Sitting on a Keg of Dynamite: Father Bill, Texas City, and a Disaster Foretold by John Neal Phillips (review)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Reviewed by:

• Sitting on a Keg of Dynamite: Father Bill, Texas City, and a Disaster Foretoldby John Neal Phillips
• Jack D. Andersen

Sitting on a Keg of Dynamite: Father Bill, Texas City, and a Disaster Foretold. By John Neal Phillips. (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2022. Pp. 264. Illustrations, maps, notes, bibliography, index.)

Sitting on a Keg of Dynamiteis a cautionary tale of the Texas City Disaster of 1947, when a ship that improperly transported ammonium nitrate exploded in the port of Texas City. Much of the story is told through the life of a Catholic priest, William ”Bill” Roach. John Neal Phillips offers readers a glimpse into the life of what it meant to be a Catholic crusader for social justice in a state where nativism and traditional Southern political and cultural attitudes still dominated society and government. His narrative also warns of the dangers of deregulation in Texas, which the argues is still the least effectively regulated state in the United States.

Much of the first half of the book depicts Roach as a force for Catholic idealism in a state where Catholics had little say in government and were often persecuted. Despite these obstacles, Roach doggedly built churches and organized Catholic organizations, including the first chapter of Catholic Charities in Texas. As the book’s many colorful anecdotes and letters from Roach indicate, he was well liked because of his charisma, kindness and willingness to find common [End Page 464]ground with people. When Roach’s activities took him to Texas City, his missions became increasingly difficult as conservative state and national politicians who supported moneyed interests eroded industrial regulations and labor rights in Texas. The result was an explosion that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people (including Roach), millions of dollars in property and environmental damage, and decades of litigation. In light of more recent industrial disasters, Phillips concludes: “the state has learned little from the lessons of the Texas City explosions of 1947” (pp. 173–174). He blames this on persistent corruption and incompetence in the Texas Railroad Commission and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas.

The book is most effective when it focuses on Roach’s life in Texas. The discussion of him is well-documented with interviews and archival material. However, when the story shifts to the larger picture in Texas, it often relies on flawed secondary sources. Eor example, nineteenth-century Mexican rancher Juan Cortina is referred to as a “Texas rancher,” while “since 1858, the Karankawa have been considered extinct as a separate people” (p. 68). The alleged extinction of the Karankawas has been disputed for at least two decades, most notably by the Karankawa Kalda, who gained public attention through cultural programs and cooperation with local authorities to protect Karankawa burial sites. These digressions from the narrative were not needed to strengthen Phillips’ argument concerning the dangers of industrial deregulation.

Despite these minor limitations, Sitting on a Keg of Dynamiteis a timely story. Historians of the Catholic Church and scholars who wish to understand more about Texas at a time when New Deal liberalism was on the wane will get the most value out of this book.

Jack D. Andersen Collin College Copyright © 2022 The Texas State Historical Association