Texas Books

I found this book to be a compelling page turner. The characters were complex and believable, the story one of redemption and rebirth. Much of what New Mexico is about. While there were some loose ends to the characters' lives, they were really peripheral. This is a book that fills you with hope about the greater community of man.

This is a must have book for anyone with any intrest in the Southwest, in the journey of the heart, in the journey of the soul, or in the occuurance of miricles! This book is about all of these, and so much more. Leslie makes both the people and the landscape come alive for the reader. It is a book that brings tears and laughter, and an incredible feeling of expansion to the heart and soul. Bravo!!

Frustrated Santa Fe artist, Whitney Slope, escapes the political games of the Santa Fe art world by heading into the mountain community of Mi Ojo ("My Eye"-a fictitious community representing the real communities that can be found around Santa Fe). He finds his soul in the authentic, rural community and his story is woven with that of his new landlord, Dominga Garcia de Jesus. Slope is brought to a refreshingly honest new way of life as he becomes involved in the stories of other people outside of the affluent community in Santa Fe.

The characters in this book are deep and well developed. The plot carries the reader through a world that is realistic to the area. I especially enjoyed the descriptions of the Santa Fe art gallery community contrasted with the rural Hispanic communities in the mountains. The high quality of the writing and the storyline make this book a must read for anyone who is looking for an excellent work of Southwest fiction.

A book that touches the heart and soul and bring the New Mexico culture, people and land alive.

I love all the Hank books, and this is a great one for the Christmas season. These books are hilarious and more important to the young reader, fun to read. I'd also check the rest of the series.

Author of "Hobo Finds A Home" editor "Of A Predatory Heart"

I ordered the book for my sons ages 13,12, and 10. They really enjoy reading "Hank the Cow Dog" books. We highly recommend them all!!

This Hank story is standard Hank fare, with a slight retread of previous scrapes, but still enjoyable. The antics of the humans are as funny as ever, with Loper and Slim sparring and blowing up ranch equipment and so forth. The story line doesn't move as far or as fast as several other Hank books, but it is still a pleasant outing with the Hank crew.

According to the grandchildren 10 & 13 the characters are delightful and draws you into picturing the situation in your mind. Thank goodness the author who is also the narrator is terrific and is in full stride for enjoyable listening. The tones and inflections easily identify the characters. I purchased a sequence of books that was read by somebody other than the author and then this particular author decided to be her own narrator and believe you me it sure destroyed the stories. Stay with what works.

Charley Sunday's Texas Outfit! is a most unusual American western, for it is set in the modern twenty-first century! Following the journey of a longhorn cattle driver as he herds his animals on a 1,000 mile journey across 21st Century America, it is a parable of faith, courage, and hard work pitted against forces of greed and corruption, and hearkens to the notion that honor is just as important now as it was one hundred and fifty years ago. An upbeat, enthusiastically gung-ho western read.

Steve Lodge has created a superb story with an unusual plot and unforgetable characters.This is a moving story with plenty of laughs mixed in to the drama. A fine job by an excellent story-teller.

Tough, old former Texas Ranger Charley Sunday faces two problems: he's bored, living with his long-time chum Roscoe on his broken down ranch near tiny, dusty Juanita, Texas, west of San Antonio; and far more seriously, he's nearly broke, and is facing the foreclosure of his land. His beloved grandson Henry-Ellis comes to stay with Charley while his parents are on vacation. Charley and his grandson have always had a special bond, and Charley dearly wants to pass on his rugged-and rapidly vanishing--frontier values to the boy, who is growing up in our high-tech urbanized, confusing world. While watching the classic John Wayne film Red River, they see a commercial about a herd of 300 genuine Texas longhorns that is being auctioned in Golden, Colorado. This becomes an itch that Charley has to scratch, and he heads to his favorite pool hall to do some "serious thinking." The bar is owned by his sometime sweetheart, the wealthy Flora-Mae. It turns out Charlie and Flora-Mae were thinking along the same lines, and they form a partnership, financed by Flora-Mae, to bring the herd back to her ranch so she can get back into the cattle business.

Charlie, Roscoe, Henry-Ellis and their old dog Buster head to Colorado to the auction. They run into their first of many obstacles from a very evil, abusive meatpacker named Pike who intends to buy the herd and turn it into fast-food hamburger. Pike sends his attorney, a young Indian named Rod to the auction to make a pre-emptive bid. But it turns out Charlie and his gang win the bidding. Their celebration is short-lived and is replaced by despair when they find Pike has convinced the trucking companies to not do business with Charley: he can't get the longhorns back to Texas.

Or can he...how about an old fashioned cattle drive across the West? Charlie is just desperate enough, and perhaps crazy enough, to attempt it. So off they go, accompanied by beautiful TV reporter Kelly King who thinks the cattle drive makes a unique human interest story-and also Rod, who has had enough of his boss Mr. Pike and switches sides.

Charley Sunday's Texas outfit faces the usual hardships all cattle drovers did, the weather, potential rustlers, the rough terrain and brutally long work days. But this cattle drive also faces unique challenges: how do you get cattle across an oil company's fields? Through an Air Force Base? It is then we enjoy the central theme of Stephen Lodge's simple, elegant and pleasantly sentimental story; Charley Sunday's indomitable will, the same pioneer spirit that conquered the West, will not allow him to quit, will not permit him to fail-especially not in front of his grandson. This may be the last chance the old man has to show Henry-Ellis what kind of young man Charley was in his glory days as a Texas Ranger. And for Henry-Ellis' part, it is a wonderful opportunity for adventure across the great, glorious West-much more fun than surfing the Internet or going on a fancy vacation in Hawaii with his mom and dad. "Take them to Texas, gentlemen," Charley tells his men at the start of the drive, echoing John Wayne in Red River. And over the course of the cattle drive, Henry-Ellis sees that his grandpa can ride, shoot, brawl-and fight for what he believes in--just like Duke himself.

Through Kelly's TV reports, the whole U.S. gets caught up in the cattle drive saga-reality TV at its very best. Pike turns out to be a particularly vengeful foe, who uses all his resources and contacts to keep Charlie from succeeding. Charley's outfit gets the cattle back to Juanita, Texas-but not without some unusual allies including a biker gang and the President of the United States.

Author Stephen Lodge is a veteran Hollywood screenwriter and actor, and it shows in the wonderfully visual style of this novel. Mr. Lodge takes you right into the middle of the action. The scenes move along at the clip of wild horses galloping across the prairie. In fact you wish he would slow down a little and spend more time describing the wonderful scenery and vistas they are traveling through. I would also have enjoyed learning more backstory about Charley's undoubtedly fascinating life and times.

If you loved the old West cattle drive novel (and TV movie) Lonesome Dove, you will love the vivid characters, warm relationships and fast-paced action of Steven Lodge's novel of the New West, Charley Sunday's Texas Outfit.

Reviewed by Brian Hill, co-author of "The Making of a Bestseller."

A cross-country cattle drive complete with cowboys on horseback would seem an unlikely occurrence in today's west. Using this idea as the premise for a modern novel would seem equally unlikely, yet author Stephen Lodge crafts a convincing tale in Charley Sunday's Texas Outfit!

When a rich villain prevents Charlie Sunday from transporting his recently acquired 300 head of Texas Longhorn cattle by truck or rail, Charlie organizes an outfit of colorful characters to drive them home - the old-fashioned way. The trip also presents him with an opportunity to provide his 10-year-old grandson, Henry-Ellis, with a character building adventure. Existing "livestock right-away statutes" supply plausibility for what would otherwise seem an unrealistic plot, but the drovers still encounter plenty of other natural and man-made obstacles along the way.

Action packed scenes devoid of gratuitous language and violence create an enjoyable read for the entire family, but this doesn't mean that the story is bland. The author's flair for witty dialog keeps the reader engaged: "Used to be in Texas a man settled his own problems," Charley said. "But that was when due process was a bullet."

Reminiscent of a quality western in the style of Louis L'Amour, Charley Sunday's Texas Outfit! draws a clear distinction between the good guys and bad guys. Readers longing for a family tale where justice prevails will be thrilled with this modern day saga.

Child of Many Rivers: Journeys to and from the Rio Grande. By Lucy Fischer-West, Foreword by Denise Chavez . Lubbock: Texas Tech University Press, 2005. xvi, 190 pages. 32 b/w photos, index. ISBN 0896725561.

This Child won the 2005 Southwest Book Award and was a 2006 WILLA Literary Award Finalist. Lucy Fischer-West teaches English at El Paso's Cathedral High School, and her students are lucky that she does. You are lucky if you read the volume. It started with contributions on her father and mother to the Texas Folklore Society. In the "Epilogue" she summarizes that "Rivers for me are a continuum, linking not only each other but also past and present and most importantly all the people who belong to them and have touched my life."
Her father was a German sailor, her mother was the "youngest and most beautiful girl in a family of twelve" in Camargo, Chihuahua. As young girl, Lucy patted tortilla balls beside the Conchos River, and as a mature woman she washed her hands in the Ganges and received a blessing from Sister Teresa. Her autobiographical essays lure the reader through the gifts of cultures. Whether she's sharing the aroma of the El Paso market, the horrible auto accident near the River Clyde, French rocks with Paulette, touring India and Nepal on the Rotary trip "to improve international understanding," Lucy's waters mingle in a beautiful human stream. Un millon de gracias, Lucy.

Lucy Fischer-West's memoir, Child of Many Rivers, recounts the story of people whose lives predate the author's, Fischer-West's own herstory, and the story of life that will outlive hers (by way of her son and those whose lives have intersected with hers). In this story, Fischer-West introduces us to her father and mother, one with roots in Germany, the other in Juarez, Mexico, respectively; she describes their meeting, their courtship, and eventual marriage, quite unorthodox, considering the two are very much set in their ways, being older like they are. They move from one place to another, the author using rivers, both literal and metaphorical, to document the course of their lives. Fischer-West weaves in her own life from early on to very recent, and that of her son's. As much as a book of this length and nature can be, it is pure poetry.

It is such a pleasure to read a Mexican American memoir that does not stop simply at the cusp of adulthood or at the edge of the barrio. The author's love for El Paso and Juarez shines through these pages, which are rich in detail and dedicated to demonstrating how people cope with, manage and accept "difference" on a daily basis; Child of Many Rivers made me think how such books are sorely needed in this age of conflict and suspicion across borders and cultures.

As a member of The Texas Folklore Society I received this book as a bonus from TFS. I read it in its entirety over one weekend--slowly, taking time with Ms. West's rich detailing of what it means to straddle two cultures from birth to adulthood. Lucy F. West's ability to recall in almost photograph detail her unique childhood wherein she literally had a foot in Mexico and a foot in Texas makes this book a good read.

The child of a Mexican teacher and a German immigrant father, her cultural influences were too many to catalogue in this small space, but they resulted in a unique perspective on what it means to be Mexican and American.

Her writing style is lucid and not the least pretentious. When plain language makes plain the meaning and intent of her ideas, she uses plain language. When using Spanish terms or Mexican folk expressions that may be foreign to Americans, she takes pains to explain them, which serves to enrich her stories.

She switches style or voice occassionally as she moves between childhood and adult episodes. This vareity in tone is welcomed since it has the effect of refreshing our interest in the levels of her story.

Ms. West has published other articles and several chapters in anthologies which I have found to be instructive and enlightening. I am really pleased to hear her "voice" in the longer book format.

Straightforward, without pretension, lucid and thought-provoking. Ms. West's book reminds us that this nation has eternally struggled with the issues of diversity and assimilation. Some, Ms. West for one, manage the assimilation beautifully while preserving the diversity. Bravo!

As a television talk show host and producer, I get so many books to read and review. I sat down to read only a few chapters of this one and wound up reading the entire book! CHINQUA WHERE? replicates rural life ANYWHERE, not just in Texas. Fred McKinley's chapters reminded me of stories told to me by my grandparents about days gone by in rural Pennsylvania. Lots of history, lots of laughs, lots of love!

Chinqua Where? The Spirit Of Rural America, 1947-1955 is a heartfelt collection of short essays and memories about author Fred McKinley's life growing up in rural East Texas during the late 1940s and early 1950s. Life without indoor plumbing, central heating, or running water, and in a place where baths were in washtubs, the children went barefoot in the summer, and when the main forms of entertainment were wandering the woods, listening to a battery operated radio, or watching movies on Sunday afternoon, are all part and parcel of this vivid retelling of rural Texas childhood. A host of vivid impressions make for an unforgettable trip down memory lane and combine to make Chinqua Where? a superbly written and informative autobiography.

I have just finished reading this book and I must admit that it has taken me a lot longer than I had expected. From the very beginning it was like stepping back in time to a place where I grew up. Back to a time when there were no freeways, telephones, computers or television sets. A place where a child could indulge in his own imagination, thinking his own thoughts and not what some Hollywood writers had put into his head. The reason that I took so long to finish this book was because I wanted to savor every single story in it. I grew up in this age and in the same general area, so I remember the court house at San Augustine. I also remember terms like "turtle hull" and I remember when cars had the dimmer switch on the floor. I had not heard the term "turtle hull" for so long that I had forgotten it. Each story was like a small mini-vacation that allowed me for one brief period of time, to escape from the hectic world that we live in and return to a peaceful, more carefree world. I am grateful to Mr. McKinley for writting this book and for helping to perserve these memories and for sharing them with us. I think this book would be excellent for the older generations to help bring back memories of the past and also for the younger generation to let them know that there really was a time when kids didn't have indoor plumbing, telephones, computers and television.

McKinley's book, with its candid "down home" flavor provides a refreshing look back at a simpler time in American life. The author's narrative voice--that of the mischievous, carefree boy he was in those "good old days"--relates with warmth and humor his recollections of "the way things were" during his happy boyhood in rural Chinqua. A charming collection of anecdotes that celebrates the fundamental customs and values of rural America.

This is a book about a bit of history I had never knew about.

It is a great read, very interesting.

I went to school on Galveston Island and the disaster was discussed during the anniversary of the horrific event, so I was pleased to get a very readable account. Short chapters make it easy for even the busiest reader to get through. It has intrigue,politics,race relations,corporate greed and human interest antedotes. The author is from Texas so he is able to add some of the regional seasoning to the story. Was glad to see there was some follow up of the main characters years after the event. A must read!!!

As a fan of disaster books, I was surprised to find that I had never read about the Texas City explosion. Apparently it was soon forgotten and I am dismayed, but not surprised, at the outcome for the survivors.
This book clearly outlines the explosion and aftermath. However,it would certainly have been helpful to have some maps as the photographs were taken afterwards and it is sometimes difficult to get oriented.
I am actually rating this a 4.5, mainly because the writing style is very composed and almost flat. While I am not a fan of exclamation points and screaming capital letters, the author is a bit too detatched. I would like to have had a bit more emotion in the telling of what was certainly a major tragedy.

Mr. Minutaglio's City on Fire was very hard to put down after the first few pages. A priest foreshadows his own death in the Texas City Disaster. You feel like you really get to know the people in the story, which is amazing since it covers the whole town's experience leading up to and following the ammonium-nitrate explosions. It wasn't too long ago this explosion happened in sight of known history. However, little do we learn from the past as we watch big goverment, big business, greed and human ignorance take us down similar paths that we are helpless to control collectively, whereas individuals find grace by doing what they believe to be right.

Jack Bell's "Civil War Heavy Explosive Ordnance" is a superb black and white photographic catalog of ammunition for heavy artillery (4" and larger.) It is the natural companion to Olmstead, Stark and Tucker's "The Big Guns." The book is geared more toward the collector than as a technical historical reference, but still can fill the latter role in many ways. While a picture might not be worth a full thousand words, it certainly helps.

The first 470 pages contain introductory text, a glossary, and the catalog of heavy ordnance. The next 26 pages contain a photographic catalog of torpedoes (mines.) Thirty pages of appendices follow, and the book ends with a bibliography and index.

The heavy ordnance is divided into two sections: large smoothbore projectiles, and rifled projectiles. The smoothbore section is subdivided into: shot, shell and case shot; canister; and grape. Rifled projectiles are then subdivided into twenty-seven major types and one miscellaneous group.

The general form of each entry is a brief introduction of a page or several pages about the type (Archer, Hotchkiss, Dyer, etc.) and then the following pages contain one to three images of each size and type of projectile of that type. When three images of a given projectile are provided they are viewed straight on from top, bottom, and side. Some images of shell or case are half sections. Entries below each set of photographs provide diameter, length, weight, gun, sabot, fuze, rifling, rarity, provenance, and comments.

My quibbles with this work are minor. Some of the recessed spaces and contour relief are difficult or impossible to interpret with a 90-degree angle view and no shadows. Case shot appears to have been under represented. Projectile counts and burst charges (known or estimated) are largely omitted.

Although the text introductory sections for each type are short, they provide some answers to long standing puzzles. For example the Archer projectiles are finally attributed to the correct Archer, Dr. Robert Archer. The Mullane has been renamed the "Tennessee" and attributed to the correct actual designer, Capt. Lardner Gibbon.

The appendices are also particularly useful. There is a list of missing and unaccounted for rounds in Appendix A, a list of rifling types by caliber in Appendix B, as well as the detailed review of rifled sabot systems in Appendix C.

Lamentably, this book (like "The Big Guns") is not on many Civil War site bookstore shelves, although I did see one at the naval museum in Columbus, Georgia.

It has been a long awaited moment in my 40+ years of experience in dealing with artillery projectiles of the American Civil War to see a book of this caliber in print. It is the most comprehensive guide or research tool for those with an interest in this field. It is appropriate for the novice and the more proficient.

Mr. Bell, along with a multitude of hours doing research and the aide of his peers, was able to compile an impressive array of photographs (350+) and information for the reader.

The book references shells from 4" and up; including round balls, projectiles, torpedoes, land mines, and a chapter on sabot designs.

I highly recommend Mr. Bell's book to those who want to expand their knowledge of Civil War heavy artillery.

Civil War Heavy Explosive Ordnance: A Guide To Large Artillery Projectiles, Torpedoes, And Mines by Civil War expert Jack Bell is a straightforward, highly specialized, exhaustively detailed, 537-page reference to the large munitions employed in the Civil War. A brief introduction and glossary enhance this unique volume, yet the bulk its pages are devoted to specific ammunitions with each shell accompanied by a black-and-white photograph as well as scale measurements, brief commentary, dimensions, and a listing of where they were most often used. Civil War Heavy Explosive Ordnance is a truly impressive and invaluable resource for Civil War historians and military history buffs.

CIVIL WAR HEAVY EXPLOSIVE ORDANCE, by well-known collector JACK BELL, presents an in-depth study of Civil War heavy artillery projectiles, mines and torpedoes. His lifelong association with the CW artillery fraternity provided access to public and private collections containing heretofore-unknown examples of heavy munitions. The author's meticulous research uncovered buried and previously overlooked information and provided important technical and geographic information vital for the in-depth study of the use of heavy explosive ordnance in the war. The result is a highly documented reference source that closes a thirty-year information gap, and significantly advances the state of knowledge about the development and deployment during the war.

CIVIL WAR HEAVY EXPLOSIVE ORDANCE is a necessary tool for the serious artillery collector yet provides interesting reading for the student of general Civil War history. The book contains over 1000 clear photographs and multiple views of the 360 projectiles and 22 torpedoes and mines. Jack Bell's presentation is lucid and while professionally technical is delivered in an extremely readable style.

Coffee, Pie and a Place to Die was great. The author writes in a very conversational style making the book an easy, enjoyable read. This compulation of short stories reminds me of sitting on the front porch and talking to my neighbors about the "goings on" for the day! While reading each story, I found myself trying to anticipate what the characters would do next only to be surprised by a creative twist.

As a reader from a town just as small as the one described in May Mathis' book, I can identify with the desire to hear "juicy" gossip to mark the time while you wave at passersby.

This book is full of mystery and suspense. Just the type of book I like to read. I always had a feeling that more goes on in small towns than usually meets the eye. And seeing all this through the eyes of Sophie gives the stories something extra!
I believe everyone knows someone like Sophie, I know I do.

I found this book to be a very interesting book. It deals very well with regional issues. I especially liked the way the author allows the character, Sophie, to be the voice of the community, thus allowing the reader to view the town through her eyes. She is believeable. The author is a great writer and storyteller.

I really enjoyed reading this book. The author makes the readers feel as if they are right there experiencing the action.
I felt as if I had been transported to the small town of Bethlehem with Mrs. Sophie in the story.

The book Crazy Loco by David Rice is short stories about children growing up near the border of Mexico and the United States as Mexican Americans. Most of the stories are funny, but a few of them are serious and sad. I felt the serious stories, such as Her Other Son and She Flies, were much stronger than some of the funny stories, such as The California Cousins and Proud to be an American. I liked the stronger stories more because I could really feel for some of the characters and what they were going through. I also felt they were better because they had more description. My favorite story of all of them was Her Other Son. This story was about a young boy's close connection to his family's maid. I enjoyed this story the most because the reader can really understand what the character is going through and it was very descriptive and touching.
When reading this book, it reminded me of the book Crossing the Wire because in a lot of the stories the characters had to cross the border between the United States and Mexico. They also spoke a little bit of Spanish in Crazy Loco (that the readers can understand) as they also did in the book Crossing the Wire. In each story in this book, the author, David Rice, always had great description. Also at the end of every story he kind of leaves you at a cliffhanger. You are left wondering questions about what will happen next in the characters life, or why did the character do that? I like how the author did this because it really gets you to think deeper about the story. It also helps you get a better understanding of the story when you think so much about it. Even though some stories weren't as strong as the others, I still think Crazy Loco was a very good book.

I've heard David Rice read a few of the stories in this collection back in South Texas at different venues and was amazed at how much his writing had matured since his first book (Give the Pig a Chance--another fine book in its own right). A side note to anyone with an opportunity to experience Rice's presentations--take the chance, go out of your way if you have to, but do listen to him. Back to the book: I was so looking forward to Crazy Loco, and when I got my copy, I got right to it. Dropped Moby Dick, and slowed down on To the Lighthouse to finish Crazy Loco. The stories, most of which are told in the first person, the narrators varying from story to story, are humorous and fun to read. But I feel the strongest pieces are the ones in which Rice cuts out the humor, and gets down to some serious business, like in "Last Mass" and "Her Other Son." These stories are emotional without being sentimental. These stories bring to mind others of his works, namely "Tina La Tinaca" from his first collection, and they show exactly why Rice is being published today.

I just recently finished reading both of Rice's books: Give The Pig A Chance, and Crazy Loco.
I have comments on several of his short stories, but overall, I'd like to say that his writing is very inspiring to me - I didn't expect for stories this short to be full with such great symbolism.
In his short story, Papa Lalo, Henry was given a compass from his grandfather, as a gift.
A compass always faces North. The Earth has it's own magnetic polarity that magnifies the pull of a compass to face due North. The compass could have symbolized the unbearable "magnetic pull": that Harry had with his grandfather. Even though Harry didn't realize he shared any common ground, or any connection with his grandfather - He always had that "magnetic pull" a "bond" that we sometimes are unfamiliar with until we try to face another direction in life - or until life points us in a new direction.

This was a very well written, carefully thought out story.

David Rice's second book Crazy Loco is a collection of short stories that kicks off the new wave of young adult Chicano literature. As an English teacher I've sought quality Chicano literature for my kids and aside from Gary Soto, there isn't much out there. I'm glad to see that's changing. Rice's stories are hilarious and even though they're set in South Texas with mostly Chicano characters, they will appeal to all kids. I shared stories from his previous book, Give the Pig a Chance, with my students and they loved them. Since his style has improved and these stories are funnier, I know my students will love Crazy Loco even more. My favorites of the bunch were "Crazy Loco" and "Proud to be an American." They are about two things most kids are experts about: dogs and fireworks. Other stories are heartfelt. "Papa Lalo" will strike a chord with children who have lived through divorce or have lost their grandparents. "Valentine" is about the pain and power of first love. David Rice writes the Rio Grande Valley of Texas like few other authors can. He is a great new voice in Chicano fiction and one to watch in the future.

I suggest reading this book before reading "Ride the Wind". It serves as a chronicalled historical foundation before reading the novel "Ride the Wind" that will definitely prepare you for an unimaginable journey into the world of the American Indian of 150 years ago.

This is a compact history ... but it does just what you want - gives what history is known of Cynthia Ann Parker. This is an excellent resource if you are wanting to know about Cynthia Ann Parker from the settler's perspective - the people she left behind, the family she had come from, and the search for her that continued throughout her 'captivity'. The author seems to steer clear of any area of conjecture, such as why Cynthia Ann got shuttled between family members after her return or what may have happened to her pension, and sticks only to documentable history. She also avoided sidetracking into the history of Cynthia Ann's famous son or the other people in her life except for as far as they pertain to Cynthia Ann's life. Focus is very tight, very informative.

On May 19th, 1836 nine-year-old Cynthia Ann Parker, a member of a group of religious families occupying Fort Parker in Texas, witnessed the massacre of friends and relatives by combined bands of Caddos, Kiowas and Comanche warriors. Abducted by the Comanches, Cynthia was raised for the next 25 years as a tribal member and became "fully" Comanche, giving birth to Quanah Parker, the last Comanche Chief and one of the most influential intermediaries of his time, a representative of both the Native American and White cultures. Abducted a second time as an adult by a well-meaning Texas Ranger, Cynthia Ann was forced to return to White society, but mourned deeply for her Comanche family, ultimately starving herself to death out of grief.

Much lore and legend has grown around the story of Cynthia Ann Parker over the years, and it has often been difficult to separate the myth from the reality of her dramatic story. However, Margaret Schmidt Hacker has done just that. Over a period of five years, Ms. Hacker painstakingly researched the archives in Texas, Oklahoma, California and Washington, D.C. and objectively weighed all the accounts of Cynthia Ann's life. The result of her efforts is what is considered the most authoritative book on the subject. Although scholarly, it is at the same time, a gripping drama of the Texas prairies, and very readable by anyone with an interest in the Old West. Highly recommended reading.

Countless folk tales and sagas have focused on the story of Miss Parker, a captive of the Comanches for more than 15 years. Many of them deal only with her years as the mother of the famous Quanah Parker. Author Margaret Schmidt Hacker devoted five years to researching the life of the Cynthia Ann to reveal the history behind the myth. This is the tragic story of the abduction of a nine year old girl who returned reluctantly to white society when she was 24. A fascinating portrait of her life among the Comanches on the Texas frontier.