Texas Books

one of the excellent books to come lately on the texas ranger a most for ranger book collector.

I thought the "Real West" couldn't get any better than Knowles' collaboration with Joe R. Lansdale (Hisownself) on 1994's engrossing _Wild West Show!_ I was wrong. Knowles gets down and digs up the real history of the Rangers, and pulls no punches. It's an honest, unblinking, exciting and amazing adventure through time, with excellent photos and commentary. Whoever says history is dull hasn't seen _They Rode for the Lone Star _. This is a coffee table books that belongs everywhere but. Cant wait for volume 2!

Tom Knowles' "They Rode for the Lone Star" is a fascinating history of the early Texas Rangers. It is full of the facts on which the legendary tales are based. It is respectful but unbiased. And it is thoroughly engaging and immensely entertaining.

Filled with illustrations and annotations, it is not only a great read from beginning to end, but also the perfect book to pick up and browse when you have a few minutes. Unfortunately, it is so well written that if you start to browse through it, you may find yourself reading through to the end.

I am anxiously awaiting the second volume that brings the Rangers' history up to the present.

Knowles' book is a must for anyone interested in Texas History. Knowles' weaves a history of the Texas Rangers perfectly into the blanket of Texas folklore, so that the reader can easily follow and understand the development and importance of the Texas Rangers. His descriptions of battles and the people who fought them are superbly done. Excellent discussion of frontier indian-fighting and Ranger strategy.

A real coffee-table book, but you won't want to let it rest there. Great photographs and illustrations. I'm looking forward to the post-Civil War Ranger History which I hope follows soon.

I am not an architect; merely someone who appreciates the end results of good architecture. I do not routinely read books about architecture, or books written by architects. But as a long-time admirer of Hal Box's architectural work, I was curious how a book titled Think Like an Architect might read.

Short answer? Terrifically! I learned something interesting about the history, art and science of architecture in every chapter.

As I finished the book, which I accomplished faster than I would have liked or imagined, it occurred to me that Hal Box accomplished with this book what Vitruvius, the first century BC Roman architect, espoused as the goals of good architecture: commodity, firmness, and delight. The book accomplished its program of encouraging me to think more like an architect (commodity); the ideas and illustrations are thoughtfully and artfully presented in a sturdy format which will withstand years of referencing and re-reading (firmness); and Professor Box puts forth his ideas and opinions, earned over a long and distinguished career as an educator and practicing architect, clearly and entertainingly (delight).

Whether one plans to build or is simply curious about how to do it right, Think Like an Architect is a must.

Are you about to build a new home, serve on a school building committee, or design a public park for a client? Or do you just like to be in and around jewels of architecture? If you answer "Yes," get Second Day delivery on your new copy of Think Like an Architect.

This is a rich compendium of letters (chapters) written to friends and colleagues, replete with drawings, photographs, and tools such as "10 ways to explore and understand a building," plus a thorough Seeing List, as well as a Reading List. A blend of architectural history and 21st Century reality -- deftly connected by Dean Box's passion for and knowledge about the importance of architecture in our daily lives and our cultural legacies - these are two hundred of the most helpful and inspiring pages you'll read. It also is a fast read. Yesterday in fact an active aficionado friend who has been intimately involved with half a dozen projects in recent years excitedly told me that he'd, "just finished, the best, most enjoyable book on architecture. I lost sleep because of it, staying up to read it at night and awakening early to continue." I knew the title he was about to tell me.

Think Like an Architect opens the door to those of us who love space, love to think about space and building houses we love to live in. As someone who has built many homes and lived inside those spaces he conceived and created, Hal Box is able to not only share his love of the creation of places we want to be but to tell us how to get there on our own--clearly.
I am building a second home in Mexico and find that reading and re-reading this book--especially the considerations--continues to inform and clarify my thinking about the project.
Margaret Keys

As someone who has an interest in architecture but whose knowledge of architectural theory and history are superficial and spotty, I found Hal Box's book Think Like an Architect an especially rewarding read. Written with the confidence earned from a long, successful, and satisfying career, his book is a straightforward explanation of both the intention and process of producing the kind of buildings that are life-affirming and enduring. His writing is entirely free of the thornscrub argot that makes most architectural criticism an impenetrable thicket closed to "outsiders" and hostile to dialog. Thus unarmed, Mr. Box may therefore be vulnerable because he dares to use old-fashioned words like beauty, graceful, charming, and harmony. But to me, watching my local landscape erased and replaced by generic chain stores and anonymous neighborhoods, this language is as welcome as a summer thunderstorm falling on parched ground.

It was especially interesting to me to learn how a post-war generation of eager young architects were "brainwashed" by Modernism's cerebral rationality. This I can understand, as the enthusiasm followed their experiences of the Great Depression and World War II. Something new was certainly in order. But even newness can become stale and lifeless. Today, as a new generation of architects meets perhaps the even greater challenge of designing buildings that are "sustainable" or "green", we may be seeing another great age of inspired innovation, expanding the smaller scale vernacular experiments of Sam Mockbee, the elegant shelters of Glen Murcutt, and the social works of Cameron Sinclair's Architecture for Humanity Foundation, to influence and shape the mainstream market. I hope that architects, planners and consumers will avail themselves of the wisdom in Mr. Box's book as they participate in this great new adventure.

Homesick for Texas, and all those good eats? This is the book for you. It is much more than a cookbook, it is a piece of Texas to be read and savored. Having eaten at all the locations of Threadgill's and having spent many (too many, according to my college transcript) at Armadillo World Headquarters, opening this book was like a trip back home. Sure, there are the receipes for all the Threadgill's classics, including all the vegetable dishes. Sure you can try to make the wonderful chicken fried steak, but intertwined in all those recepies is the history of Threadgills, and the people who were there. You learn the thinking behind the place many called home, you remember the brand names of products that made Texas cooking great. You also get a bird's eye view of the Texas music scene and all the colorful people who inhabited that time and place. Threadgill's kept me from getting too homesick when I left Dallas, and moved to Austin. This book keeps me from getting too homesick for home.

Hands down, the greatest cookbook ever written (take that, Better Homes & Gardens!). If you've never been to Threadgill's, you've never truly experienced the bounty of God's green earth - but you can get a fantastic taste of it with this book. I cook something from this book almost every day, which may not mean I'm the healthiest soul alive, but I sure get my veggies! If you thought a down-home cookbook was just a bunch of artery-clogging recipes for fried vegetables, you're only 10% right. In addition to fabulous recipes, this cookbook is actually an entertaining book to sit down and read! Trust me, it will find its way to that revered shelf in your bookcase that's reserved for the family Bible and the baby books. Yee hah!

This past haunt of Janis Joplin is a true Austin institution. And, so is it's food. But don't expect recipes similar to the Lutece cookbook or Cooking with the Master Chefs. These are master chefs of the home grown type. Their chickenfried steak with cream gravy is well, artery clogging delicious. The recipes are simple to follow, the ingredients are few and the taste fabulous. And, the narrative relays some great memories of Threadgill's. I've enjoyed cooking these dishes for other expatriated Texans and we're in heaven!

As someone who moved from Austin to Washington, DC years back---and whose friends still ask me why, I don't have an answer. But I can tell you one of the things I miss is Eddie Wilson and Threadgill's. It's not fancy, it's not meant to be, but as Eddie says "This is not a lobster taco". This isn't fancy food, this is just good food, something you could eat every day, something that doesn't require an engineering degree to assemble and a degree in civil engineering to balance on the plate.

Lynn Cuny has a gift for portraying the animals in her stories both as worthy of our care as well as needing respect for their needs as animals. Unlike some writers of animal stories, she always makes it clear that wild creatures are usually better off being left wild. While her stories often contain humor, they are always touching.

This book was given to me as a gift and I couldn't put it down. This heartwarming book takes you into the emotions and thoughts of wild animals. They come alive and you see them as the caring, loving and intelligent beings they are. This book will make you never able to look at a wild animal as a "dumb" animal or expendable resource again.

This charming vignette of stories will leave you with a new and wonderful perspective of wildlife, as well as a great deal of respect for the people at Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation in Boerne, TX. This book is a must read for anyone with a love for the wildlife of these United States.

Through Animals' Eyes: True Stories From A Wildlife Sanctuary is an anthology about the creatures cared for by Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation (WRR). Founded by the author in 1977, WRR provides sanctuary for orphaned, injured, or displaced wildlife, rehabilitating them for eventual release - or providing them with permanent care in large natural habitats if they are deemed nonreleasable. WWR also gives permanent care to exotic wild animals that have suffered from the pet trade, roadside zoos, or research facilities. From the raccoon with burned feet who perseveres to survive, to an abandoned emu who makes friends with a one-winged vulture in a game of pick-up sticks, these tales put one in the skin, fur, or feathers of the creatures who have paid the price of man's expansion. Through Animals' Eyes is strongly recommended for all animal lovers.

To the Limit of Endurance: A Battalion of Marines in the Great War by Peter F. Owen was a fascinating look at the tactical level of World War I. The only other book on World War I that I have previously read that focused on the challenges of tactical leadership was Erwin Rommel's Infantry Attacks. (Most books seem to either talk about generals or the actual foot soldiers.) But Field Marshal Rommel's memoir of his exploits in World War I was not a critical analysis of the German Army's doctrines or its ability to execute those doctrines.

LtCol Owen recounts the tale of the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, a unit he would later serve in, from its formation in 1917 through the end of the war. He insists upon using the original unique numerical designations for the rifle companies of the battalion rather than the alphabetical letter designations imposed by the U.S. Army and later permanently adopted by the Marine Corps.

Owen gives the reader thumbnail biographies of many of the key personalities that made 2/6 Marines the unit that it was. He discusses the equipment and organization of the battalion. He also discusses the training and doctrine imposed upon the battalion--and how that training and doctrine measured up to the stress of actual combat. It should be no surprise that the doctrine had to be modified in light of the lessons learned on the field of battle. Owen contends that the battalion probably represented about the best that the U.S. Army or Marines could field at the time that they were committed. And they were found wanting.

It almost goes without saying that the casualties suffered by the battalion were simply appalling. The tidbit about units holding back 20% of their troops before an attack so that it would be easier to rebuild the units was very informative (if grim). In addition to the "normal" hazards of the Western Front battlefield (fortified machine gun nests, gas attacks, etc.), the men of 2/6 Marines were also to suffer from the inexperience of their leaders and their staffs--from the platoon commanders all the way up to the corps command level. What struck me was, as in World War II, the American war machine quickly absorbed lessons and applied them. When you look at the time period of March to November of 1918, the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) learned its craft in a relatively short amount of time. I speak in particular here of the arts of logistics and coordinating tank and artillery support.

What was also striking was how Army and Marine officers were interchanged. This dismayed the Marines of course, but the exigencies of the situation resulted in an intermixing of officer assignments that probably is rare even in our present ground forces--and certainly almost unheard of in the Second World War and Korea.

And the most compelling thing about this book to me was the author's candor. All too often (in my view), the Marines tend to whitewash unsavory parts of their history. And as Harry Truman observed, their propaganda arm is as good at Joe Stalin's. But Owen is not hesitant to expose examples of poor judgment and sometimes outright incompetence on the part of 2/6's leaders. This is after all, a critical assessment of the performance of the battalion in the Great War. And he does not trumpet the battle at Belleau Wood as an unvarnished success.

This book is an imminently readable and informative book about one battalion's part in the Great War. And it hopefully also gives the reader a look into the problems faced by probably every American rifle battalion that fought in that conflict. Any serious student of American involvement in World War One should look to add this work to his or her library.

An exceptional job by Lieutenant Colonel Pete Owen on his research and writing by masterfully piecing together first hand accounts of the Marines of all ranks that fought at Belleau Wood and Soissons. A well organized, simple read - but one that provides any military leader many lessons learned that can be applied to today's global war on terror and the battlefields of Iraq. Any reader who enjoys historical or military writing will enjoy and learn something from this book. LtCol Pete Owen provides interesting facts and military traditions of that era that are probably not known by many current military personnel. This book makes the perfect gift for any newly promoted NCO or recent academy school graduate and has become a definite addition to my PME library. Highly recommended and congratulations to LtCol Pete Owen on a job well done. Semper Fi Mac.

LtCol Peter Owen's book is a must for your PME collection as well as for anyone who likes to read about units of the Great War. Owen's book focuses on the 2/6 Marines which was part of the AEF's 2nd Division during WWI. Owen brilliantly tells the story about how the unit was a mixture of career Marines and men who joined up after the US declared war in 1917. Along with describing the personalities of the 2/6, Owen focuses on the operational effectiveness of the unit from its inception and how loses in combat negatively effected the performance of the unit. Owen also shows how the lack of training and poor doctrine was coupled with poor leadership decisions that led to very costly battles for the battalion. The book is easy to read and the chapters are well structured so the reader clearly understands the story Owen is relating to them. I plan to give this book to my friend who is going to USMC Command and Staff college!

COL Owen(USMC)'s latest effort is a must read for all those interested in the United States in World War I particularly the US Marine Corps readers.

Expanding on his excellent work annotating a previous Marine Corps WW1 effort published by Texas A&M University Press, COL Owen's smooth writing style combined with exhaustive primary and secondary documentation research, makes for an "easy" read detailing the 2nd Battalion's grim and bloody campaigns during WW1 as part of one of the Marine Brigades attached to the U.S. Army's 2nd U.S. Infantry Division 'Indianheads" .."2nd to None!" The officers, non-commissioned officers, and enlisted men of the 2nd Battalion fought in most of the major battles of the last year of the war and its casualty rosters reflect the butcher's toll. Many of the veterans of these battles played major roles in future Marine Corps efforts in Nicauragua(sp?), Haiti, World War 2 storming the beaches of the South Pacific and the Korean War.

The book contains the all-important maps for military history, an extensive bibliography/associated footnotes, and index as well as photographs.

A highly recommended effort worth adding to one's WW1 library and USMC histories.

For Texas birders this book is a must. Ranges are much more reliable than any other guide available. Is great for travelling to an area to see what you might be able to see or to back something you have found.

The new TOS Handbook is an indispensable reference to the current status of Texas' avifauna. The range maps are excellent and show seasonal changes in gray scale. Anyone interested in birding in Texas will want a copy of this book. It is not a field guide, but a reference on status and distribution.

Whatever your general guide for the identification of birds is while in Texas you need this this companion book. Current information as to the status of Texas birdlife written by two premier Texas birders. A percentage of the profits are given to the Texas Ornithological Society.

Jack Clinton Eitniear
Editor/Bulletin of the Texas Ornithological Society
www.Texasbirds.org

If you want to know the current status of any bird in Texas you need this book! Good range maps make it possible look at individual counties.

This book is really sad, but if you like true crime you will want to read Trail of Blood. It doesn't suffer from to much repetition, like some true crime books.

I like the way it is written: direct and to the point. The book was suspenseful, as I was not sure how it was going to end. For me the book ended up being a mystery, as well as, a true crime book.

I admire Jim Dunn, the detectives, and the justice system for their perseverance and their dedication to find justice for Scott Dunn.

loved this book. did not want to put it down until I had finished reading it but alas I have to sleep and go to work. Hamilton is right where she belongs. Too bad she will get out but hopefully will stay in the entire 20yrs.

I have to say that I thought the justice system in Texas was a lot harsher until I read this book. The story is heartbreaking about the loss and disappearance of Roger Scott Dunn better known as Scott. There is a love triangle between him and two women, Jessica Tate, and Leisha Hamilton but the latter has her own love triangle or quadrangle of her own. Leisha Hamilton is a psychopath and fits many of the characteristics. One Sunday evening, she calls SCott's father in Pennsylvania to relate the news that he's missing or at least that is what she wants us to think. Leisha Hamilton is truthfully a nut job who needs psychiatric care. I shocked by how she behaved and her being a psychopath explains so much about why she acts so callously about Scott's family, friends, and his disappearance. The trail of blood is what helps prove his murder in 1991. The father, Jim, co-wrote his experiences and loss of his son even without a body and his fight for justice. The book starts off slowly and gains momentum along the way making a fast read. I skimmed through the court section because it was somewhat redundant of previous information already written in early pages. The case and fight for Justice in Scott's memory is quite a story in itself. I can't help but write about Scott's beloved car, Yellow Thunder, that he took pride in and treated it so well. When Leisha demands the car back, I just wanted to scream at her. It's just a car and it's not as important as getting Scott back.
Sadly Leisha only got 20 years while her accomplice, Tim Smith, got ten years probation. While Leisha was the mastermind, there is still no body. I think Leisha got off quite light in her sentence and she robbed Scott's family of his life and his future with Jessica Tate and possible grandchildren. The grave is still empty at the City of Lubbock Cemetery where he is supposed to be. The family just wants a final burial and still justice.

This well written, gripping tale is of a father's long search for his missing son. All the while, he was playing a cat and mouse game with the woman he knew was responsible for his son's death. No body was ever found but the crime scene told such a story! In my new novel, Texas Poker Wisdom, I used this book as a reference for forensics. When the Vidocq Society gets involved in the investigation, you know you have a very special case. The Lubbock Police did a superb job. You will love this book if you are a true crime or mystery fan.
Johnny HughesTexas Poker Wisdom

The book I purchased was in the condition advertised. The savings compared to local bookstores was substantial.

The photos and descriptions in this book make it a terrific guide to Hill Country plants.

When I am out on the range in the Hill Country of Texas trying to identify a plant, Jan Wrede tells me what I need to know.

The pictures and descriptions have been invaluable in my interpretive walks and hikes. This is a must have for hikers and hill property owners. I bought two! One for me and one for a friend.

Well, after falling in love with Wolf in the last 3 books in this series I had such high hopes for his book because I thought he deserved a woman to fall head over heels in love with him. I felt so bad for him throughout this book that I wanted to slap Molly. As always though I love any book written by Jodi Thomas & she'll always be my favorite but I guess my expectations were too high for what I wanted Wolf to find. He got what he always wanted but I felt bad for how long it took for Molly to decide that Wolf was her man. I just hate when it takes a close call with death to make people realize their true feelings.

Overall I highly recommend this series. The order is:

The Texan's Touch
To Kiss A Texan
To Wed In Texas
Twilight In Texas
The Texan's Dream

During the Civil War, their eyes meet and remain locked though the train station is crowded. Benjamin admits that he now believes in love at first sight. Molly Donovan is a true believer too. He vows to find her after the war and seals his pledge with a kiss. However, afterwards reality returns with a vengeance and he realizes she is a Union general's daughter and he is actually Wolf Hayward, confederate spy.

Eight years later in Austin, Texas Ranger Wolf is hurt by a falling sign. Dr. Molly Donovan tends to his injuries. He immediately recognizes the woman who has haunted his dreams, but she fails to know he is the soldier that stole her heart. Wolf cannot help but court Molly, who is fascinated by his attention, but struggles to keep her promise to remain loyal to Benjamin. As they fall in love, Wolf worries how Molly reacts to the fact that he and Benjamin is the same person.

Jodie "Texas" Thomas provides her audience with a powerful Lone Star romance that brings to life the decade after the Civil War. The story line is fast-paced, filled with action, and loaded with tender passion that will entice readers to search out the author's previous novels. The lead characters are a delightful duo whose motivations ring true. Ms. Thomas has written another exciting tale that sub-genre fans will relish for a long time to come.

Harriet Klausner

It's perfect that Jodi would write about Wolf Hayward, the big hairy lovable beast who was in her trilogy about the McLain brothers! Jodi became one of my favorite authors after reading the other three books, which, by the way, you should read first before reading this one. Not that this one doesn't stand well on it's own, absolutely the contrary, but you'll understand some of the references about the McLains better this way. The story did have plenty of subplots, but never too many distract you from the main one, just enough to enhance it. The other thing that Jodi does is to leave at least one "unattached" person in her story, that you hope she will write about next. I didn't want to give too much of just a "synopsis" of the book, It's great, and I'll let you find that out on your own. Well, that's my review, my first actually. I hope it helps.

Jodi Thomas is an author who launches her stories by using soothing enticement. Immediately, this writer pulls the reader into her plot. Regrettably, in the past, I found her stories generally limp to the finish line. However, in TWILIGHT IN TEXAS the author leaves 'limp' behind and finishes with a winner.

The American Civil War rages - North against the South, brother against brother, father against son. In a crowded Philadelphia train station two strangers spontaneously embrace and kiss, a moment in time, but a moment so powerful it would carry them through the horrors of war. Call it fate, call it love, or call it survival, but neither party would ever forget. Two strangers touched by love's whisper, two strangers from opposite sides. Benjamin "Wolf" Hayward is a Confederate spy and Mollie Donivan is the daughter of a Union general.

Eight years later, both still live with that cherished memory. Once again, two strangers meet, but in a different time and place. Now Wolf Hayward is a captain in the Texas Rangers; he has a full beard, long hair, and fifty more pounds. Mollie Donivan is a struggling pharmacist/doctor. Wolf immediately recognizes Molly as the vision from his past. Molly regrettably fails to recognize Wolf as her fantasy soldier.

So Thomas begins her love story and this is gentle, soft romance at its finest. Although Wolf is delighted to find his Molly again, he is terrified to reveal who he really is. He is afraid because they once dwelled as enemies; he is afraid because Molly knows nothing of his wartime spying and betrayals. But amazingly, with Thomas' magic, what could have been unreasonably ridiculous turns into spellbinding fascination.

Adding further delight, the author builds her story around exceptional secondary characters. From the adorable child known as Callie Anne, to the gruff old veteran who acts as Molly's protector, Thomas weaves them warmly into her reader's heart.

In the past, I have always liked Jodi Thomas as an author. She has a simple direct style, a tender quality, and great homelike characters. So what made TWILIGHT IN TEXAS a better book? Because this time, Thomas wrote an entire book strongly, not just a few chapters.
Grade: A

MaryGrace Meloche
Reviewer for: Romance Designs

It is 30 years since I went to Morocco for a winter's surfing accompanied by a number of volumes of Jung's Collective works. Jung is heavy going for the neophyte. His concern that his ideas not be dismissed as metaphysical - the regular experience of his ideas meeting with strong antipathy or misunderstanding, or misinterpretation - led him to adopt a style of writing which he would characterise as rigorously scientific. This reader's experience was one of needing heavy-duty lexicographical backup!

So commentary is welcome. If Levi-Strauss could utterly misrepresent (if not slander) Jung's concept of the collective unconscious (having discovered evidence of it himself in global anthropological motifs some 15 years after Jung had published his discoveries) how much more prone to uncertainty is the brave amateur tackling the Collected Works outside the pale of academe and without reference to informed companions.

Amongst other useful reflections in this book is the evidence for a seat of the Collective Unconscious within the primitive structure of the human brain. And there is a pleasure in joining another in the affection and high regard in which one is led to hold the man himself after many years of "knowing" him. And some satisfaction, too, in seeing the emergence of 'scientific' confirmation of some of his more outre revelations.

Jung is rewarding to any reader willing to come to terms with his work. His spirit is there but wandering deeply hidden within a forest of difficult terminology, strange new concepts and a massive body of empirical data.

This book is a great teaser. But having read it, do go on to Jung in the original! (The 2 volumes of the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary are a recommended companion.)

I have read this book four times, and compared with everything else in the field that I've read, it really makes sense of archtypes - and establishes their personal relevance.

Again another Tour de Force from Stevens. The author describes the duality of the human perception and its role in illness and welness. The healer archetype is so beautifully analyzed and defined. Highly recommended.

With the evolution of human consciousness, nature has finally become conscious of itself. It has taken eons of time, this lumbering progress through the minds of reptiles, mammals, and primates, and it is still working out its purpose in the archetypes of the collective unconscious encoded in the most ancient parts of the human brain. The recent evolutionary history of our species, which Jung personified as "the two million-year-old human being in us all," is still active in our dreams, myths, psychiatric symptoms, traditional healing practices, and typical patterns of behavior. Through a wide-ranging review of developments in anthropology, ethology, sociobiology, neuroscience, psycholinguistics, and Jungian psychology, Anthony Stevens explores the nature of the two million-year-old self and examines ways in which the contemporary world both fulfills and frustrates its basic needs and intentions. Drawing on his experience as an analyst, Stevens evokes dreams and psychiatry to reveal a compelling and challenging view of the two million-year-old Self as embodying no less than the will of nature. By granting close attention to nature's mind, Stevens argues, we not only further personal wholeness but also help redress the gross imbalances of our culture, which are threatening the destruction of the earth. For the ecologically concerned, this book offers a dramatic new perspective on our future relations with our planet.