray Allen Billington Prize and the Phillis Wheatley Book Award
"An American 'Odyssey,' the larger-than-life story of a man who travels far in the wake of war and gets by on his adaptability and gift for gab." —Wall Street Journal**
A black child born on the US-Mexico border in the twilight of slavery, William Ellis inhabited a world divided along ambiguous racial lines. Adopting the name Guillermo Eliseo, he passed as Mexican, transcending racial lines to become fabulously wealthy as a Wall Street banker, diplomat, and owner of scores of mines and haciendas south of the border. In The Strange Career of William Ellis, prize-winning historian Karl Jacoby weaves an astonishing tale of cunning and scandal, offering fresh insights on the history of the Reconstruction era, the US-Mexico border, and the abiding riddle of race in America.
**Winner of the Ray Allen Billington Prize and the Phillis Wheatley Book Award
"An American 'Odyssey,' the larger-than-life story of a man who travels far in the wake of war and gets by on his adaptability and gift for gab." —Wall Street Journal**
A black child born on the US-Mexico border in the twilight of slavery, William Ellis inhabited a world divided along ambiguous racial lines. Adopting the name Guillermo Eliseo, he passed as Mexican, transcending racial lines to become fabulously wealthy as a Wall Street banker, diplomat, and owner of scores of mines and haciendas south of the border. In The Strange Career of William Ellis, prize-winning historian Karl Jacoby weaves an astonishing tale of cunning and scandal, offering fresh insights on the history of the Reconstruction era, the US-Mexico border, and the abiding riddle of race in America.
