Texas Books

Evil among the saints is a haunting tale that enriches your senses with everything from drama, intrigue and deception. I enjoyed the spinning web of on going deception between the Reverend Paul Stone and his predecessors, Don Jacobs who you love to hate, Nova Powers determined to find out the truth about her murdered friend, The Miller sister were delightful and the devil himself, was depicted exceptionally. The many characters in the story line were always rich and the writer moved the story effortlessly. I thoroughly enjoyed this first debut by Jade Alex's and can't wait to read more! Pick up your copy today.
Shayla McClellon author of "Hypnotic" [...]

Jade Alex begins her story with an intense excitement from the beginning. I was riveted to my sofa; book in hand. This author has effectively combined her intimate knowledge of Dallas' Highland Park Society along with her familiarity of the mean streets of South Oak Cliff in this simple, but thought-provoking and well-written tale of murder, faith and redemption.

This book provided a great escape for a night. I did not put the book down once I had started because I was interested in how the author would develop the characters and resolve the issues thrust upon the reader from the beginning of the story. I really enjoyed the story line.

If you like Michael Connelly, you'll enjoy Raymond Benson's Evil Hours. Unresolved questions about her mother's murder lead Shannon Reece to explore the seamy secrets of her home town. Along the way, Shannon must come to terms with her personal demons as she questions just how much she really needs to know.

Raymond Benson is known for writing the continuation James Bond novels, so when I picked up this, his first non-Bond book, I expected a tightly crafted fast moving mystery thriller. I wasn't disappointed. But what did surprise me was how darkly moving EVIL HOURS was as a neo-noir crime drama. I've heard other reviewers liken this book to Twin Peaks, and while I do see similarities, I think that's selling this book a bit short. I was reminded more of intense real-life crime dramas like The Onion Field and The Thin Blue Line. Benson's masterful use of detail makes the book so believable that, by the end, it has evolved from a mystery thriller into something that's very tragic and profound. And darn right creepy in a "this-only-happens-in-real-life" sort of way. The emotional reality of the book is what sets it apart from other thrillers by better-known authors, and what makes it surpasses even Benson's Bond books as a work of fiction (suggesting a bright future for Benson after Bond). By the end of this book -- with the ultimate revelation and CHILLING reenactment of the crime -- I found myself creeped-out and moved at the same time. Wild. This book was a real experience and one I would recommend highly, especially if you're a fan of character driven true-life crime. It would also make a terrific film.

Raymond Benson, author of the recent James Bond novels, has given us something completely different: a novel that reminds me of that movie "Lone Star" or similar-- it takes place in a small Texas town and is the story about a murder, or a mystery of a murder, and how one woman searches for the truth about what happened. The narrative is interesting, moving back and forth from the present to the past, and slowly revelations are unravelled. I found it to be haunting, moody, and compelling.

I'm the proud owner of the entire Eyebeam series. They are constantly out on loan. This book shows that humor can be brilliant, but not vulgar or cynical. Adults get it on a certain level and kids on another. Rare in that it has the nationally syndicated chracters from the Universal Features "Peaches" strip, as well as the ones that were too "grown up" for that strip, interacting together. Rod and Ratliff are developed in this book. I sure miss the old "Eyebeam" Strip..... This reminds me why.

This book of Eyebeam cartoons contains some classics--Ratliff leading the cops to the mall parking lot because a windshield sunshade says "Help! Call Police!"; the one about the Night Pedestals for cats (cars parked along the curb); the sequence in which Three-Initial Corporation is taken over by Brand X.

Direct, clear humor. Unusual drawing style. Characters include lawyers, children, pompous yuppies, hapless students, and the all-time favorite--"Hank the Hallucination." Captures Austin's surreal reality perfectly.

It is absolutely outrageous that the Eyebeam series is out of print. Example: Ratliff is in the tub singing Michelle Ma Belle, Eyebeam enters and says " is that ABSOLUTELY necessary?" and Ratliff innocently replies, "well no, but it sure makes me smell better." This was bar none the funniest comic ever done. OUT OF PRINT? Criminal.

I have become a Harvey Girl re-enactor with the El Paso Railroad Museum since January 2006, giving presentations & doing research. FAR FROM HOME is the main resource for Harvey Girl uniforms. Our number of re-enactors is increasing, so we now have begun monthly meetings to discuss scripts for presentations, costumes for the span of time periods that the Harvey Girls existed, along with participation in historical events with other groups covering a similar time period. In addition, we are collecting & exhibiting Fred Harvey dinnerware & Santa Fe Railway dinnerware & preparing/serving food samples from the HARVEY HOUSE COOKBOOK. Since I am a retired school teacher as of May 2005 & a nutritionist, this is a perfect retirement activity for me. Thank you Lesley for all that you have published on the Harvey Girls ! !

A story/paperdoll book that even adults love

I've been collecting paper dolls for years, and this is one of the best books I've found. There are 6 dolls (4 women and 2 men) with a nice variety of costumes. The clothes are beautifully drawn and obviously well-researched (but kind of tricky to cut out). As an easterner, I know almost nothing about western history, and the diary entries that tell the stories of two sisters who become Harvey Girls are very interesting and definitely made me want to learn more about them.

The book was very interesting. I am in disaster cordination for our funeral directors Assn. I fond it elpful in knowing there procedures used and agencies involved.

Funeral director Byron Starr presents Finding Heroes: The Search for Columbia's Astronauts, the true story of his participation in mass volunteer search to find and catalogue the debris and human remains from the tragic space shuttle Columbia explosion that happened in 2003. Part memoir, part firsthand chronicle of sad history, Finding Heroes narrates not only the difficult hunt through the pinewoods of East Texas, but also the coming together of a community, and compassion amid fellow human beings in the wake of national loss. A touching and inspirational chronicle.

Having worked with Mr. Starr as he completed this book, I found myself fascinated by his account of his personal participation in the search for the astronauts from the Columbia shuttle. He introduces the widely varied searchers and support people involved, who outnumbered the entire population of the tiny town that was the center of the search. Old and young, from many areas, from organizations and alone, volunteers came. Local people worked endlessly to offer them food, housing (mostly tents) and all kinds of support. Starr manages to make everyone come to life, so that the reader feels he knows them personally. I am proud to have worked as his mentor as he produced this work. I think anyone will find i interesting and enjoyable.
Ardath Mayhar

In the first lines of Rex Anderson's fourth and latest novel we meet the main character, Private Investigator Tony Aapt-- a clever and, well, apt name considering that anything is apt to happen in this fresh and funny story about a David-Duchovny-ish gumshoe who finds himself suddenly reunited with an aging bartender pal, 30 years a widow now and recently come into BIG money, who throws the goofy, charming Tony, teller of tall detective tales, a BIG job-- to prove her husband's alleged suicide was actually cold-blooded murder. It's questionable at first if Tony has the, uh, aptitude to investigate this long-dead case-- thus far his forays into solving crimes and misdemeanors have earned him only an apartment full of shabby furniture, a refrigerator full of low-end domestic beer, and an ancient auto. But off goes Tony through a labyrinth of crossing paths-- from esteemed professors at Rice University to gay bars and their sometimes surprising patrons, from a high schoo! l football star turned big-bellied baseball fanatic to the richest of Houston's rich to the pinnacles of political power. And, in the midst of it all-- the seemingly clear-cut autopsy photos, the clear-eyed newly rich widow who KNOWS who killed her husband and why-- stands the forlorn and baffling lawnmower...

Lawnmower Blues captures your attention like rapid gunfire-- and I promise you will not stop reading this book until Anderson's done with you. If you like murder mysteries heavily peppered with hilarity and the shrewd weaving of people's strange lives and (mis)deeds, this is a must read. If you only treat yourself to one private dick this summer, make it Anderson's Tony Aapt.

Rex Anderson did a great job on this book! It reads like a classic private detective story, but in a modern day setting. The plot moves along nicely and there is the right amount of history provided to fully understand the characters. The book kept me guessing right until the last page! A perfect 3-4 hour book for a trip on the airplane!

In 1999 Houston private investigator Tony Aapt inherited a ton of debt when his grandfather died and left him the family sleuthing business. Fiftyish former bartender Maggie Hawk recently won a sweepstakes that guarantees her 500K per year for twenty years. She wants Tony, who frequented her bar with exaggerated tales of his work, to look into the death of her husband George W. Hawk in 1966. Tony looks at the detailed information she provides him and agrees with the official ruling of suicide until she begins to make a case that her spouse did not kill himself; he was murdered to steal his invention, a safe lawnmower blade.

Needing the money but feeling guilty as the clues will be cold and he has no experience with this type of inquiry Tony begins his investigation. He soon becomes convinced that people were paid off by the legendary lawnmower king Jason Woods to hide a homicide and a stolen invention, but how to prove it proves difficult especially when the target of his case offers him a job he cannot afford to refuse.

Tony makes the case fun to follow as he fumbles and bumbles the investigation, but perhaps it is in the DNA because he keeps moving forward one clue at a time. The hero is apt to fail not only due to his lack of experience, but also he is going up against a highly regarded superheavyweight who has much more power than when he seemingly bribed the world three decades ago. Fans will enjoy the twists to LAWNMOWER BLUES as Rex Anderson provides a fine mystery starring a wannabe hard boiled detective who is undercooked and truly a softy.

Harriet Klausner

This book does a very good job of listing fresh water fishing sites all over the state of Texas with information on what sort of fish to expect. It's geared to the fly fisherman of course but would be useful to anyone wanting to fish fresh waters of Texas. It list essentially all the rivers and lakes in the state and where the access points are. In a few cases it would be nice to have more specific instructions on how to get to the access point but it's still a very thorough listing of places to fish and what to expect when you get there.

Wow! What a terrific book! Fly fishers all over the state
are talking about the most comprehensive book written for
fly fishing Texas. This is the book to carry in your vehicle
when off gallivating in the hill country, the pineywoods
or the gulf coast. Congratulations Phil!
Constance Whiston

I have been an avid flyfisher for some 30+ years and have read countless books on the topic. Phil Shook provides a very interesting perspective, and although his observations and directions are specific to Texas, he does provide an excellent basis for any angler's personal quest for solitary fishing waters. As well as being very well written, providing interesting and helpful information, as well as tips on flies and equipment, the book contains locations, accommodations, and meal planning advise. This book will certainly be an asset to any angler, pro or novice wishing to improve their catches.

From the beginning, where Anderson announces that to understand present American politics, one must grasp that Texas is a third world country whose capitol is Houston, he grabs the reader's attention and doesn't let it go. (Not only is Texas a 'third world country,' but Bush et al. have tried to run the US the same way... and were successful for several years.) _Follow_ tracks several characters (DeLay, Bush, Abramoff) through a twisting maze of money laundering, fraud, and crooked politics.

Much of the book focuses on the Delay/Abramoff scandal, though he outlines clear ties between Abramoff and Karl Rove. (eg. Rove's personal assistant is Abramoff's former personal assistant.)

If you're not the sort of person who reads the news, this is not the book for you. If, on the other hand, you wish to know just how the American government was stolen by politicians more familiar with the Banana Republic known as Texas (and how it all fell apart...), buy this book.

"Follow the Money" begins in Houston, a city 62% minority, one of the most ozone-polluted areas in the country, and the largest city in the U.S. without zoning regulations. In 1994, top Texas officials were all Democrats, as was the majority of its House and Senate, and its Congressmen in Washington. The only exception was its two national Senators - both Republicans. George W. Bush won the Governor's seat in 1994, beating incumbent Ann Richards with 53% of the vote. (The author suspects that Rush Limbaugh's popularity in the state was a factor.)

After a brief introduction to James Baker (major player in the Bush I administration, and architect of Bush II's Florida win), the scene shifts inexplicably to Jack Abramoff, Tom DeLay, Grover Norquist, and Karl Rove. It's on to Abramoff's first clients (Marianas Islands - fighting to retain their exemption from U.S. labor laws, and a Mississippi Indian tribe trying to prevent new competition in nearby Alabama), DeLay's creation of the K-Street Project and relief for corporations from taxation and regulation.

Abramoff goes on to create a number of false front organizations to launder his fees and donations, double-cross one Indian tribe client (also worked for their competitor against them), made numerous contacts with Karl Rove and the White House (learned despite use of Republican National Committee e-mails to elude retention requirement), etc.

A well-detailed and sordid history of recent American politics.

"Follow the Money" is, as John Anderson writes, a "first pass at history," an effort to chronicle a "vast web of intrigue." He might well have said a vast web of corruption, as intricate as a Mark Lombardi diagram, for that is the book's subject -- the barely concealed but highly complex efforts of Tom Delay, Jack Abramoff, and a host of others, most with close ties to Texas, in their bald pursuit of money and power. Abramoff's story is particularly appalling -- for example, Anderson explains how Abramoff manipulated the anti-gambling Christian right in the service of his pro-gambling Native American clients who wished to crush competing tribes in nearby states, and then turned around to represent those same competing tribes in their efforts to legalize gambling -- but it is only one strand in Anderson's fascinating story.

Anderson's account is thoroughly documented and fair minded, acknowledging honesty and integrity on either side of the aisle whenever it presents itself. Witness the examples of Paul O'Neill, James Comey, and even John Ashcroft, all of whom come out quite well in Anderson's account.

Although George W. Bush is certainly an actor in this tale, his relative absence, compared to others, is telling in and of itself. Bush is not a prime mover in his own universe. That role falls to others, such as Dick Cheney and Karl Rove (yet another Texan).

Anderson's story, exposing the naked power grab of the Republicans in Washington, D.C. (and particularly in Congress), as well as in Texas, is a shocker. We can only hope the Democrats in Congress, and perhaps soon the White House, do a better job.

In our time of displeasure at government bureacracies, in a climate of cynicism and lost hopes, this story stands out and provides a light for us to follow. Although the suffering of the people of Burundi is brutal and truly sickening to the soul, the story of their plight and rise to move forward is heartening. Senator Krueger and his family displayed admiral courage in a theatre of true terror and life-threatening dramas. How many of us would have stood up to speak for the downtrodden when it meant our own lives were at risk...and those of our family?

This is more than an adventure story. It is a tale of the moral standards that can matter in the world, when the structure of civilized peoples is crumbling. We must learn from this and heed the wisdom of one of the last clear voices from the political estate left in the United States. Senator Krueger's appeal for peace and reconciliation is the call for action we must all heed or find ourselves caught in the disruption of our own alienated society.


Rick Tobin
Host of "The Road to Ready"
President/CEO
TAO Emergency Mangement Consulting

This book is well written and is very thorough. A must read for those interested in the realpolitik and history of Burundi and the internal conflict between Tutsi's and Hutus in the central African country. This book also provides great detail about the role and responsibilities of an Ambassador working on behalf of the United States and the ideological differences held within the State Department about the proper role the United States should play in Burundi.

This book is both harrowing and inspiring. Ambassador Krueger details how a dictator with an army used violence on his own countrymen to subvert a nascent democracy. Krueger's struggle to gain international attention for the genocide-in-progress reveals flaws in various national & international institutions -- flaws that still require scrutiny and improvement today. Mrs. Krueger's chapters vividly make the point that foreign service a family matter. Both authors provide moving portraits of individuals who worked in their own quiet or overt ways to stop the genocide; the ordinary-extraordinary courage of these people reminds one of Paul Rusesabagina's story. The Kruegers' conclusions about how a nation can move forward after genocide and autocracy offer hope for Burundi and much matter for thought for other areas of the world.

This is a great book on, not only the demise of the small Texas cotton farmer, but, the death of a way of life lived by hundreds of thousands of people all across the South. The arrival of the Great Depression followed by the implementation of the socialist policies of the New Deal spelled the end of an agrarian lifestyle that had been a part of the backbone of the American way of life for over two centuries. I reccomend this book to anyone who loves American history. Particularly American agricultural history.

A message to those interested in farm life, especially in cotton, cotton pickers and cotton farms: You need this book - From Can See to Can't (subtitled Texas Cotton Farmers on the Southern Prairies).
Written by historians Thad Sitton and Dan K. Utley and published by the University of Texas Press in 1997, this book offers an insiders view of Texas farm life from the time of Austin's colony to present day. It draws on,in particular, Texas cotton farming in the late 1920s for a great deal of its material and portrays a way of life that has almost vanished.
From See To Can't is a rich tapestry of photographs, memoirs, and oral interviews from and about the people who were cotton farmers. I was raised on a cotton farm during that period and reading this book always brings tears to my eyes.
A really wonderful bit of Texana, and our rural heritage, not to be found every day. A Five Star Rating hardly describes it at all.

I really liked this book. For me it started slow, but by a few pages in I couldn't get enough. If you are interested in what farm life was like in Texas in the 1920's, this is for you. It goes into great detail about (obviously) planting and harvesting cotton, small town entertainment, churches, schools, food... the list is endless. Best of all, I talked to my grandparents, who grew up then verified it all. Want a good book about day to day farm life? Want to know what farmers used a hog's scrotum for? Buy it.