Texas Books

This is Book #5 of the Wagon's West Series and just as good as the previous ones.

This one deals with the war between Texas and Mexico as well as how Texas becomes a state.

A lot of our favorite characters are back and in this one Danny Taylor and Chet Harris are not only forced to make choices that will affect their lives but they also grow up rather quickly. The Blake's as well as Ginny are again in this one.

Maybe it's because it's the first non-Oregon Trail book in the series, but Texas just does not have the "oomph" of most of the other books. The major characters of the series so far take a backseat to lesser characters in this book, breaking away much of the familiarity with the series. It is still a good book, especially if you want a novel set during the Mexican-American war. However, don't lose any sleep if you are trying to read the entire series and can't find this one in your library.

I am the proud owner of the entire Wagons West Series (all 24 novels). I began reading them in high school some 19 years ago. I have just recently begun re-reading the series and it's like visiting old friends. Texas, picks up two years after the settling of Oregon and we find the United States in the process of annexing Texas into the Union. Soon old characters like Whip Holt and Lee Blake are back in the saddle doing what they do best, helping our country expand, with selfless dedication. We are introduced to new friends who display the same attributes of the earlier settlers in the Oregon series. Overall, the book is quite enjoyable, and it is almost imposssible to put down. The reader is transported to the old West, and can develop a sense of pride and understanding for those brave men and women who were the trailblazers of our American history.

Dana Fuller Ross' novels of America's great expansion into the western territories is some of the most intelligent, well written and well researched historic fiction I have read. "Texas" is Book 5 in a series of 24 novels which truly bring history to life in a panoramic saga of one of the United States' most important and fascinating periods.

By 1844 the pioneers who forged the Oregon Trail were well established in Oregon Territory. Various wagon trains had followed their lead and the American population in the Pacific Northwest began to grow at an amazing rate. The new settlers' farms, ranches, offices, boatyards, orchards and lumber mills were thriving. Men like the aging former President Andrew Jackson, Sam Houston, President of the Republic of Texas, future US President James K. Polk, Majority Leader of the US Senate, Andrew Johnson and President John Tyler planned to fulfill America's "manifest destiny" - the belief that America had a God-given right, or destiny, to expand the country's borders from "sea to shining sea." Their priorities were to settle the Oregon boundary dispute with Great Britain and admit Texas to the Union.

Rallying to the cause of Texas liberty from Mexico, volunteers from Oregon left their homes and joined the Texas Rangers, built the Texas navy, consented to repeat their arduous journey across the American continent and traveled east to lead wagon trains of new settlers to Texas. The United States sent wagon loads of rifles, guns and ammunition to assist the Texans, and finally the new state of Texas joined the Union as the nation's 28th state. The Mexican American War, which followed, culminated in US victory. The Texas boundary was set at the Rio Grande, and the US also bought New Mexico Province and what was called Upper California from the Mexicans. And the US/Oregon border with Great Britain was finally established at the 49th parallel.

Many of the characters from the first four books appear in "Texas" and new ones, both historical and fictitious, are introduced. Colonel Leland Blake and his wife Cathy leave their home in Oregon temporarily when they are given charge of the huge new wagon train to Texas. Danny Taylor and Chet Harris, who were adolescents on the Oregon Trail, both volunteer for the Texas Rangers to fight under their idol Captain Rick Miller. Harry Canning, another Oregon veteran, goes to Texas to put his boat building skills to use. The author gives these characters tremendous depth and illustrates how settling in the new land, along with new responsibilities, changes them and effects their relationships and lives.

The history, characters, plot and subplots in "Texas" are some of the most exciting and dynamic in the series. I love history, and while I have read and studied this period in America's development, I have learned so much from reading the first five Wagons West" books. I plan to continue until I read them all. A wonderful reading experience.
JANA

Great book showing how the Texas landscape has changed. Pix taken in the same spot decades apart. Very different and very instersting....

If you ever lived in Texas, you need to see this book with outstanding pictures. It contains those small towns and large towns. Little ones like the Alamo pictures and adults recognize places they have visited or lived. "Look for it in the Texas book." And the price could not be beat!

Texas Then and Now
While I'm personally not a Texas (Oklahoman by birth), I was asked to find a "coffee table" type of book to give as a thank you to the 4 reviewers of our Peer Review Committee. While looking for books on Texas, I went through several Texas websites and publishing reviews and I really liked the description of this book. So I ordered the 4 copies and they were delivered last week - I could hardly wait to go through the book - first I just flipped through and looked at the pictures then I went back and read the book - word for word, its excellent - the photos are wonderful but the written text makes it come alive.
If you want an interesting book, do yourself a favor and choose this one!

If you are a Texan of just a history lover, you will love this book. We were given it as a gift but our moving van burned up. This book was lost but was one of the first things we replaced.

What a find! From environmental information to history to state government, the Texas Almanac has it all. The book lists helpful information for natives and visitors, from the National Wildlife Refuges to facts on Texas tourism and the info on hunting and fishing licenses. Also available are little factoids, such as the the brief period in history that the Texas Capital was actually a steamboat and the history of oil in the Lone Star State. A must for anyone who wants to know more about the state!

What a find! From environmental information to history to state government, the Texas Almanac has it all. The book lists helpful information for natives and visitors, from the National Wildlife Refuges to facts on Texas tourism and the info on hunting and fishing licenses. Also available are little factoids, such as the the brief period in history that the Texas Capital was actually a steamboat and the history of oil in the Lone Star State. A must for anyone who wants to know more about the state!

You don't have to be Texan to appreciate the latest and greatest edition of The Texas Almanac. The book is chock full of interesting information about the Texas Rangers (the law enforcement group, not Bush's former baseball team), as well as bits of trivia that make you wonder why George W. would ever want to leave the second largest state in the US.

The almanac also has plenty of helpful facts, such as the climate, weather disasters and population of each county in the Lone Star State.

This book is great for anybody, but is a must for every journalist and television news analyst who intends to interview the governor of Texas on his presidential bid.

Little Dallam County (pop 5891) has the highest per capita income in the state of Texas? San Antonio is the second largest city in Texas?, ahead of Dallas! These are the kind of facts you will readily find in the Millennium Edition of the 2000 - 2001 Texas Almanac. This edition features a concise history of the Texas Rangers, an improved layout of all 254 counties and the all important, "Texas Pronunciation Guide". If you are a glutton for minuet facts about Texas you will enjoy the Millennium Edition of the Texas Almanac.

My niece loves this one also. These books are great!! I really recommend them.

I'm a Texas girl born and bred and live in another state. You can take the girl out of Texas but you can't take Texas out of the girl. This is an awesome book for anyone who loves the Lone Star State. The illustrations are beautiful and it has a nice rhythm to words. I love that the author mentions less known facts/cities/places. It is the perfect gift for a Texan where ever they live.

Although I am not a native Texan, I have choose to live here. Texas Alphabet can be enjoyed by everyone who has a love for state trivia or the alphabet. Each letter is used to tell about things unique to Texas, and many of the cities (large and small) are included throughout the book. As a middle school teacher, I found this book to be a great way to get my students interested in Texas history and have fun at the same time! A must read for parents and teachers alike! (You don't have to be a TEXAN, ya'll ,to enjoy this book--the author is from Mississippi and wrote the entire book from research done via Internet!) This picture book could also be enjoyed on the elementary level when doing a unit on the 50 states. Enjoy!

Our children were given this book by my aunt, who has started a tradition of Texas-themed gifts, so that they will not forget their "heritage."

I must admit that this book sat for quite a while during our most recent time of settling in here in the Middle East (we are humanitarian aid workers). When our oldest son asked for it to be read recently, I was expecting the typical one item/picture per letter alphabet book. I was pleasantly surprised with the engaging rhyming text and loved the list of towns for each letter (although my children did get tired of, "Oh, look that's where Aunt So-and-so" went to college," etc.).

Bottom line: this is a truly delightful book which actually manages to cover what it means to be a Texan, from past to present.

If you are a Texan, displaced or otherwise, I highly recommend purchasing this book, and I, personally, am placing several orders for gifts.

Josie Whitford is a waitress in a small Texas town. She got together with a man named Chase Clayton IV and became pregnant. The day that she learns that she is pregnant she finds out that Chase is engaged to be married. She goes to the engagment party to confront Chase.

There is only one problem. When she finds Chase he is not the man that impregnanted her.

Josie and Chase figure this out and decide to ivestigate and find out who has been using his name.

While they investigate sparks fly between the two even though Chase is getting married in about a month.


Who is impersonating Chase?? What happens between Chase and Josie?? Read Texas Baby

Josie Whitfield wasn't trying to break up the party when she crashed her car into the front gate of the Clayton ranch during Chase Clayton's engagement party. She was just trying to confront him with the fact that she was pregnant and he was going to be a father, and perhaps find out why he had disappeared after a quick one month fling and a new pair of bed sheets. Unfortunately, she passed out from exhaustion before she could park the car. Tired and overworked, though recently out of a job after introducing her creepy, vengeful manager to the joys of morning sickness, Josie finds her way to Chase's doorstep, only to discover that she has been duped. She knows intimate details about his childhood, but she has never seen this sexy, sensitive cowboy before in her life.

Chase Clayton is about to get married to his childhood friend and the owner of the adjoining Everly Ranch, Susannah Everly, who needs to marry to satisfy the requirements of her grandfather's will. The ranch means everything to her, and she would do just about anything to keep it. Many in town hope the marriage of convenience might blossom into something more, but Chase knows of the tangled history between Susannah and his best friend and ranch manager Trent Maxwell, and his heart just isn`t in it. The appearance of a lovely, pregnant waif who knows private details about his life, claiming to be the mother of his child-to-be certainly doesn't help. And who is this impersonator running around seducing women on his behalf? Chase and Josie join forces to track down Mr. Flim Flam, and end up discovering much more than they had expected.

Kathleen O'Brien's poetic style and her ability to create warm, genuine characters and steamy romantic tension (and occasionally a spooky, engaging murder mystery!) really set her books apart. Kathleen has a gift for story, and a companionable way of drawing readers in and making them comfortable. In the Firefly Glen series, she introduced readers to the town of Firefly Glen, the very embodiment of the joy of returning home, a place where natives and travelers alike can find a warm smile and a helping hand. In Quiet as the Grave she explored the darker desires of the heart, and created a creepy murder mystery that certainly sent a shiver down my spine. Throughout all of her books she explores the love found in all areas of our lives- the love for a niece, a neighbor, a best friend, or a life companion. Thank you for many hours of happy reading, Kathleen!

Josie Whitford is a waitress in a small town when she is seduced by a handsome cowboy who says he is Chase Clayton IV. He takes her out, buys her fancy sheets, and other luxuries that she could never afford, and then disappears into the night. She realizes she is not in love with the man who left her, but she does find herself pregnant with his baby.

Josie is angry and confused and finds herself going to find the man who left her. When she crashes his engagement party she is stunned to find out the man she fell for, is not the real Chase Clayton IV. Chase is about to marry his childhood friend to help her save her ranch, when Josie throws him for a loop.

Josie and Chase make great leading characters. As a heroine she is strong, yet vulnerable. She has been taken in by a con, has no money yet she feels the need to go back to her old life and not take charity. She shows her true colors and fights for the right to stand on her own two feet, when she could have easily taken advantage of Chase's generosity. Chase may have money but he never looks down on Josie, nor does he easily give in to his lust knowing he is engaged to another woman - even though the marriage would have been in name only. He only goes to Josie, the woman he lusts after when his "bride-to-be" goes after the man she loves. Two better characters could not have been created for this tale of love and lies.

Kathleen O'Brien is a talented author who created a tale that is emotionally fulfilling. She makes Texas come alive as Josie and Chase search for the man who used his name. Whether in real life, Chase would have been so forgiving, or if Josie would have truly walked away are to be left to the reader's imagination, however in this novel, the scenes feel real and give a sense of being a part of the world these characters live in.

This reader enjoyed this novel and will be looking for more of Ms. O'Brien's backlist to find out what this author has to offer.

College student and waitress Josie Whitfield is elated to learn she is pregnant as she thinks she loves her boyfriend Chase Clayton IV. However, when she goes to inform him, she is stunned as he left without a word. Outraged, she heads to his vast Clayton Creek ranch to confront him. Josie crashes Chase's engagement party that includes enough guests to fill up Texas University's football stadium.

Even more stunning is she finds this Clayton is not her Clayton. He agrees to help her find the scoundrel even though she destroyed the gala and embarrassed his fiancée Susannah Everly. As they travel together, the real Clayton and Josie are falling in love, but his engagement to his neighbor requires he do the honorable thing by her so she can control her family ranch.

The real Clayton is too nice a guy to be real as his sacrifices are beyond noble; for instance he is willing to marry to help his neighbor and goes on the quest to help Josie find the scoundrel pretending to be him. Still in spite of this perfect paragon, TEXAS BABY is a fun contemporary romance as the modern day chivalrous knight in shining armor and the damsel in distress make a fine couple while his engagement to Susannah adds complications to the lead couple's changing relationship.

Harriet Klausner

A nanny who loves two children is supposed to turn them over to an uncle who refuses to acknowledge them and a man who's not ready to settle down meets a woman longing for adventure. Both of theses stories are wonderfully engrossing reads. I could hardly put the book down. Vicki McDonough and Pamela Griffin have done a terrific job with the historical setting as they created a wonderfully romantic tale in this small Texas town. I love the way the stories show God's leading even in times when we see no way out of our circumstances.

This is a fantastic read and a must have for anyone who likes historical or inspirational romances.

Witty and wonderful. These are delightful stories full of loveable characters with the humor threaded throughout. It doesn't have to be Christmas time to enjoy these sweet romances. A must read.

Texas Christmas Grooms
By Pamela Griffin and Vickie McDonough
Anna Campbell arrives in Cut Corners, Texas, with young Molly and Mark Olson. After the tragic death of their parents, she, their nanny, is charged with bringing the children to Erik Olson, their uncle and guardian. But Erik refuses to believe they are his kin. If Anna could afford to, she'd keep the children herself, but she can barely provide for herself. Her money is running out and she must return to Dallas to make her living. To do that, she will have to convince the stubborn Erik to take the children. It seems impossible.
Travis McCoy is a traveling photographer who never intends to marry. So why can't he get his mind off the beautiful Vivian Sager? Most of the bachelors steer clear of her because of her bumbling ways. Dreams of adventure and travel consume her. She knows she's clumsy, but oh how she longs to be a wife-to Travis McCoy.
For the last two years, a lucky couple in Cut Corners has found love at Christmas time. Will there be another wedding this year? The Meddlin' Men, four elderly ex-Texas Rangers, called that because of their matchmaking ploys, will do everything they can to make it happen.
If you're looking for a happily-ever-after read, this is your book. Griffin and McDonough provide laughter and love along with true-to-life characters who try to follow God's leadership in their lives.

Formerly I wasn't a lover of romance novels, but these two authors have changed my mind. The two novellas are filled with characters in the truest sense of the word. Four meddlesome old men, former Texas Rangers, have taken it upon themselves to be the Wild West's matchmakers in the town of Cut Corners for love-shy heroes. The result is heartwarming, humorous and often unexpected. McDonough and Griffin's stories are not cookie-cutter romances. I can't wait for more from these two.

One approach to history, the traditional approach, is the biography or linking the biographical sketches of the significant actors of a time to chronicle the time. Another approach, and the approach used by author Mike Cox in Texas Disasters:True Stories of Tragedy and Survival, is to develop a theme through telling the stories of the events over time.

In taking the second approach, Author Cox writes of disasters in Texas-both natural and man-made. He describes in detail 20 disasters beginning with the first recorded, the 1554 sinking of three gold and silver bearing Spanish ships off South Padre Island, through the deadly and destructive Hurricanes Katrina and Rita of 2005 hurricane season, and then lists in appendix sixty-nine others (tops in terms of loss of human life killing fourteen or more) that have occurred, or at least that have left some discoverable documented trail. As Cox notes, "disaster often becomes a catalyst for positive change." For instance, the 1900 Galveston hurricane, in man's promise to himself to never let it happen again, gave birth to the commissioner model of municipal government, in order to more efficiently meet the local needs of anticipating and responding to a natural emergency. The 1921 San Antonio flood gave rise to a flood control system that in the 1968 era of Hemisfairs and Urban Renewal provided a structure upon which the Riverwalk and the economic engine for the most popular international tourist destination in the state arose. The 1937 New London school natural gas leak explosion resulted in tighter regulation of architects and engineers and the addition of mercapitan to odorless natural gas to give it a chance for detection by humans before explosions occurred. The 1947 Texas City fertilizer plant explosion gave rise to federal regulations for the handling of hazardous materials. The 1953 Waco tornado prompted the use of World War II radar as a tool for local weather stations to predict and therefore to be able to alert the public of killer storms in enough advance to get out of harm's way. The 1979 Wichita Falls tornado inspired the development of storm-safe rooms in houses. And the 1985 Delta Airlines crash at DFW Airport heightened the need for more study of wind-shear and the resulting of better windshear detection systems and pilot training to avoid or to handle downdrafts in critical stages of flight for better safety of the air traveling public.

As Cox writes, "[w]hile some measure of good came out of several of Texas's worst tragedies, other disasters caused heartbreak and havoc in the short term ...." While their effects may not have lingered on the community as a whole, their effects on individuals changed lives forever.

For an interesting read, one that the reader can do in 15-minute increments, this book is worth the price of admission.

They say reporters write the first draft of history. Mike Cox, a seasoned journalist and public safety spokesperson, offers a lively and intensely human second draft on some of the worst disasters to strike Texas since Spanish colonization.

This book is an excellent read for those who prefer to learn about history through the poignant stories of people lived it, instead of through wordy, academic analysis. Cox's descriptions put you at the scene, often through the recollections of witnesses and survivors.

The featured stories bring to life twenty famous Texas disasters. In many cases, their lessons led to new inventions and protocols that help keep us safer today. The appendix, meanwhile, offers an exhaustive reference list of tornados, hurricanes, steamboat explosions and other calamities to strike the Lone Star State.

Hailing from Lamar County, I had to skip ahead and read about the 1916 Paris fire!

Captivating! After spending nearly 10 years in Texas emergency management, I mistakenly thought I had heard all the stories. Mike Cox has brought to light dramatic, real-life events that should hold the attention of anyone who knows that truth is more fascinating than fiction.

Reviewed by Richard R. Blake for Reader Views (10/06)

Mike Cox has written a gripping definitive account of twenty of the most devastating disasters in the history of the state of Texas. Cox, an acute observer, recounts theses stories of tragedy through the eyes of a news reporter. His accounts are readable, compelling and engaging.

Cox covers a period of over four hundred years of Texas history in the book. The account begins with the wreck of three Spanish ships off the coast of South Padre Island in 1554, and concludes with hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2006. Although Katrina came ashore in Louisiana the impact of Texas hospitality and the supreme effort to aid the 400,000 evacuees demonstrate that in adversity Americans unite in the effort to save lives and restore property.

The author provides an amazing number of prints and photographs that reflect the disasters, debris, and destruction of flash floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, and explosions. Twisted houses, buildings leveled, smoke and fire damage are only a few of the results shown in these illustrations.

Dislocated families, lives lost, and mass graves of unidentified bodies, are among the horrors related in these true stories of tragedy. Fires subsequent to the initial disaster were often more devastating then the original cause.

The stories come from people who lived through those dreadful experiences. Mike has captured the essence of how the man of the street pitched in to reach out on a human level of compassion.

Cox gives specific examples of this in many of the stories. Men and women became heroes during the aftermath of the ravage, devastation, and destruction of nature's fury.

The following is typical of the action of civic leaders and hero's of the day: Following the Galveston hurricane in 1900, "Help began pouring in as fast as rescue and aid workers could reach Houston."

Mike Cox uses these accounts of disaster as a wake up call to civic leaders and citizens alike to focus on preparedness in the event of future similar catastrophes. The historical account and commentary in "Texas Disasters" is well researched and documented. The bibliography is comprehensive and impressive.

This is a collection of uplifting, heroic stories of survival in the face of overwhelming adversity.

I found this book at the dusty museum at Buffalo Gap, Texas,

and was enthralled!

Somebody has written the DIFINITIVE history of my early stompin'

grounds,

(the area whose back roads I traversed in my early 20's,

shooting .22 rimfire bullets into every road sign I encountered,

(statute of limitations HAS expired)

and as I read it,

I detected nary a false note.

Ty Cushion is a righteous dude,

(for a Baptist).

Forget the things you think you know about the history of this area. Dr. Cashion spent enormous amounts of time and effort tracking down the truth about events which have become part of Texas folklore--and has debunked a lot of what we "thought" we knew in the process. His books are as fascinating as his University lectures...hang on for a great read!

Well written! enjoyable to read. I had Dr. Cashion at Sam Houston State this fall. His class is great, it was a great learning expirience. The book is wonderful. Although I missed a couple of points about the book but that's ok.

While researching the town of Griffin for my own work, I was referred to Dr. Cashion's book by the curators of the Old Jail Art Center in Albany, TX. Not only is this book indispensible in any serious study of the town of Griffin, which was a hub of the cattle and buffalo trade in the mid-1800's (through which many notable western personas passed, such as John Selman -the killer of John Wesley Hardin, and the fabled poker queen Lottie Deno), it is also a fascinating account of the birth, life and eventual demise of a classic frontier boom town. Dr. Cashion's book, while also covering the whole of the Clear Fork Country (and also happily, its overlooked minority inhabitants), could almost be considered a biography of Ft. Griffin, if we can imagine the town itself as a personality. The book gives a fine description of the natural land as it was seen by its first inhabitants (and first European explorers), and goes on to describe the various elements (political, natural, social etc.) which led to the settling of the area. Griffin is treated with special interest, from its early beginnings as a military outpost, to its heyday as an outfitting and entertainment capital for buffalo hunters and later cattle outfits, to its oil days, and on through to its eventual decline. There are a great many interesting photographs, both of the land, of old surveying maps, and of the people who populated the area, white, black, and Indian. Of particular interest is the chapter `Just Plain Old Folks,' which records many of the daily doings, trials, and tribulations of the everyday citizens. Dr. Cashion writes with equal and obvious passion of the rawboned hunters and cattlemen, the violent sometimes gunmen like John Larn and Selman, who used both sides of the law to their own ends, the retired buffalo soldiers, just trying to make their living somewhere between the harsh trials of the land and the distrust of their white neighbors, and the women and children who found themselves living and working in lonely cabins far from the company of friends and neighbors. For this alone the book is worth it, but also worthy are the revisionist-minded attempts of the author to debunk the many stereotypes and outright falsehoods about the area which have passed as history for so long. Griffin the town is no more the blood-soaked, bullet-riddled Sodom of the west that it has sometimes been portrayed as in fiction and some history (an old biography of Doc Holliday comes to mind, and is once referred to by the author) than is any other myriad of western towns which has ever romantically laid claim to that misnomer. The stories of its people however, are no less interesting, and Dr. Cashion's book proves that. Highly recommended!

I gave this as a gift, and it was enthusiastically received, but I am not able to review it.

If you live in Texas and want to garden organically....this is THE book for you. I have been gardening (as organically as possible) for decades, and found tons of information in this very thorough tome. LOVED IT!

This book is an excellent source for anyone wanting to start from scratch on gardening. I am a very visual person, and the pictures of plants and illustrations on how to plant make this book excellent! The book I got is hard-back so I know it will last a long time!

It's a great book as it covers subjects from planting, caring for, and choosing which plants will do well. The book also covers Texas' bugs (which we have plenty of) and pest control. Garrett is my gardening guru in Texas...but if you have his previous books, then this will look like a review.

This landscape guide is an excellent tool for your Texas landscape. One of the best items (other than full color renderings), is that the book show you what plants will look like from initial planting to full-grown plants. I would highly recommend it.

I'm a certified Master Gardener and I find this book so helpful and really good for Texas landscapes. It is clear and has great illustrations. This book should be in every Texas gardener's book collection!

Having recently purchased my first home I picked up five different gardening books. I don't even know where the other four have gone, but now I have two of this one. It's a great guide which covers everything from plants that should thrive in the area (including care, size, and how to select), to various designs for commonly-found areas around your home.

It even covers various landscape construction projects such as fences, walks, and patios, and is well-written and illustrated throughout.

[...]

New edition is a wealth of knowledge for each area of Texas. Sections on walkways and paths and sections on specific plants for your area are the best I've read.