When another reviewer wrote that this book was a must-read for people who have reached the bottom of the barrel, I agreed whole-heartedly. The reason I wrote the book was to get across the point that no matter how low in life one gets, God will help if He is asked. Clyde Thompson's life story illustrates this so beautifully. And it's not just because I wrote the book, but because Clyde lived it. I appeciate the positive reviews. Best wishes...

The Meanest Man in Texas begins as a story about a young man just trying to live in the days of the depression. Because of his youth and his limited knowledge of life, people, the law, he ends up going from basically a good kid to a man on death row. The book takes you into his life and his struggles to survive behind bars. It reveals how the "meanest man" came to learn that not only can life be better in prison, but there can be a better life, eternally, if you have God. It is a very satisfying and uplifting factual book.

This inspirational book tells the true story of Clyde Thompson, once called the "meanest man in Texas." He began studying the Bible, was converted, and went on to help other inmates clean their lives up. A must read for people who think their lives are too messed up to be straightened out.

I am related to General William L.Cazneau 1807-1876 and his wife Jane McManus Cazneau 1807-1878, the subject of this book. I met the author in November 1999 in Texas. A great amount of research has gone in to this book and it took years to collect it all. I am a direct descendent of General Thomas Nugent Cazneau 1812-1873 of California, brother of William. I am sending copies to libraries and friends. God Bless You !!

History is a passion of mine and this book is so very good. I can not imagine how long it took to do all this research. It gave me a different understanding of our government history. Just to think if our politions had had the foresight that Jane McManus and Aaron Burr had, Cuba, Doninican Republic, and Mexico just to name a few, could have been States today. I would love to have been Jane because she was so smart and brave. I found her one of the most fascinating persons in history. I loved this book.

Linda Hudson has done a wonderful job of following the travels and trials of Jane McManus Storm Cazneau from her youth in New York to her involvement in Texas land deals in the 1830's and her mission to Mexico City in the midst of the Mexican War in the 1840's to her life in Eagle Pass, Texas, (which she somehow did not at first realize was literally the middle of no where) to her exploits in Cuba and her return to New York City to play a role in the presidential campaign of 1852.

She has shown the complexity of the politics of the times especially as they relate to the question of slavery and its expansion into Texas. She has also related the very complicated life of a woman who was liberated long before being a liberated woman was considered cool. In doing so, she has created a far more complex view of society in the United States in the middle of the 19th century than many historians have uncovered...or been willing to admit to having uncovered.

It is a wonderful trip into the history not only of the United States but also of Mexico and the Caribbean that she has taken with Jane Cazneau and that she allows the reader to share.

These ten inspiring biographical accounts of 19th century Texas women who changed history are straightforward, well-researched, and so well-written that I would recommend the book even to young readers, though there is more than enough here to engage a curious adult. Of particular interest are the stories of Cynthia Ann Parker, raised by Comanches, Sara Estela Ramirez, a Mexican-born poet, and "Texas" Guinan, a nightclub owner and silent film star. Andersen's admiration and compassion for her subjects is evident, though she is careful to present the facts of their lives in an unbiased and impartial manner. More Than Petticoats is an important contribution to the existing literature on women's history and a must-read for anyone interested in Texas, feminism, women's suffrage, civil rights and pioneer history.

Greta Anderson provides a glimpse into the lives of ten women that possessed a true pioneering spirit in pre 1900 Texas.As opposed to some historical accounts that can get bogged down in facts, this book represents history in short stories that make for an enjoyable read. It is wonderful to find a book like this that can tell the tale of history through the eyes of a woman.Greta successfully puts flesh on the bare bones of history.I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the role of women in history, particularly women of the south. I was inspired by this book and would love to see a second book containing more stories about the women of Texas.

I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to others. For me it was a quick, refreshing, and interesting read. I still think about the characters and stories months after finishing the book. For my 12-year-old daughter, the book was inspiring. Of the many stories, the most inspirational for her was Sophie's refusal to be fired as the railway doctor because she was a women. The book tells the stories of many strong women, and I was struck by the variety of ways in which women can become leaders and role models. I hope more books like this will be written so that women's history can be preserved.

North Dallas CPA Kate Harmon is excited about going out with legal hunk Nicholas Sutherland until she receives a cell phone call from her brother-in-law Alan. He informs her that her dad Jack is in the hospital due to a car accident and her pregnant sister Sarah is there too because of a fear of a miscarriage. Though estranged from her family, Kate rushes to her hometown where she is known as the "Cedar Dell Slut". Already at the hospital is her brother Tom who treats her like a pariah. When her siblings discuss who can stay with their elderly father while he heals, Alan says Kate and her teenage son Ryan. To the shock of Tom and Sarah, Kate agrees.

Two weeks later, Kate, Ryan and her older friend Adele move into Jack's home to a rather icy reception. Next door is photographer Max Cooper and his five year old daughter. Max is the father of Ryan, who loathes him. Still Max wants Ryan in his life, but realizes he also needs Kate too. As they fall in love, both wonder if the second time around will work since her father remains nasty to her and her son remains nasty to his father.

At times the level of angst can become overwhelming, but readers will agree that this is a puissant three generation contemporary family drama. The story line is loaded (perhaps overloaded) with relational conflict between characters who feel like family and friends. Kate, with her big Texas heartaches, serves as a great nucleus that makes Geralyn Dawson's tale a sure fan favorite.

Harriet Klausner

Max Cooper. Yummy. Lucky, lucky Kate. This book was too good to put down. I read it in one sitting and it made me miss my psychology class. There's probably a message in that.

Read it in one sitting. Anyone out there with parents, kids, old boyfriends and dogs will love this read. Great stuff here. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.

I loved this book. It was about where my mother as born a raised. We readed it aloud to each other. We laughed all weekend. I could just see all the people he wrote about. My mother knew some of them. I readed it a couple of times. Laugh every time.

Mr. Swift has written a humorous, pathos filled and somewhat haunting view of a young man growing up in a very remote cultural part of Texas called 'The Big Thicket'. The stories of his family members, characters within the community and his journey with all these people in becoming the individual author that he is today are compelling and touching. The photos by Lynn Lennon are reminiscent of Eudora Welty's during the depression. This is a must read for lovers of Southern literature. Ed Swift presents a riveting study of this uniquely classic portion of Texas.

This is a poignant memoir but not at all in the sappy, cliched way. Mr. Swift eloquently brings a sense of place and culture for this area of the South. His portrayals of his characters are entertaining and are real tributes to their individualities. Even if you don't know eccentrics like these, you will finish reading this story deeply appreciating unique traits of those who are influential to you.

Helen Chapman's letters provide an interesting and fascinating personal story of an army wife in deep south Texas at the end of the Mexican War. Written primarily to her parents in Massachusetts, the correspondence covers a four-year period and details the domestic, social, and official life that she experienced as the spouse of Captain William Chapman, a U.S. Army quartermaster who exercised important responsibilities in Matamoros, Fort Brown, and the coastal ports of Isabel and Brazos Santiago. Although Helen Chapman does not provide the particulars of her husband's military duties, she sketches an outline of his activities as the army left Mexico and established military posts immediately north of the Rio Grande. The most absorbing aspects of the letters are Chapman's descriptions of the land, the people, and the border life and culture of the south Texas frontier. The depiction of her personal and family life round out this story, revealing a remarkable and intelligent woman who adapted easily to the country and enjoyed the surprises that it provided.

This work contributes useful insights for both military and social historians. The letters that deal with the United States's military withdrawal from Mexico provide bits of interesting information regarding Captain Chapman's role as defacto mayor of Matamoros as well as his responsibilties in moving equipment and supplies across the river and building Fort Brown. It is also interesting to note that Captain Chapman's duties required him and his wife to travel regularly between Fort Brown and the Gulf coast and to maintain homes in both locations.

Military historians will also find interesting the mention of individual military personnel who visited the Chapman home and about whom Helen Chapman commented. Equally interesting are her observations about Mexican military officers Mariano Arista, commandant of Matamoros and later president of Mexico, and Francisco Avalos,also commandant of Matamoros.

Chapman's letters are a rich treasure t! rove for social and family historians. She comments extensively on subjects ranging from diet and religion to temperance and the social customs and mores of the Mexican borderlanders. A faith in the benefits of education inspired her campaign for both Sunday and regular schools. Her attempts to deal with the guilt caused by the separation from her young son, who remained with her parents in Massachusetts, is evident in much of the early correspondence, as is the joy and pride that she felt in him once the youngster joined the family in south Texas. Letters relating to her own pregnancy and her bout with the dreaded cholera reveal attitudes about mid-nineteenth-century medical problems and their treatment. The social problems of children and family are also emphasized when the Chapmans, at the behest of a Mexican man, "adopt" his daughter and then give her up when the father demands her return.

[T]his work provides a fascinating and riveting account of a four-year period in one woman's life.

This engaging collection of letters provides a vivid personal reaction to life on the southernmost frontier of Texas during the four years following the Mexican War, first in Matamoros during the American occupation, and subsequently at Fort Brown, Brazos de Santiago, and Point Isabel. The principal corresondent is Helen Ellsworth Blair Chapman, the intelligent, compassionate, spirted, and devoted wife of West point-educated Captain William Warren Chapmen, U. S. Army quartermaster at Matamoros and later at Fort Brown and Corpus Christi. He too is represented in the correspondence, but it is through Helen's New Englander eyes, principally in letters to her mother in Westfield, Massachusetts, that we see life in the Lower Rio Grande.

The compiler/editor, a great great grandson of the Chapmans, seems to have chosen wisely among the largesse of the Chapman Family Papers deposited in the Barker Texas History Center.

Thanks to the preservation of this splendid collection and to Caleb Coker's judicious efforts in assembling these letters, both the general reader and the historian have access to an enjoyable, enlightening account of a distinctive frontier experience. Rarely do private letters possess the literary grace, the intelligent observations of new surroundings and acquaintances, and the warmth of family relationships on display in this volume, resulting in a welcome addition to the limited body of published material on the history of the Lower Rio Grande.

Letters stored in an attic for nearly a century and a half are the subject of a fascinating book edited by the letter writer's great-great grandson.

Caleb Coker, an attorney in Jacksonville, Fla., took on the task of preserving New Englander Helen Chapman's voluminous correspondence from the Texas frontier, where she lived with her husband, William, a West Pointer who built Fort Brown and helped found Brownsville.

The News from Brownsville is more than just good reading. Coker has done a fine job of combining the letters with newspaper accounts of the day to create a chronicle of the frontier experience and a portrait of an exceptional woman.

When Helen Chapman left her home in Massachusetts to join her husband after a two-year separation while he participated in the Mexican War, she also left behind (with her mother) her 8-year-old son, Willie, whom she would not see for 20 months. This was a great hardship, but life on the south Texas frontier was too unsettled for a child. For the first six months after Helen landed at Brazos Santiago in January 1848, the Chapmans lived in Matamoros, Mexico. At war's end, they moved across the Rio Grande, where Major Chapman built Fort Brown; it was a primitive home, but the community quickly developed and Helen worked hard for the establishment of Brownsville's first Protestant church in 1850.

Live on the edge of civilization transformed Helen from a woman of privilege who had never had to think much about social concerns to one who was right smack in the middle of them: violence, poverty, intemperance and its results, disease, war, racism, slavery, the ravages of weather and the lack of educational and religious facilities. She wrote about them and she worked hard for change, soliciting funds from Northern friends for schools. She is now credited as the first Anglo to demand civil rights for Mexicans living in Texas. She also defined racism in modern terms as "as dreary hatred (to) be subdued between men who are now living side-by-side as citizen! s of a common republic."

Coker's narrative notes placing the letters in their historical contex and appendices containing profiles of those whose paths crossed the Chapman's and excerpts from newspaper articles are particularly helpful.

Helen Chapman is a woman every reader will be glad to have met, and her correspondence captures a time and place with great clarity.

I never imagined that two subjects so seemingly dull could be brought to life with such incisive and telling limericks. Mr James' humor made this jaded golfer's wife want nothing more than to smack a few balls in Texas.

In all of his books, Joe James' astute powers of observation enable him to capture the ideosyncracies of the Texas psyche with intelligence and humor, and the illustrations are always priceless. This book is certainly no exception, it ranks as one of my favorites! Texans, golfers, and anyone familiar with both will be delighted; strangers to the Lone Star State will want to catch the next plane down to see for themselves. An absolute joy to read!

Don't be fooled into believing that this is just another golf book or another book about Texas. This book says so much more about the human condition than any other cartoon or limerick book I've ever read. James is an astute observer and a masterful artist and this may well be his greatest achievment yet.

This book made me laugh and it made me cry! The childhood stories are so funny! And at the same time, the story is heartfelt and touching. My husband may read 1, perhaps 2 books a year, as English isn't his first language. It usually takes him a couple of months to get through a book. He couldn't put this book down and read it within a few days. We both highly recommend "Secrets Under the Bridge"!

Secrets Under the Bridge was given to me as a gift and has turned out to be one of my all-time favorites. I now give it as a gift and get rave reviews. This book is a real jewel!

I loved the book. Really good story telling. Character development is solid. You get to know the characters. The oldest brother is a hoot! A real family terrorist! I'm surprised the author lived to tell about it. This book is for all age groups. Especially those who lived through that era or those who want to learn what childhood during the war years was like. You can't go wrong buying Secrets Under the Bridge!

When I read the first chapter of this book at a half price bookstore I had to have it. This book is so real, it's unbelievable. It's the story of a woman (Bobby) discovering herself through relationships (with women). It's the kind of book that can make you lost when you are done because you don't know what to do without those characters in your life!

I carried this book around in my purse for weeks after I finished it simply because I could not let it go. I think I have read it cover to cover at least 3 times and every single time I would sit there nodding up and down at certain parts. I mean Ms. Cotrell gets it EXACTLY right. The first chapter held me fast and never let me go.

*My favorite chapter was Fishlips, *Favorite use of an uncommon word "invegle" *Favorite lesbian rescue (you'll have to read it) *Favorite bathtub scene *Favorite lesbian novelist....Georgia ..........Don't miss this book! Lots o luv-Jonny

The riddles and Versitos Para Ninos are a delightful touch that adds to the great down home recipes. It offers the reader a trip down memory lane for those famaliar with Spanish and Mexican everyday life and a peak at another culture for those who are not. It is a great gift as well as one to own yourself. Enjoy!

This book was gift when my family was transferred from Houston, Tx to New York State. Enables us to still have good down home mexican dishes that just don't exist north of the mason dixon line.

Ms Garza didn't experiment-she is right on track with this authentic book full of flavors known widely to the latin/hispanics. Some recipes might require additional seasoning/flavoring (ie cumin, salt,etc)but don't deviate too much. Her spanish rice is the closest thing to mommas. highly recommended and i have the first printing when it was $8.95.