Texas Books

Favorite scene with Vida-
The whole scene of caring for Taylor when he's ill.

Favorite scene with Taylor-
His first meeting with Honor.

Together-
Before their wedding, realizing they belonged there, willing to give up the new job.

What did you like about Vida-
Her strength and stubborness. Never giving up on Taylor. Telling him they won't be taking the detective job because they should stay where they are and be with family. I can't believe Buck survived. Yeh!!! Vida told Taylor family's more important than a job. Her easy goingness with the cowpokes at the saloon.

What didn't you like about Vida-
That she felt she didn't need to tell Taylor when she went back to New Orleans to get info. on Celeste. They're partners, and yet she felt like she could do what she wanted without his permission. She took risks-esp. with Pierre and Derek. It's not her per se, but sometimes her vulnerability and hurt feelings don't fit her tough cookie, detective persona. She wears her heart on her sleeve and shows her feelings and it doesn't quite fit.

What did you like about Taylor-
Loving Vida. Never giving up on his dad. Reconciling with Cal and Honor, although it was hard for him. Telling Celeste off. His mother-son affection with Doc Maggie. And his affection for the ranch hands.

What didn't you like about Taylor-
It's not him per se, but the drunk act. It made him look bad in people's eyes. He might not have been able to tell people the truth yet, but still- He was too stubborn about reconciling with Cal and Honor. Glad he did.

If I had to cast Vida, I'd cast Catherine Zeta-Jones.
If I had to cast Taylor, I'd cast Cameron Mathison.

The best way to read this trilogy is from the beginning. While 'texas triumph' is the best of the 3 because it wraps up all the loose ends and has all the characters together, it is much more enjoyable having read the story of Cal, Honor and then Taylor. If u only pick one of the trilogy, this would be the one to choose. Story itself is as reviewed by HK.

In 1850 New Orleans, Buck Star seduced his friend's wife. She is willing to give up everything for Buck, but the handsome lothario deserts her leaving behind the broken Gannon family without a look back or feeling the slightest of remorse.

In 1869, an ailing Buck's past has come home to roost (see TEXAS STAR and TEXAS GLORY). Several people have the motive to want Buck dead for the havoc he caused and left behind two decades ago. His son Pinkerton Agent Taylor Star returns to the family spread to investigate a murder. He is accompanied by his partner Vida Malone, who Taylor quickly realizes is the only person he trusts to include blood relatives. As the two agents investigate and protect each other's back, the attraction they already have for one another but deny explodes into the open. While danger mounts from an avenging unknown culprit, Vida and Taylor fall in love, but first must uncover who wants anything remotely Star dead.

The last Texas Star tale is an enjoyable historical private investigative romance as the lead couple investigates who wants to destroy Buck even while falling in love. Taylor and Vida make a wonderful pairing as the Agents have avoided their growing attraction until the danger turns personal and they fear for their partner. The final of this fine trilogy is a triumph for fans of Reconstruction Era Texas romantic mysteries as Elaine Barbieri star will shine with glory.

Harriet Klausner

Being an avid paddler, I was initially dissappointed to move from Georgia to Texas and leave behind the whitewahter rivers of the southeast. I was happy to find that there are some credible paddle spots in the Lone Star state and this book helped me to find them. It is well organized and easy to read and the information provided is very thorough.

If you like Texas Whitewater, this book is a must

This book has identified all the information you need to locate true whitewater in the state of Texas.

Writer Davis is a master of humor and no one can beat illustrator Stacey at funny facial expressions---just look at the longhorn. These two have created a great book!

My daughter and I read this book over the weekend and thouroughly enjoyed it. She was really taken with the humorous story and "funny" animals. Zeke and the Longhorn are quite the characters. The ending is very satisfying.I am looking forward to rereading this one.

David Davis has done it again: a laugh a second picture book with amazing art by Alan Stacy. This is a Texas-flavor retelling of The Old Woman and her Pig. And, Boy Howdy, this book will steer you right--An Absolute Award-Winner and Bestseller!

For perfectly good reasons, we tend to associate Cajun and Zydeco music with Louisiana, but for much of the 20th century, Cajun and Creole people moved West into Texas, usually for straightforward economic advantage - the towns and cities of Texas offered more employment and better living conditions - and they took their music with them. You are at least as likely to find people playing Zydeco in Texas as in Louisiana. In the introduction to this stunningly handsome book, the author makes the point that it was in Houston, not in New Orleans or any other Louisiana city, that `the folk music of black Creoles from southwest Louisiana first (underwent) a major synthesis with urban influences to create, document and codify that sound'. He goes on to make the claim (and as the book progresses, to substantiate it) that `several key innovations in the evolution of this music - concerning not only its name, but also its instruments, recording history, leading figures, and stylistic twists and turns - occurred initially in Texas'. He uses the phrase `Louisiana Lapland' to describe where `a large part of south Louisiana seems to have "lapped over" into Texas, and quotes John Minton to the effect that the music `first made its mark' in Texas, before becoming popular back in Louisiana. Later, he asserts that `Zydeco is a doubly syncretized musical phenomenon, a hybrid that required transplantation and cross-pollination to come into existence' - saying in effect that Zydeco, as we know it could only really have happened in Texas.
The book is a celebration of this music and its associated culture, marrying Roger Wood's text and James Fraher's photography. It is a marvellously successful combination. The photographs, of which there are a great many - on average, every other page seems to be given over to one - are beautifully reproduced in a monochrome of outstanding depth and clarity. Fraher is evidently as much an artist as he is a Zydeco fan, and he has captured the people, the instruments, the atmosphere and the context of the music with great skill, sensitivity and style. Almost any photograph could be singled out for special mention, but for just a few examples - Leroy Thomas with his stars and stripes accordion, Raymond Chavis almost in silhouette, the proud determination on the face of Sherman Robertson, Zydeco dancers at the Silver Slipper, Dora Jenkins in seductive pose and Vanessa David in action at a festival. There's an especially poignant portrait of L.C. Donatto Jnr, holding a photograph of his father and a rubboard that has been played so hard it has a gaping hole in the middle. This is black music, but Fraher's scope extends also to the white people who are and have been players in the scene, as club owners, collectors (including a fine shot of Mack McCormick), fans, dancers and even occasionally as executants.
The illustrations are so striking, and you could spend so long admiring them, that you might almost forget to read the text, but that would be a bad move. Wood's account of the music has to be the most definitive yet published. He is well informed and lucid on the subject of the music's history - the chapter `Chank-A-Chank and Social Change' tells the story of how the music came to be, and it is a measure of the thorough job he has done that it begins by noting a French presence in Texas documented as far back as 1682. A couple of pages on, he points out that Amadie Ardoin recorded in San Antonio in 1934, and that just over a decade or later, it was at sessions in Houston that the first two recordings were made whose lyrics included the word `zydeco' (or a variant of the word - the book goes into some detail on the etymology, variation and development of the term), by Lightnin' Hopkins and Clarence Garlow respectively. The music's history is thoroughly rehearsed, supported by what looks like meticulous research and plenty of fine oral history - an appendix giving the list of interviews carried out takes up more than three pages. There is a chapter devoted to Clifton Chenier, covering the introduction of the piano-key accordion and the invention of the rubboard (the first one was made by a Cajun welder by the name of Willie Landry, based on a design drawn in the sand by Clifton himself). This must be one of the fullest accounts of Chenier's life and music yet published, and it ends by quoting Wilbert Thibodeaux - `Clifton Chenier is the only zydeco man who ever really deserved to call himself the king'. Amen to that, but we're still only a little over halfway into the book.
The remainder covers the wide range of other Zydeco men and women - not kings or queens perhaps, but plenty with claims to the aristocracy. It also tells the story of how Zydeco's popularity grew and grew in the years following the king's death - he had benefited from the wider interest in the music, nationally and internationally, but it has been the last twenty-odd years (Chenier died in 1987) that has seen the music's greatest popularity. It has also been a time when, as Moore states, it: `went through a process of radically redefining itself according to a multitude of contemporary realities and new possibilities'. These change factors are covered here, and the story is brought right up to date, not only with the work of young radicals and experimenters like Li'l Brian Terry, but also with the reach back into the music's roots represented by Les Amis Creole (a recent Arhoolie CD). The story covers not only the musicians themselves, but also the role of the venue owners, the musical instrument makers, the recording companies and so on.
This book is a beautiful object to own for its own sake, but it is also of major significance in the documentation of Zydeco, and is highly recommended to anyone interested in learning more about this most extraordinary of music. (this review, by Ray Templeton, first appeared in Blues & Rhythm magazine, used by permission)

I could hear the Zydeco music playing as I read this book. Roots, if you want to know how Zydeco orginated, who played or stills plays Zydeco music and where to go to listen to this music, this is the book. Being a Zydeco music fan and actually attending zydeco events that are mentioned made this a very exciting book.

James Fraher's black and white photos highlight a solid story of the most influential players and history in Zydeco music past and present, and while the survey focuses on the genre's rise in Texas, any with an interest in Cajun or Zydeco music will find it incorporates facts and history from other states as well. Chapters chart the movement of black Creoles from Louisiana into Texas and the cross-influence of their music with other Texas forms. The seven-year collaboration between writer Wood and photographer Fraher provides powerful visual embellishment to the facts and biographies within.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

This is the most profound book that I read as a child -- the only one that could be compared in its greatness to Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. In its imaginative, symbolic, and numinous depth it is one of the most unusual, striking books I have ever read. Through the nature of its story, its characters, its language, and the encounters that the characters have with multiple layers of human experience, it is an imaginative feat on the part of the author, Walter de la Mare (1873-1956). Originally published in 1910 as The Three Mulla-Mulgars, The Three Royal Monkeys is in effect an Odyssey for children, telling the story of how three monkey brothers undertake a long and arduous voyage encompassing multiple adventures and encounters with diverse, deep, and mysterious aspects of life in order to arrive at a paradise-like land from which their late father originated. The richness, vividness, and numinousness of the story is conveyed not only by its content but by its partially invented language. That is, the English is liberally sprinkled with names and words in the language that the monkeys themselves speak, so that it conveys the sense of being inside of a mysterious, far-away, magical, animal world that is at the same time human in its resonance: as a child I had the sense of being transported to a place where I intuited things and experiences that were way beyond my years. In a way this book would be beloved of Jungians because of the way it captures "archetypal" experience. I was fortunate to have had an uncle and aunt who always gave me and other members of my family special, unusual presents, and I consider myself so lucky that they gave me this book when I was eight years old, although I don't remember if I read it then or somewhat later. It is sad that it is currently out of print. I hope that other children will be similarly blessed by having this book given to them or made accessible through the library.

If you like the Hobbit, you'll love this "children's" novel about three royal monkeys (or mulla-mulgars) who journey across a strangely wintery fantasy Africa so that they can live with their "Uncle Assasimmon, Prince of the Valleys of Tishnar". On the way, they encounter flesh-eating "minimuls," "mountain mulgars" who do battle with eagles, the deadly beast Immanala, a beautiful water-midden who tricks one of the mulgars and takes his magic "wonderstone", a lost "Oomgar" from England, and many other adventures. The tone of the writing is wonderfully poetic and evocative, the verbal equivalent of Arthur Rackham's paintings. It's a crime this novel isn't better known.

The Three Royal Monkeys is an old book- most little kids wouldn't want anything to do with it, but if you just read the first couple of pages, you'd fall in love with it. It's got a children's book idea, but it's written for older kids. It's kind of like Lord of the Rings- not the story line or anything. These simple little "mulla-mulgars" (monkeys) have magic, their father goes in search of Tishnar, his brother's kindom, and he doesn't return in seven mulla-mulgar years. So his three sons, Thumb, Thimble, and Nod go in search of Tishnar. They have interactions with Oogmars (humans) and learn how to speak their language. I'm a seventh grader, and I love it. I know some adults that love it. It's an enchanting book, you have to read it.

In this book, Erickson proves that his ability to tell a story is not limited to tales for children, but the real jewel is in the work of Bill Ellzey. I first met Bill as a young teenager, and new even then that he saw things that other people did not see, and that he could get what he saw onto film. As we drove across the hot Texas Panhandle in his blue Dodge (with the windows down!) his dimples danced and shown through an already graying beard, and he began to teach me how to "see" like an artist. Bill's photographs will remind you of what you have seen, or let you see what you always hoped was out there somewhere. Enjoy this book, and let Erickson tell you tales, while Ellzey lets you see the indescribable. What a great combination these two boyhood friends have become!

PS: Bill, I'm sorry that I didn't have enough sons to name one of them Ellzey.

In an overall sense, this is one of the best books I have ever read. Arguably, Erickson is the best author living in Texas. Over and over, I think children would definitely consider him a wonderful storyteller. And, who is a better judge of storytelling than kids. I don't generally read Hank the Cowdog books, but I was very fascinated with the idea of reading this book. It was outstanding. Erickson, a Perryton (Texas) rancher/author, has written a great book about the Canadian River valley. The author does a great job of taking the reader along the journey. Erickson, makes the reader understand the past events and people groups who have lived or live in the central to eastern Panhandle of Texas. I think many would agree that the Panhandle is not one of the most beautiful areas of our world. Afterall, it's not as popular as the European Alps, Hawaiian islands, or even the Chesapeake Bay region - but, it is distinctive. One thing can certainly be said about the Panhandle - the places and people are REAL. What you see is what you get, so to speak. I appreciate John Erickson for being a real writer and a real storyteller. I appreciate John Erickson for writing about something he has a great understanding of.

Erickson's story of traveling through the Canadian River in the Eastern Texas panhandle on horse back with photographer and childhood friend Bill Ellzey is a wonderful tale told by a true to life cowboy/yarnspinner. Once in the late seventies I took a photography course under Ellzey and his photos tell a pretty good tale of their own. The cast of characters introduced are all very real and I know(or knew) most of them. Some are still around and some have passed on to their reward. But John's story and his cast will always be interesting reading for anyone that has ever dreamed of time in the saddle and sleeping under the stars. It should be required reading for any Texan or those that wish they were a Texan. Do yourself a favor and get this one.

There are just a few books a parent needs to read to "do it right." Joan Beck's "How to Raise a Brighter Child" and Prudence MackIntosh's essays in her trilogy of books: "Thundering Sneakers," Retreads," and "Sneaking Out." The MackIntosh books are better than chocolate, whether you have a boy or a girl. And on those frequent occasions when I am at my wits' end and rapidly losing perspective, her books bring me right back. You'll laugh with a lump in your throat the whole way through.

In Thundering Sneakers, Prudence Mackintosh has anecdotally shared her life as the mother of 3 boys in a Texas town with humor and frankness. Mothers of boys anywhere will recognize her stories and grandmothers who have raised their sons will laugh as they remember those moments when they longed for a little girl to dress up. In the days of career women, Mackintosh has made her career writing about what it's like to be a stay-at-home mom, and life with her three boys and her lawyer husband will bring laughter to your heart and tears to your eyes. This is a must read for any woman whose life is made richer, and rowdier, by sons. {Retreads is the sequel -- and just as good!

Prudence Mcintosh is just about my favorite author of all time and this book is the best. She is a real role model for young moms.You will love this book.

Sonya Katye Childers has done an amazing job bringing to life the country music scene and the demands of being on the road as an entertainer. But that's only the beginning. This is really a love story about two people who are star-crossed in so many ways, circumstances conspire to keep them apart every time they get together, but each separation only strengthens their love for each other. You will laugh, you will cry, you will wring your hands when it seems life has finally dealt them a dividing blow, but get those hankies ready for an ending that will have you cheering and crying at the same time. Ms. Childers is an outstanding writer. This is a book not to miss.

Reading is definitely NOT a favorite past-time of mine, but if there were more books like this, it sure would be! This book is amazing! The story will draw you in from page one and you won't be able to put it down. Sonya's style or writing really makes you feel like you are right there with the characters in the book. I can't wait to read more from this author!

Rebecca Roberts has been at loose ends since the love of her life and musical soul mate left to pursue his dreams of stardom in Nashville. Despite her mother's incessant insults and abuse, Rebecca continues to work toward her dreams of being a successful songwriter. Her Uncle Bert and her best friend, Whitney, have been supportive and encouraging of Becca's musical aspirations in the years since Jason left. Both are aware, however, that she never has gotten over him.

Jason Engles left Becca to become a big Nashville star. He became disillusioned when his `career' failed to go anywhere. After a year of playing in dives and living on bologna sandwiches, Jason opted to join the Marines in favor of three meals a day and a roof over his head. By the time he was discharged from the military, he was able to focus on his music and finally fulfilled his dream. But he never stopped thinking about or loving Becca.

All Becca wants to do is relax and spend some time working on lyrics or possibly even napping. Any thoughts of napping or writing are extinguished by Whitney's arrival at Becca's apartment. Whitney is determined that Becca needs to go out and she's not taking `no' for an answer. Becca assumes that her friend is on another man hunt and dragging her along again. She couldn't be more wrong. Whitney has won front row tickets to a local America Supports You concert where Jason Engles is going to be performing.

Becca makes it through most of the concert before Jason notices her in the audience but once he spots Becca, there's no way he's willing to risk losing her again . Jason sings the last song of the night, a poem that she'd written the night he'd left, directly to her. After the song ends he pulls her up on the stage and requests that she wait for him in his dressing room while he performs an encore. Having achieved everything he set out to do, Jason couldn't ask for anything more than having Becca back in his arms. Only their happily-ever-after is fraught with pitfalls and unexpected events that will put their relationship through some hard times which only true love can withstand.

After reading this heart-touching tale, I'm so afraid that nothing I say could possibly do it justice. Sonya Kate Childers TIDES OF TIME gives readers insight into this sweet romance that could have easily been all hugs and kisses and happily ever after with no effort. However, as this story shows - true love requires time, effort, patience, and understanding. Without going into too much detail and giving anything away, Jason is recalled to the Marines and sent to Iraq leaving Becca to struggle with several devastating events. Her strength lies in the support of a few friends and her own pure determination. TIDES OF TIME will give readers a healthy respect for not just the men and women who are overseas fighting wars, but also for their loved ones that are left behind.

On a lighter note, I was very impressed when I reached the end of the story and read that country singer Steve Azar endorses TIDES OF TIME.

Chrissy Dionne (courtesy of Romance Junkies

In the tradition of Lorraine Heath's emotionally charged Western Romances, Tracy Garrett makes her debut with this outstanding novel TOUCH OF TEXAS.

What a beautifully written story! It captures the spirit of the old west and the simplicity of the lives living in that era. Though it depicts the harsh times that families were subjected to and the lawlessness in the territories, it beautifully captures the richness of the American spirit and how people come together at times of strife.

Texas Ranger, Jake McCain ha never thought about anything other than his job. Nothing has deterred him from capturing the thieves and murderers that he is after - after all it is his job. Half white and Apache, he stumbles in the dead of winter on Rachel Hudson's doorstep. Unconscious and badly wounded he is dragged into her cabin by Rachel and her brother Nathan.

The time spent with Rachel and her brother shows Jake a different side to what he is accustomed in life. He falls in love with her and cares deeply for her young brother but realizes that there is never any hope for a white woman to ever fall in love with a half breed.

The story that follows is richly narrated, with heartfelt secondary characters, horrid villains and daring rescues. You will definably fall in love with Jake and his unbelievable sense of justice and kindness. How he protects the innocent and punishes the murdering outlaws! The sizzling and emotionally charged romance between Jake and Rachel is lovely. Jake is a wonderful treat of a wounded sexy hero who immediately falls for Rachel's sweet and open nature. Rachel who is haunted by her mother's less that respectable past makes her a wonderful mate for our hero. Hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

Nanette

Rootin' Tootin' Cowboys are back and I am thrilled to see it. Debut author, Tracy Garrett, gives a solid historical romance set in the Old West. She delivers a sexy hero, an engaging heroine and a novel that simply sizzles. Garrett truly brings to the story a passion that lets the reader really experience the setting.

A snowstorm finds Rachel Hudson all snug against the coming blizzard. That peace is shattered when sexy Texas Ranger, Jack McCain, comes a knocking at her door. He's nearly frozen from the storm. Rachel works to save his life, paying little heed that being a school marm would see her reputation ruined from being snowbound with a man.

Jack is a man on a mission. He is out to find the men who killed his father and left him to die.

Garrett strikes a strong not in this debut novel, sounding that she is an author to watch.

Very highly recommended.

Rachel Hudson has settled in for the blizzard, along with her younger brother and their animals when she hears something, or someone, at the door. Texas Ranger Jack McCain has nearly frozen to death and it's up to her to keep him alive. Which would have been a bit easier if he weren't so darned sexy. Rachel has done her best to flee her mother's past and develop the kind of reputation a schoolteacher needs in rural Texas. Having a sexy male snowed in with her won't help that reputation at all.

Jake McCain is on the trail of the man who killed his father--and who left him to die in the snow. It's a quest he's certain he won't survive, but then, Jake has never had much reason to want to survive. Half white, half Apache, Jake has never been accepted into any society. Any woman who takes up with him is doomed to be rejected as well--which means he can never have Rachel no matter how much he wants her. But Rachel gives him a reason to want to live--just when he's certain that's impossible.

In her debut novel, author Tracy Garrett combines western historical adventure with sizzling romance to deliver an entertaining and enjoyable story. Wounded hero Jake is definitely a sexy treat and Rachel, with her mother's past haunting her, makes a sympathetic heroine. Garrett's writing appeals to the senses--although I was reading the novel in the midst of a Texas heat wave, Garrett nevertheless made me feel the sting of blown snow and the winds of the open plains.

Western historical romances have been unjustifiably on the outs in recent years. It's great to see Zebra bringing them back, and with an author like Garrett leading the way, this just might be an entire genre to watch.

I'm a gardener in California, and was looking for something to help me select worthwile gardens to visit while touring Texas on vacation. This book fills the bill admirably.

Nothing is more invigorating and tranquil than a walk in a lovingly tended garden, and this wonderful book guides the lucky reader to the best such spots in Texas. Touring Texas Gardens catalogues the most seductive gardens over the sprawling state, complete with descriptions of their territory, lists of their flora and fauna, contact information, and driving instructions.

Jessie Gunn Stephens, a well-known Texas naturalist and columnist who specializes in gardening, has created a carefully and exhaustively researched book that makes a wise and friendly companion for trips to these special places.

I especially appreciate the book's "bird alerts," which remind readers which avian friends they will meet in these gardens and when each species is likely be there.

This book is a rare treasure. You might like to keep an extra copy in the car.

Bob Huffaker

This directory spotlights the best of Texas gardens. Many are hard-to-find treasures you'll recommend to gardening friends and family as great destination spots, or as ideal along-the-way travel breaks while driving through the state.

The guide book provides details about each special garden: days and hours, garden type, size, themes, special "don't-miss" features, and even "bird alert" notes for birders. Many Texans don't know about these secret places -- I didn't! -- but with TOURING TEXAS GARDENS you'll find favorites to return to, time and again.