Texas Books

Born Again Texan is a funny, authentic and heartwarming book - even if you're not a Texan or planning a trip to the Lone Star State. Author Robin Cole has a great eye for the details that make her home state a cradle for characters. Although she was a refugee for 30 years, her experiences elsewhere give her a clearer view of what is unique, charming and downright wacky about Texas. It's a must read for anyone who has even spoken the word Texas!

And if you're planning a trip there, her advice on speaking Texanese, weather, and down-home etiquette are essential. You'll also find great information on the major cities and towns, as well Texas cultural events - from music to rodeos.

Born Again Texan! is chili for the Texas soul. It makes you laugh, it makes you cry, and it rejuvinates the spirit. If you are a Texan, it makes you realize why you smile when someone asks, "Where are you from?"

Informative in a humorous, short chapter format, Born Again Texan is a guideline for anyone interested in the Texas mystique. The chapter on the uniqueness of Texas "talk" is a hoot. But be ready with the hanky when you read the acts of kindness stories.

Weather, critters, vehicles, and rodeo... Cowboys, sports, music, and places to go -- Laugh and learn, Born Again Texan! is a great read.

Vol I and Vol II are tremendous sources of information on the Civil War groups from North Texas that Formed Bourland's Reg. There are letters and all kind of primary type information for researchers and a family historians. Many rosters of of the county groups and results of their elections of their officers. The letter and fild reports tell of their battles and every day life. This is a good set to have in you local library or for you personnel collection. A must for Bourland's Reg researchers.

BOURLAND IN NORTH TEXAS AND INDIAN TERRITORY DURING THE CIVIL WAR: Fort Cobb, Fort Arbuckle & The Wichita Mountains, by Patricia Adkins-Rochette, Self-Published (2006).

This 1,014 page tome is remarkable (which really is two volumes in one). Little-studied, little- written, and little-researched are the Indian conflicts during the period 1861 through 1865 on the Southern frontier - the frontier of the Confederate States of America. When the United States military forces withdrew in the face of the establishment of the new fledgling Southern republic, a partial defense vacuum was created in the areas contiguous to the Indian lands. This book deals with the Texas-Oklahoma border area, the Red River area. Texas had to contribute its sons not only to the struggle to maintain the nascent Confederate army in the War for Southern Independence but additionally to fill the need for border security with the many Indian tribes - the areas left vacant by the retreating United States military units. This need was filled by the Texas State Militia to maintain and protect its frontier from Indian depredations. And, although many of the Indian tribes quickly established amicable relations with this new nation, others did not. Treaties were signed inter alia with many of the Indian tribes such as the Cherokees, Seminoles, Creeks, Chickasaws and Choctaws. She includes the actual text of many of these treaties not to mention the Camp Napoleon Compact of 26 May 1865. Withal many of these tribes were split asunder with their own civil wars regarding their perspectives on the two republics now formed; tribes contributed Indian troops to the armies of both warring nations. There were now also the inevitable conflicts within the border areas between all ethnic affiliations. Additionally many Indians saw the great War between the whites as an open invitation for mischief. There were full scale battles, skirmishes, attacks, raids, etc., e.g., not only in the Northern states of Minnesota and Colorado which are well documented, but also in Texas which has not been heretofore well documented.

Our authoress has herein not only scoured existent published records, but has accomplished a prodigious amount of new research from primary sources which has never before been made public (she indicates that 70% of her study is from handwritten records). She has made an impressive contribution to our knowledge of the local conflicts between the Indian nations and the Confederate Texas Militia as well as the Confederate Indian units themselves. Her compilations of the militia posts and hideouts, details on John Jumper's Seminole Regiment, Stand Watie's Cherokee Regiment, an immense amount of biographical material on Colonel Bourland's life and military service, the Texas Ranging Companies, Indian Territorial Posts, deserters, frontier personalities and conditions from the 1840s through the 1860s, and the descriptions of several battles such as those of Elm Creek and Village Creek, and the many sanguinary raids (over 300,000 cattle were stolen or levied), and a set of invaluable maps. Several hundreds of new documents have been transcribed to include 43 letters to and from Colonel James G. Bourland and General H.E. McCulloch - documents not found in the Official Record that presumably should be therein- along with a myriad of muster rolls for north Texas Militia Brigades (to be specific, the militia listings for 34 Texas counties) and the associated brigade correspondence. Mrs. Adkins-Rochette has detailed the Tonkawa Massacre of 1862. Her appendices are of great value in this her magnum opus. For those of you with Red River area antecedents, this work will be of great interest.

Five Stars for sure. A fantastic book on a little know person. I haven't really heard a lot about John Larn. If I did read something about him I don't remember because it was probably something small. I will remember him now. If you like the wild west at its best, cattle rustling, shooting, & just bad men, get this book.

Bravo Of The Brazos: John Larn Of Fort Griffin, Texas by independent scholar Robert K. DeArment is the true life story of John Larn, a colorful Texas lawman turned frontier outlaw. No stranger to shootouts, Larn led a vigilante committee with widespread support and killed at least a dozen men before he turned 29. At first his killing of horse or cattle thieves on sight garnered approval, but then he started to kill for profit or revenge, and when Larn threatened to reveal the names of the people on his vigilante committee, a mob of relatives, former friends, and various associates ruthlessly silenced his threat and ended his life. Bravo Of The Brazos is a fascinating tale of power and corruption, as well as a welcome and appreciated contribution to academic American Frontier History & Biography collections.

Besides crucial information and data, the analyses are great, comments very well put. Great resource!

Johnson and Stam have compiled what is perhaps the definitive commentary on Brazilian cinema, offering thorough explications of the most important films from several different periods and styles. The book also discusses in detail tropicalism, anthropophagy, and other background elements that are integral to achieve an understanding of Brazilian cinema. Though some of the concepts may seem daunting, they are explained clearly and in a historical context, making it an excellent reference for students (either of Brazil or film in general). While some of the same articles appear in Cinema Novo X 5, Brazilian Cinema covers a wider range of subjects. If you are interested in Brazilian films, it is a must-read.

I have read quite a few books made from journals of individuals in Vietnam. Most are either dry accounts of movements or almost novelized disjointed experiences. This Book "The Bridges of Vietnam: From the Journals of a U. S. Marine Intelligence Office" Is not only chronologically organized, but also has a list of external events that took place at the same time.

With out a frame of reference it would be hard to tell if he was barging or borrowing someone else's idea of Vietnam. However in chapter Three "Internship" he covered the same territory (II Corps TZ) as I did; only he was there six months earlier. I saw his reference to the Fourth Infantry with out any reference to the armed reconnaissance First of the Tenth attached to the Fourth Infantry. I also spent some time in other locations and he does a good job of describing daily life. It looks like he left out how to do the job he does and maybe some things he did. For the most part he was dead accurate as to the people and environment of the time. He makes you feel that you are there.

This book is well worth reading and then keeping as a reference. Especially as time passed and you forget your first taste of warm "33" beer.

Fred Edwards served as an intelligence officer during the Vietnam War and visited very major ground unit from Special Forces camps and ground reconnaissance unites, to armored calvary units, and waterborne reconnaissance units. An invaluable and strongly recommended contribution to the military annals of the Viet Name conflict, Edward's The Bridges Of Vietnam: From The Journals Of A U.S. Marine Intelligence Officer is as vivid and candid memoir of the war from the perspective of a front-line intelligence officer as is available to the non-specialist general reader or military buff.

What fun it is to check each morning to see what happened that day in history! Well researched and well written, it's fun for Texans of all ages!

Steven Jent's A Browser's Book Of Texas History is a compilation of more than 500 incidents Texas history arranged in a day-by-day format. Some of these doings are famous, others obscure, but all have combined to make Texas the most remarkable state in the American Union. A Browser's Book Of Texas History can be read from cover to cover in an afternoon, or one day at a time browsing as we are introduced to larger-than-life events and the colorful personalities responsible for them. A Browser's Book Of Texas History is a "must" for all students of the American frontier in general and Texas history in particular.

Texas Treasures is a great book about lost treaure, and adds some history of Texas too. It's an excellent book, and he tells you about where the gold might be located. W.C. Jameson also gives treasure stories about his close calls to where he almost found the treasure.It's organized and a quality print!

Jameson does a great job of making the legends of Texas' buried treasure come alive. His facts and details made me want to grab a shovel and get to work trying to find some of this stuff!! I would recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about Texas or treasure anywhere. Jameson's dry wit made the book enjoyable. I finished it in one night!

"Wyclif Burning" re-established the line between that in which I believe and in what I hope. "The Lesson" is one of the few pedagogical meta-poems that transcend the banality of modern poetry. If read "dead-pan" it acquires an introspection that only when put within the context of the others does it begin to give the ecclesiastical counterargument. This sublime nature can only be described as divine sophistry.

Thom Satterlee's research and exegesis are scholarly. The wisdom he brings to the work is profound, and his technique is remarkable. This is one of those rare contemporary works which deserves (and is getting) many rereads. Satterlee richly deserves the book prize for Burning Wyclif.

Disclaimer: I reviewed this book very positively on Suite 101; However, I bought the book myself, and have no connection with author, editor, or publisher.

The wealthy family we met in Fire Lilies is reintroduced a generation later in Writer Massey's "The Caballeros of Ruby, Texas" as we follow Alicia Martinez' son Miguel. Don Miguel is a successful businessman, the father of six children and not too faithful husband of wife Beatriz. When Don Miguel's contracting business fails he is forced into bankruptcy. The move to California's Salinas Valley is first viewed as a fresh start. However many of the problems besetting the family follow them. Don Miguel's marriage collapses, his children marry, the life he faces in California does not resemble anything he had hoped for.

Writer Massey presents her narrative from the viewpoint of three of the daughters: Isabel's story runs from 1948-1953, Terre's 1942-1955, and Marta's 1956-1959. Each of the daughters views life from the perspective of her own personality and sibling position. Isabel believes the trials the family face are a result of her father's bankruptcy. When the money available for her to finish her college education is gone Isabel is not too unhappy. She didn't much care for school and goes to work before she falls in love with the man she marries. Isabel is determined that her marriage will not follow the patriarchal constraints followed by her parents. Isabel's portion of the story ends in 1953 when she as a young married mother of a three year old leaves Ruby with her husband as he completes his military duty in Kansas. Terre's tale begins in 1942 when her sister Marta is born, it is the year Don Miguel took `that woman' with him on a business trip to Mississippi. Terre is unable to reconcile her father's infidelity with his love for his family. When her own fiancée proves untrue she makes up her mind that she is not going to live as her mother did. At first neither parent can believe that Terre is adamant when she breaks her engagement on days before the wedding. Marta's segment is told from the standpoint of a younger child. The move to California does not prove to be the salvation of the family. If anything it only worsens the situation. Don Miguel's drinking and womanizing continue, Beatriz faces the stress in the only way she can, at last she takes her Elliie, Lupita and Marta and returns to Ruby. Beatriz went right to work in a tomato packing shed and then began selling cosmetics door to door. Beatriz has found her calling soon has a thriving cosmetics business underway. Marta married in 1962. She and Daniel moved to California and lived with Don Miguel for a time before moving back to Texas where Daniel became a successful grocer with a chain of stores. Raul the only son became an officer in the Air Force.

The Caballeros of Ruby, Texas is a poignant tale presenting an engaging glimpse into the ethnicity and way of life of a significant portion of our society. Writer Massey illustrates the restraints felt by both young and older Hispanic women living here in the United States during the years following World War II. Massey demonstrates how these restrictions work both to the hindrance and advantage of the women involved. Of the ministrations of a patriarchal husband or parent can be repressing, but especially for daughters there is security to be had when dad has the final say in many aspects of her life.

Massey has a canny knack for taking the mundane and weaving a tale of outstanding proportions. The Caballero family is like so many I have know from my growing up days and early teaching days in the San Joaquin Valley, California.

Writer Massey only improves her skill as a writer. The Caballeros of Ruby, Texas is a charismatic, well-written work filled with powerful, well fleshed characters. Each of the women is a person in her own right. Massey adroitly captures the spirit ound in all family situations whether good, bad or somewhere in between. I like Massey's presentation with the three daughters each speaking from their own viewpoint. No one perspective really presents a true picture of anything. The story of Don Miguel and his doleful downward slide is much more believable when seen through the eyes of his three daughters.

Excellent read......... happy to recommend

Reviewed by: molly martin h

I not only had a great read, but I also learned a great deal about life in a culture very different from my own. If you like rich, emotional stories this is a great one. I loved the women in the story and how the three of the daughters who narrated the book dealt with their father's loss of wealth and standing and finally, his death. Just the kind of book you want to curl up with and escape.

This book is one of the best I've actually read so far that is recommended for the novice. It contains and index and glossary, as well as illustrations that explain the various parts of the plant, and gives simple, precise descriptions of each form of cacti and where it can be found. It also has excellent photographs of the entire plant in close-up that aid in visual identification. It has been a tremendous help in identifying cacti that once were nameless to me. If you can obtain a copy, it's well worth it.

Del Weniger has given us an excellent compilation in this volume. Fortunately, copies are still available of the out-of-print title. I highly recommend the book for beginners & experts alike. Excellent photography. Insightful text. Good organization.