The Strange Career of William Ellis - The Texas Slave Who Became a Mexican Millionaire

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.

About the author

Karl Jacoby is a professor of history at Columbia University. The author of two previous books, he has won the Albert J. Beveridge Award and a Guggenheim Fellowship, among many other honors. He lives in New York.

Summary

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

Product details

• Authors: Karl Jacoby, Jacoby Karl
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 07.07.2017
• EAN: 9780393354171
• ISBN: 978-0-393-35417-1
• Dimensions: 142 mm x 211 mm x 25 mm
• Weight: 320 g
• Illustrations: 8 pages of illustrations
• Subjects: Fiction > Narrative literature > Letters, diaries; Humanities, art, music > History > Regional and national histories; Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; USA, Mexico, Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900, Ethnic Studies, HISTORY / United States / 19th Century, HISTORY / Latin America / Mexico, 19th century, c 1800 to c 1899, 18th century, c 1700 to c 1799, Social discrimination & inequality, United States of America, USA, History of the Americas, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Discrimination, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Race & Ethnic Relations, Racism and racial discrimination / Anti-racism, Social discrimination and social justice, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Cultural & Ethnic Studies / General