Bøger udgivet af Texas A&M University Press

Many books and essays have addressed the broad sweep of Texas music--its multicultural aspects, its wide array and blending of musical genres, its historical transformations, and its love/hate relationship with Nashville and other established music business centers. This book, however, focuses on an essential thread in this tapestry: the Texas singer-songwriters to whom the contributors refer as "ruthlessly poetic." All songs require good lyrics, but for these songwriters, the poetic quality and substance of the lyrics are front and center. Obvious candidates for this category would include Townes Van Zandt, Michael Martin Murphey, Guy Clark, Steve Fromholz, Terry Allen, Kris Kristofferson, Vince Bell, and David Rodriguez. In a sense, what these songwriters were doing in small, intimate live-music venues like the Jester Lounge in Houston, the Chequered Flag in Austin, and the Rubaiyat in Dallas was similar to what Bob Dylan was doing in Greenwich Village. In the language of the times, these were "folksingers." Unlike Dylan, however, these were folksingers writing songs about their own people and their own origins and singing in their own vernacular. This music, like most great poetry, is profoundly rooted. That rootedness, in fact, is reflected in the book's emphasis on place and the powerful ways it shaped and continues to shape the poetry and music of Texas singer-songwriters. From the coffeehouses and folk clubs where many of the "founders" got their start to the Texas-flavored festivals and concerts that nurtured both their fame and the rise of a new generation, the indelible stamp of origins is inseparable from the work of these troubadour-poets. Contents Introduction, by Craig Clifford and Craig D. Hillis 1 Part One. The First Generation: Folksingers, Texas Style Too Weird for Kerrville: The Darker Side of Texas Music 17 Craig Clifford Townes Van Zandt: The Anxiety, Artifice, and Audacity of Influence 27 Robert Earl Hardy Vignette--The Ballad of Willis Alan Ramsey 36 Bob Livingston Guy Clark: Old School Poet of the World 39 Tamara Saviano Kris Kristofferson: The Silver-Tongued Rhodes Scholar 49 Peter Cooper Vignette--Don Henley: Literature, Land, and Legacy 59 Kathryn Jones Steven Fromholz, Michael Martin Murphey, and Jerry Jeff Walker: Poetic in Lyric, Message, and Musical Method 61 Craig D. Hillis Vignette--Kinky Friedman: The Mel Brooks of Texas Music 83 Craig Clifford Billy Joe Shaver: Sin and Salvation Poet 85 Joe Holley One Man's Music: Vince Bell 92 Joe Nick Patoski Vignette--Ray Wylie Hubbard: Grifter, Ruffian, Messenger 101 Jenni Finlay The Great Progressive Country Scare of the 1970s 103 Craig D. Hillis (interview with Gary P. Nunn) Plenty Else to Do: Lyrical Lubbock 109 Andy Wilkinson Roots of Steel: The Poetic Grace of Women Texas Singer-Songwriters 115 Kathryn Jones From Debauched Yin to Mellow Yang: A Circular Trip through the Texas Music Festival Scene 136 Jeff Prince Vignette--Bobby Bridger: "Heal in the Wisdom," Creating a Classic 145 Craig D. Hillis (interview with Bobby Bridger) Interlude: What Do We Do with Willie? 148 --I. Willie (An Early Encounter) 148 Craig D. Hillis --II. Willie (On Everything) 151 >Part Two. The Second Generation: Garage Bands, Large Bands, and Other Permutations "Gettin' Tough" Steve Earle's America 161 Jason Mellard Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen: Cosmic Aggies 166 Jan Reid Vignette--Walt Wilkins: Spirituality and Generosity 174 Craig Clifford (interview with Tim Jones) Lucinda Williams: Poet of Places in the Heart 176 Kathryn Jones Rodney Crowell: Looking Inward, Looking Outward 185 John T. Davis Vignette--Sam Baker: Short Stories in Song 192 Robert Earl Hardy James McMurtry: Too Long in the Wasteland 193 >Part Three. Epilogue: Passing of the Torch? Drunken Poet's Dream: Hayes Carll 203 --I. Good Enough for Old Guys 203 Craig Clifford --II. Good Enough for Young Guys 207 Brian T. Atkinson Roll On: Terri Hendrix 209 Brian T. Atkinson From Riding Bulls to Dead Horses: Ryan Bingham 212 Craig Clifford (interview with Shaina Post) Bad Girl Poet: Miranda Lambert 218 Craig Clifford Challenge to Bro Country: Kacey Musgraves 221 Grady Smith Beyond the Rivers 224 > Notes 231 Selected Sources 233 Contributors 243 Index 251

"In The Texas Lowcountry: Slavery and Freedom on the Gulf Coast, 1822-1895, author John R. Lundberg examines slavery and Reconstruction in a region of Texas he terms the lowcountry-an area encompassing the lower reaches of the Brazos and Colorado Rivers and their tributaries as they wend their way toward the Gulf of Mexico through what is today Brazoria, Fort Bend, Matagorda, and Wharton Counties. In the two decades before the Civil War, European immigrants, particularly Germans, poured into Texas, sometimes bringing with them cultural ideals that complicated the story of slavery throughout large swaths of the state. By contrast, 95 percent of the white population of the lowcountry came from other parts of the United States, predominantly the slaveholding states of the American South. By 1861, more than 70 percent of this regional population were enslaved people-the heaviest such concentration west of the Mississippi. These demographics established the Texas Lowcountry as a distinct region in terms of its population and social structure. Part one of The Texas Lowcountry explores the development of the region as a borderland, an area of competing cultures and peoples, between 1822 and 1840. The second part is arranged topically and chronicles the history of the enslavers and the enslaved in the lowcountry between 1840 and 1865. The final section focuses on the experiences of freed people in the region during the Reconstruction era, which ended in the lowcountry in 1895. In closely examining this unique pocket of Texas, Lundberg provides a new and much needed region-specific study of the culture of enslavement and the African American experience"--

"In memory of Greg W. Lasley, award-winning wildlife photographer, consummate naturalist, and selfless friend..."--ECIP page 4.

"Just as the time of the vaquero is near to running its course, the days of the full-time sheep and goat shearers -- tasinques -- are coming to a close. So asserts author Robert Aguero, son and grandson of tasinques and recipient of the proud tradition of those who labored with their hands in the dusty corrals of the Nueces River Valley and the Edwards Plateau, harvesting the wool and mohair that fueled the industry known by the shearers and their families as la trasquila. Aguero, himself a veteran of the shearing sheds, offers stories and perspectives gleaned both from personal experience and interviews with dozens of individuals intimately connected with the Central Texas wool and mohair industry. From the docienteros -- virtuosos able to shear 200 animals or more per day -- to the rancheros -- the owners of the ranches who hired the shearing crews, year after year -- Aguero has captured the essence of a way of life that is rapidly passing into history. The work opens with a foreword by esteemed historian Arnoldo De Leâon. A host of photographs accompanies the narrative, capturing visually the dust, sweat, and noise of the atajo -- the shearing pen -- along with the pride in accomplishment that characterizes the tasinque tradition. Robert Aguero's Shearing Sheep and Angora Goats the Texas Way: A Legacy of Pride both documents and pays homage to an honored way of life and livelihood that is disappearing from the region"--

"For years, veteran Houston photographer Ray Viator has followed the trail rides that lead up to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and has captured the color, the camaraderie, and the flavor of this popular annual event. In All Trails Lead to Houston: Riding to the Rodeo, which opens with a foreword from Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo COO Emeritus Leroy "Shafe" Shafer, Viator's stunning photographs are accompanied by brief narratives and informative sidebars that provide insight into life on a trail -- from sunrise to sunset. The trail rides began in January 1952, when Brenham rancher Reese Lockett and five friends were having lunch in Houston the conversation turned to the joys of riding horses and its place in the Texas ranching tradition. Ultimately, the conversation sparked a challenge and an idea: stage a trail ride from Brenham to Houston as a way of publicizing and promoting the annual Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, formerly known as the Houston Fat Stock Show and Livestock Exposition. Viator provides readers with colorful descriptions of the riders, horses, wagons, and western traditions celebrated each day on each of the twelve rides. All Trails Lead to Houston is a celebration of Texas, western ranching heritage, and culture. That first Salt Grass Trail Ride -- named after the predominant source of grazing for cattle ranchers on the Texas Coastal Plain -- started with Lockett, his friend and fellow rancher Emil H. Marks, and two others. But they were soon joined by more than a dozen other riders. By 1959, participation had soared to more than 90 wagons and 2,000 riders. In the years since, more rides, each covering a different route to Houston have been organized with thousands of riders from all over Texas"--

"The Llano Estacado covers some 48,000 square miles of western Texas and eastern New Mexico. In this new survey of the region, the story begins during prehistoric times and with descendants of the Comanche, Apache, and other Native American tribal groups. Other groups have also left their marks on the area: Spanish explorers, Comancheros and other traders, European settlers, farmers and ranchers, artists, and even athletes. Carlson reviews "the Llano's historic contours from its earliest foundations to its energetic present," and in doing so, he skillfully narrates the story of the region up to the present time of modern agribusiness and urbanization. Throughout the ten chronologically arranged chapters, concise sidebars support the narrative, highlighting important and interesting topics such as the enigmatic origins of the region's name, fascinating geological and paleontological facts, the arrival of humans, the natural history of bison, colorful "characters" in the history of the region, and many others. The resulting broad synthesis captures the entirety of the Llano Estacado, summarizing and interpreting its natural and human history in a single, carefully researched and clearly written volume"--

The history of the Mexican Army's activity in the Texas Revolution is well documented but often hidden away. Many important primary sources have been lost or destroyed, but an impressive amount of period documentation has survived. And yet many of these handwritten, Spanish documents have been shelved in the back rooms of museums and libraries long enough to have been forgotten. Various archives are scattered in locations across Spain, Mexico, and the United States, with very few documents having been translated into English until now. Little can be found in Texan sources that addresses the actions, motivations, and opinions of the Mexican participants in the Texas Revolution. What does exist in Texan accounts was either added in passing or, worse, grossly fabricated. In short, the Texan side of the story has been told, and often at the expense of the perspective of Mexican participants. Author Gregg J. Dimmick makes available this new perspective, including a consideration of the many external forces affecting the Mexican government and its military leaders. At the same time Texans were fighting for independence, Mexican officials faced revolts across several states, battled each other for political control, responded to Spain's attempts to reacquire Mexico, and contended with numerous foreign powers, including the United States and Britain. In Santa Anna's Army in the Texas Revolution, 1835 Dimmick sheds new light on the complex motivations of the Mexican Army facing the Texas Revolution.

"Follow the lives of a resident family of American oystercatchers as you explore the diversity of an estuary, where rivers meet the sea, in Matagorda Bay. Celebrate the unique ecology of the bay as its own little world of Texas estuaries, the "nurseries of the sea." Matagorda Magic: The Hidden Life of a Texas Bay reveals the importance of these features as critical habitats for more than 200 species of resident and migratory birds, including the endangered whooping crane. Estuaries are among the most productive ecosystems on Earth. In Texas, these places sustain sea life and provide critical habitat for hundreds of species. Estuaries also filter out pollution, buffer the shore from storms, sequester carbon, and offer recreational opportunities. Yet estuaries are commonly viewed as nothing more than mosquito-infested wastelands. In Texas alone, approximately 50 percent of coastal wetlands have been destroyed in the last century. During that same time, half of oyster reefs have disappeared. Such losses show the disconnect between people and estuaries as well as the widespread lack of understanding about the importance of these vital ecosystems. Matagorda Magic addresses this misunderstanding by inviting young people, their families, and teachers to discover the wonder of estuaries through the lives of their animal inhabitants as they contend with challenges on a Texas bay. Sidebars illuminate the fascinating lives of oystercatchers, whooping cranes, oysters, blue crabs, shrimp, spotted seatrout, and other animals who depend on estuaries for survival. By offering an intimate glimpse into these hidden lives, this book informs, nurtures, and deepens a love of place that in turn inspires stewardship"--

While successful developments in aviation receive considerable attention, the projects that failed or otherwise did not live up to expectations receive far less, if any, scrutiny. Typically, unsuccessful efforts are briefer in duration and have a less visible paper trail. Thus, while the literature is rich in success stories, we tend to "forget" or simply bury our failures. And, as one observer has suggested, "that there were failures, mistakes, and wrong turns reminds us that progress is not inevitable, that acknowledged error can be as instructive as success, and that roads not taken impose a price all their own." Here, author Kenneth P. Werrell tells of a race to overcome obstacles--politics, resources, competing technologies, timing--in the quest to deliver quality, if not war-winning machinery. The focus of Air Force Disappointments, Mistakes, and Failures: 1940-1990 is on aircraft (e.g., bombers, fighters, transports) and missiles (e.g., cruise missiles, standoff missiles, ballistic missiles, surface-to-air missiles, air-to-air missiles). An intelligence system is also evaluated. These case studies give the context and details of the development, testing, and, as appropriate, operational service. Highlighting the problems and criticisms of these systems then provides an opportunity to determine what went wrong. The reasons for the failures of these systems vary from the obvious (money, delays, technical problems) to more complex reasons, such as the foe's reaction, politics, new technologies, and timing. The tale of these disappointments is a heretofore untold story. These projects, in which the US Air Force stumbled, are outliers within the overall success of the service, and, fortunately, its successes outnumber the failures.

"Acquired by the State of Texas in 1988 and first opened to the public as Big Bend State Natural Area in 1991, Big Bend Ranch State Park (BBR) lies within the southern Big Bend of the Trans-Pecos, encompassing some 492 square miles of the Chihuahuan Desert and representing nearly half the total acreage of the Texas state park system. Unlike nearby Big Bend National Park-BRR is relatively undiscovered, wild, challenging, and slightly intimidating. BBR is the "Other" Big Bend, christened the "Other Side of Nowhere," a rugged wilderness outback for the adventuresome with 238 miles of trails for hiking, biking, and horseback riding and 70 miles of challenging four-wheel drive roads where visitors can explore stunning geological features, remnants of the area's 11,000-year human history, and a diversity of flora and fauna that rivals any area in the state. In this guidebook, photographer and naturalist Roy Morey walks visitors through the wild landscape, sharing what he has learned during eleven years of studying and photographing Big Bend Ranch State Park. Organized around the six physiographic regions of the park as outlined by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, The Other Side of Nowhere guides readers through the features and locations of the park and includes a field guide section with informative profiles and vivid imagery of 281 plant species. This definitive guide to Big Bend Ranch State Park is a must-have for visitors and an important botanical resource for the greater Big Bend and Trans-Pecos areas"--

"As historian Gunnar Tote Nerheim states in his introduction, "Norway is a foreign country to Texans, and Texas is a foreign country to Norwegians. Neither in Norway nor Texas has there been any awareness that so many Norwegians settled in antebellum Texas." Norsemen Deep in the Heart of Texas brings Norwegian settlement in Texas to light and in doing so offers the first-ever comprehensive history of Norwegians in Texas. Fluent in both English and Norwegian, Nerheim has done what no other historian has done by combining primary and secondary sources from both languages and both countries. A well-established European scholar, Nerheim examines these never-before-referenced sources, telling the story of Norwegian immigration to Texas, explaining the contexts of Norwegians immigration to Texas in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and uncovering its significance to the histories of both countries. The larger historical context reveals that immigration to Texas operated as part of dynamic circumstances on both sides of the Atlantic, including slavery and the Civil War. Drawn from the perspectives of both regions, the history of Norwegian settlement in Texas provide new insights into European immigration. Readers interested in Texas, Norwegian, and trans-Atlantic history, as well as nineteenth-century immigration, will find new horizons in "Norsemen Deep in the Heart of Texas.""--

"It might seem unlikely that a place designed for the departed could be teeming with life. Cemeteries have a long history of serving the dual purpose of honoring the deceased while also proving a space for the living to gather and grieve in the embrace of nature. Touted as some of the earliest public parks in the country -- with mature trees, open grasslands, meadows of wildflowers -- cemeteries are also attractive to birds and wildlife. In an age of distractions and disconnection, cemeteries create a sense of place where visitors can reconnect with nature while exploring the cultural history of a region. For bird watchers, cemeteries offer easy walking, open spaces to peer into habitats, and a peaceful place to feel the breeze and listen to the quiet conversations of nature.Cemetery Birding builds upon the unique and approachable experiences introduced in Jennifer L. Bristol's first book, Parking Lot Birding. While cemeteries offer accessible places to bird watch, Bristol highlights the need to tread carefully and ethically when exploring these sacred spaces. Her treatment of each of the nearly 100 locations provides information about what birds can be observed in various seasons and offers readers a snapshot of the cemetery and community's history. Filled with rich photos, Bristol deciphers headstone symbolism in 'Tombstone Tale'" and offers fun facts about individual species of birds in 'Tombstone Tails.' Locations range from the heart of Houston to the wide-open spaces of West Texas and every ecoregion in between"--

"Recording and performing in the early 1950s, Jesse Belvin, Johnny Ace, and Guitar Slim produced at least thirteen top-25 hits among them. In the years since, their songs have been covered by artists like Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Luther Vandross, and Paul Simon, and they have influenced musicians as varied as Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Despite all that, their names remain mostly forgotten in the annals of rock 'n roll. Perhaps, as author Steve Bergsman notes in his introduction to Earth Angels: The Short Lives and Controversial Deaths of Three R&B Pioneers, this lack of notoriety is partly due to an unfortunate circumstance joining the three: their untimely deaths. Guitar Slim, whose million-selling song The Things I Used to Do has been re-recorded by both Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan, died in New York City at the age of 32, due to pneumonia that was possibly induced by alcoholism. Johnny Ace's Pledging My Love spent ten weeks at the top position on Billboard's R&B chart and was subsequently performed by Elvis Presley and Paul Simon. Ace died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at age 25. Jesse Belvin, a crooner whose Goodnight My Love became the closing theme to famed disc jockey Alan Freed's radio shows, was killed in a head-on collision, along with his wife, just after performing at the first racially integrated concert in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1960; he was 27. 'If they had made it into the rock era,' Bergsman writes, 'or even the British Invasion years of the early '60s . . . they might have seen their stars shine once again, be recognized as pioneers of R&B, and maybe eventually be ensconced in the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame. Instead, they had the bad luck to die before any of that could come to pass . . .'. Bergsman's meticulous research and entertaining narrative style will afford readers an appreciation-and, for many, an initial view-of the lives and careers of three talented and influential artists who left us much too soon"

"One hundred and five species of mammals are native to the Trans-Pecos region of Texas. The greatly varied terrain, climate, and vegetation make its mammalian life exceptionally varied, ranging from tiny shrews to great elks, from bats to aquatic beavers and muskrats, from desert-dwelling kangaroo rats to forest-loving chipmunks, and from an assortment of mice and rats to predatory cougars and coyotes. This fully revised and updated edition of "The Mammals of Trans-Pecos Texas" provides a guide to the identification of these animals and summarizes important facts about their lives. With nearly every species illustrated with accurate, detailed pen-and-ink drawings by artist Chester O. Martin and color plates of some of the most iconic mammals that live in the Trans-Pecos region, it exemplifies how biologists integrate art with science to develop a wider appreciation for nature. The account of each species is arranged to contain a brief description of the animal, the geographic distribution of the species, and a discussion of the natural history of the mammal. This authoritative work brings together an appreciation for and understanding of the diversity of fauna, life histories, and ecologies within a unique and fascinating landscape"--

Winner, 2020 Al Lowman Memorial Prize for Best Book on Texas County or Local History There is a deep and abiding connection between humans and the land in Pinto Canyon--a remote and rugged place near the border with Mexico in the Texas Big Bend. Here the land assumes a certain primacy, defined not by the ephemera of plants and animals but by the very bedrock that rises far above the silvery flow of Pinto Creek-- looming masses that break the horizon into a hundred different vistas. Yet, over time, people managed to survive and sometimes even thrive in this harsh environment. In the Shadow of the Chinatis combines the rich narratives of history, natural history, and archeology to tell the story of the landscape as well as the people who once inhabited it. Settling the land was difficult, staying on it even more so, but one family proved especially resilient. Rising above their meager origins, the Prietos eventually amassed a 12,000-acre ranch in the shadow of the Chinati Mountains to become the most successful of Pinto Canyon's early settlers. But starting with the tense years of the Great Depression, the family faced a series of tragedies: one son was killed by a Texas Ranger, and another by the deranged son of Chico Cano, the Big Bend's most notorious bandit. Ultimately, growing rifts in the family forced the sale of the ranch, marking the end of an era. Bearing the hallmarks of an epic tragedy, the departure of the Prieto family signaled a transition away from ranching towards a new style of landownership based on a completely different model. Today, Pinto Canyon's scenic and scientific value increasingly overshadows the marginal economics of its past. In the Shadow of the Chinatis reveals a rich tapestry of interaction between humans and their environment, providing a unique examination of the Big Bend region and the people who call it home.

In 1821, although Spain claimed what is now Texas, American Indian groups occupied it. Less than forty years later, they had been largely displaced, and their subsistence economy, supplemented by raiding and trade, had been replaced by an Anglo-Texan agricultural economy linked to a rapidly expanding and industrializing capitalist system. For the Karankawas and the Tonkawas, the period from 1821 to 1859 was particularly devastating. Once thriving communities, the Karankawas survived only as scattered individuals after a small remnant on the banks of the Rio Grande was massacred, and the few remaining Tonkawas had been pushed across the Red River into Indian Territory. Kelly Himmel has written an account of this conquest that gives new understanding of the processes. He explores geopolitical and economic factors, as well as the role of individual and collective human actors and the effects of cultural orientations of the conquered and conquering groups toward each other. Among his findings is the importance of geopolitical location. During the early Spanish period, the coastal Karankawas offered a buffer against French, English, and Anglo-American intrusion into Texas. Later, during the early days of Anglo-American settlement, the Tonkawas provided a barrier against the Wichitas and Comanches. For both groups, when the threat to their European-origin allies ended, so did the alliances. In considering the social construction of the "other," he describes how early trade patterns predisposed Anglo-Texans to characterize Karankawas as cannibals, while viewing the Tonkawas, for whom much stronger evidence of cannibalism exists, as harmless beggars and petty thieves. Through the detailed analysis of factors such as these, Himmel not only portrays a period in the history of these two peoples that has been largely unstudied, but also offers lucid explanations of the framework of Anglo-Texan conquest. Historians, sociologists, and anthropologists will find new insight and information in this valuable addition to the literature on Texas Indians and Texas history.

"As defined by conservation biologist Thomas Fleishner, natural history is "a practice of intentional, focused receptivity to the more-than-human world . . . one of the oldest continuous human traditions." Seldom is this idea so clearly reflected as in classic works of American fiction of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. John Cullen Gruesser's edited volume Animals in the American Classics: How Natural History Inspired Great Fiction features essays by prominent literary scholars that showcase natural history and the multifaceted role of animals in well-known works of fiction from Washington Irving in the early nineteenth century to Cormac McCarthy in the late twentieth century, including short stories and novels by Edgar Allan Poe, Herman Melville, Mark Twain, Zora Neale Hurston, William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, Jack London, John Steinbeck, and Harper Lee. As an introduction to or a new way of thinking about some of the best-known and most beloved literary texts this nation has produced, Animals in the American Classics considers fundamental questions of ethics and animal intelligence, as well as similarities among racism, ageism, misogyny, and speciesism. With their awareness of Poe's "more-than-casual knowledge of natural science," Mark Twain's proto-animal rights sensibilities, and Hurston's training as an anthropologist, the contributors show that by drawing attention to and thinking like an animal, fiction tests the limits of humanity"--

"The first openly transgender judge to be appointed in the United States, the first attorney to obtain corrected birth certificates for transgender people who had not undergone gender confirmation surgery, a survivor of conversion therapy, and author of a law review article that helped thousands of employers adopt supportive policies for their workers, Phyllis Frye is truly a pioneer in the fight for transgender rights. Among her many accomplishments, Frye founded the first national organization devoted to shaping transgender law-the International Conference on Transgender Law and Employment Policy, which has since created a body of work that includes the International Bill of Gender Rights-trained a cadre of future trans activists, and built the first national movement for transgender legal and political rights. Based on interviews with Frye, Phyllis Frye and the Fight for Transgender Rights covers her early life, the discrimination she faced while struggling with her identity-including being discharged from the army and fired from a subsequent job at her alma mater, Texas A&M-her transition in 1976, her many years of activism, and her current position as an associate judge for the municipal courts of Houston. This gripping account of Frye's efforts to establish and protect the constitutional rights of transgender individuals not only fills a gap in existing histories of LGBTQ activism but will also inform and instruct contemporary trans activists"--

"In a recording career spanning some fifty years, bridging a range in time and style that reaches from the early days at Memphis's Stax Records to Carlos Santana's eight-Grammy year in 2000 and beyond, producer Jim Gaines has operated the mixing board for some of the greatest artists in American music. Journey, Huey Lewis and the News, Steve Miller, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Dionne Warwick are just a few of the influential musicians who have entrusted their creativity and talent to his proven abilities. With several Grammys and multiple platinum-selling albums to his credit, Jim Gaines still remembers the day-April 4, 1968-that Martin Luther King Jr. was shot. Hearing the sirens and seeing the smoke rising from the downtown Memphis skyline, Gaines remembers loading tapes from Stax studio that night into various employees' vehicles to be taken away for safekeeping until the unrest in the city subsided. Near the other end of his career, Gaines recalls receiving a phone call during a break in the session at Willie Nelson's studio near Austin, where he was recording demo tracks for the rising Texas group, Los Lonely Boys. The date was September 11, 2001. Once again, there would be no more recording completed that day. In this wide-ranging collection of personal interviews and reminiscences, Gaines, with the help of author Lee Zimmerman, offers readers the priceless opportunity to sit down with a true music industry veteran and hear a lifetime's worth of stories from inside the studio"--

In this thoroughly researched account of the Battle of Coleto and subsequent massacre of Texian soldiers at the Presido La Bahía near the settlement of Goliad, Texas, author David E. Garlock describes the capture and brutal massacre of Colonel James Fannin's soldiers by the Mexican Army. While stationed at La Bahía, Col. Fannin--known to be stubborn and unpredictable, treating direct orders like suggestions--delayed for a crucial week after receiving orders from Sam Houston to quickly abandon the presidio. This allowed time for Mexican General José de Urrea's forces to secretly track Fannin's men and follow them until they were too far from the presidio to return. Thoroughly unprepared and caught in an open field, the outnumbered Texians were surrounded and forced to surrender. The captured men didn't realize their fate when Mexican soldiers divided them into three groups and began marching them down separate roads toward Victoria, San Antonio de Bexar, and San Patricio. Expecting to be freed, the men were suddenly told to kneel and were executed on orders from General Santa Anna--just a month before the war came to an end at San Jacinto. In a compelling and careful retelling of this narrative, Garlock weaves archival research with the diaries, memoirs, and correspondence of decision-makers and foot soldiers on both sides into a detailed history. Many blamed Urrea for reneging on an agreement with Fannin to parole the Texians back to the United States. However, a "secret" surrender document lay hidden for nearly a century. Signed by both Fannin and Urrea--it specified a "surrender at discretion," meaning no such guarantee of life was made. Three Roads to Death offers new perspectives and sets the record straight on the worst massacre in Texas history.

"Sixteen South Texas women stand proudly in the public mural Mujeres a Travâes del Tiempo by Arnold Gonzâales Sr, housed on the campus of Texas A&M University-Kingsville. These women are pioneers; they are ranchers, educators, artists, politicians, and community activists; they are general and specific, known and unknown. Inspired by the mural, Women across Time / Mujeres a Travâes del Tiempo assumes the biographer's task: to fill in the gaps of knowledge between the figures as seen and the lives they lived, with their trials and triumphs. Assembled by editor Susan Roberson, this collection features essays on the lives of the women who are featured in the mural, women who live or lived in the South Texas region between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande, particularly Kleberg, Kenedy, and Nueces counties. Situated near the boundary between Mexico and Texas, these women navigated more than geographic borders as they tested their place in economic, political, and artistic arenas long recognized as male domains. Taken together, these biographical sketches contribute to a revision and reimagining of the history of South Texas and provide a corrective to an Anglo-dominated history of the area by showing how Tejanas found places of leadership and creative outlets. By sketching the contributions of female students at Texas A&M University-Kingsville, the final essay brings the collection to the present and forecasts a future where opportunities for women extend beyond borders"--

"On April 27, 1997, Richard Lance McLaren and his followers in the so-called "Republic of Texas (ROT)" militia held Joe and Margaret Ann Rowe hostage inside their own home at the Davis Mountain Resort, near Fort Davis, Texas, and demanded the release of two jailed ROT members Jo Ann Turner and Robert Jonathan Scheidt. McLaren's demand initiated a seven-day standoff with local law enforcement and the Texas Rangers that came to be called the "Republic of Texas War." Opening with a foreword by the FBI negotiator who served as an on-site consultant throughout the crisis, author Donna Marie Miller presents the first full-length book treatment of the events leading up to McLaren's "declaration of war" and its aftermath. The result is an absorbing account of manipulation by a leader as charismatic as he was deluded; of misinformed individuals motivated by desperation who aligned themselves with an extremist; and of law enforcement officials caught in the tension between their duty to protect the public and their desire to avoid a repeat standoff like those at Ruby Ridge, Idaho, and the Branch Davidian compound outside Waco, Texas. Central to the story is Jo Ann Turner, a frantic woman drowning in debt who was drawn into the false ideology espoused by McLaren, which eventually led to her personal undoing. Based on archival research and interviews with persons involved-including McLaren, who has been incarcerated since 1998-this riveting account provides a multifaceted perspective of the historical incident and a detailed chronicle of a modern American anti-government militia, its victims, and the events that led to its eventual downfall"--

"In this revised and re-titled edition of Attracting Birds in the Texas Hill Country: A Guide to Land Stewardship, biologist Rufus Stephens and educator Jan Wrede provide a comprehensive update to their popular and practical handbook that focuses on habitat improvement to benefit birds on properties of all sizes in Central Texas. Nearly 50 years of research shows that over time, the North American bird population has declined by 2.9 billion. Breeding birds have declined by nearly 30 percent in virtually all habitats, and Central Texas is no exception. Just as human impact on the environment has contributed to habitat loss, so can our actions restore the habitats that once sustained a thriving birdlife population. Central Texas resident, migrant, and wintering birds have specific habitat needs for cover, food, and water. Breeding birds also need specific habitat for raising their young. Thus, Land Stewardship for Birds: A Guide for Central Texas is organized by the types of habitats present: woodlands and savannahs; grasslands; rivers and streams; canyons, springs, and seeps; constructed tanks, ponds, and lakes; plus residential backyards. Three chapters on management of predators, deer, and cedar and other brush offer in-depth recommendations for addressing these important factors that impact bird habitat. New material in this edition includes a section on wildfire, improved bird census guidelines, updated plant lists, the latest standards for managing bird boxes, a more robust guide to managing brush species, and helpful apps and online resources, making Land Stewardship for Birds a valuable addition to the land steward's reference library"--