Texas Books

My husband & I just returned from a fantastic trip to Big Bend National Park. We used this excellent, handy, easy-to-use book as our primary resource for deciding what hikes we were capable of taking in the park. The book proved very useful in showing numerous shorter, easier hikes that older people like us with foot and back problems could take as well as longer, harder trails for those who want them and are able. It also gave very interesting, accurate, readable, and useful descriptions of such matters as how to drive to the trailhead and whether parking is available there, some things (mainly scenery & geological features) one is likely to see on the trail, trail length, elevation gain, trail traffic etc., to allow use to decide which trails would most interest us. Further, it contains some useful black and white photos. And it provides some information about neighboring Big Bend Ranch State Park which we also at least drove through. Thanks in large part to this book, we were able to enjoy some the best hiking of our lives despite our current physical limitations. I only wish we had visited the park a decade ago or more when we could have done some of the more strenuous trails described as well. I would recommend this book for virtually anyone planning a visit to Big Bend.

Gives a great synthesis of hikes of all levels in the park. Well-organized and thus very easy and quick to use.

It does the job it was purchased for, ie finding trails in Big Bend National Park

This story was well written and had some interesting twists to it. I felt like I knew the main characters Alex and Hannah. The love story starts out on an unusual twist but you feel compelled to keep reading to find out how the story ends. It leads in to the second book of the Texas Sheikhs series "His Arranged Marriage" by Tina Leonard. I highly recommend this book!

Kasey Michaels offers us another great read in this Harl. American series. Alex is a wonderful hero and his devotion to Hannah is well drawn out. The development of his character and the transformation of Hannah is enchanting. I read this book after reading the second in the series by Tina Leonard and I am looking forward to the rest of the series.

If you like Texas books, a hunky prince in hiding, and a strong woman to tame him, you should definitely read this book! The first in a series of Texas Sheiks, Kasey's characters are magical and different--as usual! You will fall in love with Hannah-Banana . . . it's a very touching story. I picked this book up because I'd read other books of hers, and I was not disappointed.

You really have to read the other books to FULLY appreciate all the nuances of this book. Great job by Robin Hardy. If you are not familiar with her books, Padre and the Streiker series is a good place to start. She is an exceptional storyteller and gifted writer.

Up until this point, Robin's books have stayed out of each other's business, though three of them are based in or around Dallas. Dallas being a big place, this is believeable. But when she brought two people together from seperate series' (Paul from Padre and Fletcher from Streiker series), it was pure genius! I have not laughed so hard, or turned pages as fast as when I was reading this book. I finished it in roughly 5 hours. I think that's a record for me (for a book that size). I would suggest reading Padre again (or for the first time!), as you will note a reference to Streiker (annonymous, of course), and it will make both books much more enjoyable to read. And for me, it had been over 4 years since I read Padre, so it was nice to have a "refresher" read. Keep your eyes peeled for other "guest" appearances (hint: from Sammy) in this bold, witty book. Enjoy!

I had enjoyed Robin Hardy's book "Padre" when it came out years ago. I was thrilled to read the new edition of "Padre" and the sequel, "His Strange Ways." I always wanted to read more about Royce and her strong and sweet husband, Paul.

Like "Padre," "His Strange Ways" is a romantic adventure, but the sequel is almost like one of those computer games where you have no instructions, you're just in a room with different objects in it and you have to figure out what you need in order to do what you are supposed to do.

Kinda like life, huh?

More good stuff from Robin Hardy.

The Menger Hotel is my favorite place on earth. Some of the staff there was impressed that I know the history of the hotel. Sometimes I reread this book. I would like to meet Ms.Williams.And to stay in the King Ranch Suite.

No one writes about Texas' ghostly history like Docia Williams. Having visited the Menger, I was delighted to find Docia's fascinating account of the "life and times" of this venerable old hotel. After providing a short history of the Menger family and early construction, Docia jumps right into the personalities that make this 140-year-old hotel so unique. The Menger's guest list has included Ulysses S. Grant, Gen. Sam Houston, Bob Hope, John Wayne, and the list goes on and on. Read about Teddy Roosevelt's 1898 recruitment of the Rough Riders in the Menger Bar (and the ghostly recruitment that frightened a recent Menger employee). Enjoy the account of Captain Richard King, owner of the famed million-acre Texas King Ranch. A resident guest, the 60-year-old rancher died in his suite in 1885; apparently he liked the accomodations, because he still returns now and again for visits.

Of equal interest are the personal recollections of Asst. Gen. Mgr. Ernesto Malacaro who has dealt with some memorable guests in his 20+ years with the hotel. In a brief chapter titled "Specialties of the Past" the author serves up some interesting tidbits about long past dining experiences at the Menger. Mr. Menger raised his own hogs and was very proud of his cured bacon, pork chops, etc. One of his animals weighed over 1,000 pounds and was nearly seven feet long!

The final chapters cover ghostly manifestations including Sallie White (murdered in 1876), the Confederate officer on the patio, the portly apparition of a maitre d' in the Colonial Dining Room, phantom chambermaids, and others. Read about the woman who awoke to find a male ghost grinning at her from the foot of her bed; the woman and her husband moved to a newer section of the hotel after the ghost "got frisky and tried to pull the bedcovers off her."

In addition to the various stories, Docia Williams includes photographs taken of the hotel and its notable guests throughout the years. This book is a Texas treasure trove of historical fact and trivia from the mid-1850's to the present. It will be a valued part of your library.

My wife and I just spent a few days at the Menger Hotel and happened to run across this book. After being in awe of the hotel itself, this book provided us with a marvelous background of a hotel dating back almost 150 years. The author explains the history of the hotel in a very straight forward, easy to read format and left us wanting for more. As we sat outside in the gardens, we could just imagine the formal balls going on around us and the captivating personalities, written about in the book, strolling through the lobby. This is obviously a very throuroughly researched, well documented book encompassing the comings and goings of some very well known people, and some ghostly ones as well. We were just waiting to see Captain King stroll down the hallway, or see one of the various other spirits reliving their past life in this remarkable hotel. This book is a must read for those that love to read about Texas history, and the spirits that encompass it!

Amusement runs rampant in this book. Limericks abound about that indelicate function of the human body-it isn't a private function as some expulsion of wastes are, but it usually isn't a part of "polite" company. In addition there is an A to Z compendium of different classifications of farts. Interspersed are the ribald tales of the gaseous emissions and anecdotes of famous people and their flatulence. According to the author, Martin Luther could punctuate his sermons with ripping farts. Good thing he was preaching, because if he was in the congregation then Confucius words would apply: "He who fart in church sits in own pew." (Unfortunately, the author fails to provide any bibliography so that I can find where he got his information.)

Is it ironic that the author's last name rhymes with the subject of the book? Hmmm, how's this for a limerick in the spirit of the book:

There once was a doctor named Bart
Who wrote a ripping book on the fart
So studious he came
To flatulent fame
The book you don't stop once you start

This is, to be sure, a rather small book, a collection of assorted limericks, facts, and blurbs on breaking wind. Graphic illustrations and cartoons are interspersed. And laughs are assured for all.

My Mother passed this book to me after she had vented its fare on her afternoon club. It is divided into six chapters, each spouting limericks and anecdotes concerning various aspects of crepitation. I found that I had a "whiff of a memory" of several of the dozens of limericks, a poetic form particularly suited to the subject of flatulence. There are airy songs, putrid prose and smudgy cartoons throughout the book. The final chapter, "The A-Z of Farting," expounds on preponderant and pathetic forms of flatulence, which have been so prevalent among man (and woman) for as long as the wind has blown.

If you are looking for a good laugh and enjoy nature in its rudest form, this all to brief, passing wisp of wit will tickle and inspire you. Put in your "bubba teeth," grab a beer and read this on your next airline flight. FFRRRRRRRRRRRUPUPUPUP! Excuse Me.

The world owes much to Dr. Benjamin Bart. How did we survive before he put together this profound historical work? Has anybody nominated Dr. Bart for a Nobel prize? He deserves at least a Pulitzer. There are rumors that the good doctor earnestly began his inquiries into the art and possible health benefits of farting sometime during the early years of his childhood. Some claim that little Benjamin was nicknamed "Bart the Fart." I think there was something about this in the "National Enquirer," but unfortunately I forgot the exact date of that most important issue.

Dr. Bart believes that there is right way and a wrong way to fart. He tells us how the smart people perform this most human of tasks. I bet the reader was unaware that the famous philosopher Rene Descartes supposedly asked "Since I think--I exist, but what does it mean when I fart?" Ah, the education one can obtain outside the walls of a university. Did your philosophy professor have a clue concerning the more esoteric aspects of Descartes' philosophical insights? There are many other flatulent examples that should broaden your intellectual horizons.

"The History of Farting" even has some pictures to help one's illiterate cohorts. This book thankfully has little to do with either thee or me. We would rarely, if ever, do anything like farting. Should we, however, embarrass our buddies by presenting them with a gift copy of this perspicaciously brilliant expose of their less than polite habits? Of course we should. After all, what are friends for?

Great instructions and forms. Saved us thousands in attorney fees. I only wish it came with a CD that had text files of all the forms.

Very informative, easy to understand. A must if you are settling an estate in Texas.

We were able to settle my inlaws' estate without an attorney by using this book. A great help for anyone, especially those without a large estate who don't want to, or can't, spend thousands on legal advice.

Schmandt-Besserat is not only an acknowledged leader in epigraphy, she is one of the only linguists to study the slowly evolving history of the assyro-babylonian literary culture. This book, and any other by this author, is strongly reccommended for any library or archeological department.

This book will take you through the ruins of an ancient city in Mesopotamia and then will explain the meaning of certain tablets and clay coins found there. The author is very clear in her explanations, there are plenty of pictures and graphics which make your understanding of the text easier. This book is for those who like reading scholarly material because it is very concise and precise on the subject but it could seem dry reading to those who prefer the material to be presented in a more entertaining way.
I found it very interesting, and it helped me understand the transition from letters to numbers. I loved it!

Holy Moley! By Internet standards, the first (and only, until mine) review of this book is of a seemingly archaeological date, seven years ago, that is. Well, I suppose this review won't make much difference when (if) it's read seven years from now! This book is, obviously, a work by a scholar, which is an entirely different category of "being smart." We don't call upon scholars to fix our plugged-up toilets or change the flat tire on our car or restore the electricity, but, if you know just enough history to be grateful to live in our consumer-friendly epoch, you'll be grateful that some out there have dedicated their lives to recording and analyzing the long process of human growth, and the growth of civilization. You can have your Back To Nature fantasies--I'll take the hot shower and electric coffee maker, thank you very much. This particular work, apparently, is a condensation of a two-volume scholarly work, one which, I am sure, that I will never read. But the current volume (the second half of which I read last night, while eating fancy crackers and drinking humble red wine--giving me a connection, I felt, to the agrarian Past of Sumer and Uruk, etc.) is about as good as it gets for laymen (me). For me, it's almost like a religious text, transcending race, language, skin color, nationalism; it's like a Time Machine that takes you back within the range of a subtle sniff of our "egalitarian" prehistoric ancestors; "egalitarian" meaning a small-population culture where you pretty much fed yourself and participated in the group without the framework of authority other than myth and ritutal. A fun read for those who have exhausted the cultural potentialities of SIMPSONS reruns. I wholeheartedly agree with the author's thesis that counting preceded writing. In fact, it was my hunch--from my own reading and thinking--that this was so that prompted me to search for a book with this theory. It just makes sense. I highly doubt that any early resident of a city started the road to high civilization talking about "ennui" or "existentialism." They talked about, "Hey! I paid you this much last month. And you owe me this much tomorrow." Makes sense to me. Just the evidence-supported argument alone that breaking the counting-beyond-three barrier took thousands of years was worth the cover price to me. The single concept (and revelation) that in no way is the faculty of counting beyond three inate to brain function and hence, inate to our modern minds, is simply stunning to me, and adds a dose of gratitude to my daily life, a realization that makes it easier to laugh off the troubles of modern life. We owe so much to the hundreds of generations of men and women who have gone before us, most just living day to day. A good read, especially when enjoyed with fancy crackers and red wine...and about forty years' worth of reading, living and reflecting. So far as what the next review will address: I ain't holding my breath--and that is a very archaelogical attitude.

I've checked this book out from the library twice. Both times I returned it late because I didn't want to give it up. I finally realized that I needed to buy one for myself. It is an excellent resource for beginners and experts. Howard Garrett teaches us that working with nature is easier, more effective, and safer for our planet than trying to master it. Nature cannot be controlled. This book helps you learn how to work in harmony with your natural surroundings. Also included is a handy month-by-month guide to organic gardening.

Howard Garret has provided an easy reading, informative view aimed toward those of us in Texas that prefer the natural, organic methods of gardening. The subjects flow smoothly from basics of soil preparation and maintenance, through dealing with pests in environmentally freindly ways.

Much of the information strikes familiar chords for Texas gardeners, like dealing with our perverse soils, doing battle with our average (?) weather conditions, and deciphering seed catalogs mostly from nothern climates that don't provide satisfactory choices for out USDA zones.

I enjoyed this book so much that I ordered his Texas Organic Vegetable Gardening : The Total Guide to Growing Vegetables, Fruits,Herbs, and Other Edible Plants the Natural Way - I,m sure it will be just as good.

If you garden in Texas you need this book! The book offers solutions to many of the unique problems of Texas gardeners: The best plants for your area, organic ways to improve your soil, get rid of pests, plants to avoid, this book is great!

I loved all of these stories and can't wait for the full length stories that will come out soon. Even though each story is not very long they have lots of depth and feeling. If you want stories of healing emotionally bruised women so they can love again. These stories are for you. Also these stories are not for the faint of heart.

If you like seductive vampire heroes, you're going to love this book, because it's full of them. There's Don Raphael, once a medieval Spanish knight, now the leader of a band of vampires; Ethan Templeton, his handsome protegee who falls in love with a modern female cop; Jean Marie, a gorgeous Frenchman; and all the other wonderful heroes who populate these stories.

If you're a little wary of gore, don't be. Diane's vampires are lovers, not killers. I, personally, would hapily trade a pint of AB positive for a little of the Don's time! -- Angela Knight

Diane Whiteside has written a wonderfully erotic collection of stories about 3 vampires. I love Vampire stories anyway, but these were so well written and the stories flowed very well. These are very erotic, steamy & hot stories. I couldn't get enough! I loved the story of Don Rafael and Ethan (two of the vamps) and their first encounter with a young maiden. Lets just say they had their way with her and she wanted more! LOL I won't give away the story lines, but I do highly recommend this ebook. It is a wonderful read and one that you will pull out again and again. Ms Whiteside, if you read this, when is the next book coming out? I want more of these fine, sexy, erotic vamps!!

Updated and enlarged Paperback edition with a new introduction.
Just published
Reviews of the hardcover edition:

"A comprehensive and tolerant study, devoid of jargon. . . . Calder,a historian at the University of Illinois at Chicago, fairly describes the mixed results of the occupation. . . . Some readers may disagree with Mr. Calder's assessment of the occupation's long-term costs-Dominican hostility to the United States and, less directly, the Trujillo regime that began in 1930-but this is nevertheless an excellent study." -The New York Times Book Review
"A work of exceptional historical analysis. . . . Calder is to be commended for his forthright analysis of the American occupation." -American Historical Review
"A particularly good summary of U.S. imperialism at the turn of
the century and a clear description of Dominican society and the
political system at that time." -Political Science Quarterly

BRUCE CALDER, University of Illinois, the author of Politics of Spirit,wrote a new introduction to this book.

"A comprehensive and tolerant study, devoid of jargon. . . . Calder,
a historian at the University of Illinois at Chicago, fairly describes
the mixed results of the occupation. . . . Some readers may disagree
with Mr. Calder's assessment of the occupation's long-term
costs--Dominican hostility to the United States and, less directly,
the Trujillo regime that began in 1930--but this is nevertheless an
excellent study." --The New York Times Book Review

It's pretty depressing that this book is number 1,773,851 on the Amazon sales list. Let's see: Invade and occupy a country to bring it stability and democracy, provoke a stubborn insurgency, antagonize the populace, find it difficult to complete ambitious infrastructure plans, alienate your allies. Where have I heard this before? Let's hope the epilogue-- a 31-year rule by a brutal despot-- doesn't repeat as well. This is a superb treatment of the US occupation of the Dominican Republic that began in 1916; it's thorough, fair, and well-written. If more citizens--and more policy makers--read books such as this, America would be a humbler, wiser, and stronger country. Why has the Uiversity of Texas Press stopped printing it?