My friend and I are in friendly competition to see who can keep this book checked out of the library the longest. It is the BEST gardening book for Texans and Southerners, especially South Texans. No other garden book has the no-nonsense information that Sam Cotner provides. After hearing him lecture at a Master Gardener's meeting, I begged him to get the book reprinted but he said it was too expensive. It is a real loss for those of us who are by-passed by most gardening shows, books and magazines.

A fellow gardener, who claimed it was her favorite, loaned me this book . I have to admit, it's become my favorite too. The book is arranged alphabetically by vegetable and has problems, causes and solutions for each. I've found it indispensable. It's also written in an easily-understood manner. A must-have for serious vegetable gardeners!

This is quite easily one of the best books I've ever read on the creation of public policy. Locher paints a full and colorful picture of the military reform efforts culminating in the Goldwater-Nichols Act. I never realized what a role the Beirut/Lebanon operations played in creating an atmosphere in which military reform began to be viewed as necessary, and I found both the strategy and actions used to push the legislation through the Senate Armed Services Committee in 1985-86 particularly fascinating. With regards to balancing personal insights and meticulous research, in my opinion "Victory on the Potomac" is unequalled, and I consider it one of the top prizes in my personal library. If your interests include public policy, successful reform attempts or the organization of the U.S. military, you will find this book to be an entertaining and informative treasure.

Jim Locher tells the fascinating story of how Congress forced the Pentagon to undergo major reform in the mid-1980s. Locher, who was a major participant in the process, tells the inside story of the Goldwater-Nichols reforms and really takes the gloves off. Locher is a careful researcher and skillful writer who demonstrates vividly the courage of Senators Barry Goldwater and Sam Nunn, Congressman Bill Nichols, Admiral Bill Crowe and others. Locher highlights both the brilliance and the manipulative skills of Secretary of the Navy John Lehman in the debates and interactions between the Congress and the Pentagon. . My only criticism is that Locher is a bit too critical of Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger who did so much to build up the military during the early 1980s. Must reading for all who will work with or within the Pentagon or the Congress in the years ahead

Jack Bedell's lyrics, warm, strong, genuine, and always hard-loving invest his new collection with the best of all possible attitudes: sympathy. He means business in these poems, whether talking about fishermen uncles with Cajun gossip, death-row museums, herons, live-oaks, or a young and determined wife, Bedell offers sympathy. Along with a dose of hard reality. Read Bedell. He's good for what ails you.

The poetry in this chapbook is completely enjoyable, with some beautiful moments and real inspiration. It has a contemporary voice and feel, although it's structured very well so that the meaning is not lost in trying to comprehend form (which used to be so prevelant in 20th century poetry, it seems more poets these days are going for meaning and passion rather than impressive forms/shapes).

My favorite selections are the love poems. It is great to read a poem like "My Wife Bathing", just to know that there still are people out there who capture such moments as Bedell has done. In an epistle dedicated to his wife, "Left in Bed," Bedell writes, "But you don't have to become art to hunger me, nor do I need metaphor to see you as love." I feel that statement not only says volumes of his own personal relationship, but it also serves the overall theme of this chapbook, allowing the poem to represent what it is communicating and nothing else, which is similar to William Carlos Williams's phrase, "no ideas but in things." Bedell has his own quote, in the beginning of the book,

"Sometimes, like now, I have a great need to live outside metaphor, to know a dawn that's only dawn, and corn that's corn and nothing else," --Andrew Hudgins.

What Passes for Love answers that need.

I just finished reading "Where the Creosote Blooms" this week while visiting my Mother who still lives in the home where I grew up -- you guessed it, on Mountain Avenue, in El Paso, Texas! Although my house was "up the hill" a few blocks, and my growing up years in that neighborhood were about 30 years later than the book's author, Mary King Rodge, the similarities were still abundant.

I, too, used to cross Copia Street after a day of school at Rusk Elementary to choose from the array of candy at Quinn's Grocery. Life was slow but sweet in the shadows of Sugar Loaf and Mount Franklin. And as Mafra says, there was the sun, always the sun.

Because of that sun, how we cherished the rain! While on my visit to my Mother's, we had one of those "gully-washer" thunderstorms that the author describes. Ahh, the wonderful smell of the creosote and the sagebrush after a rainstorm in the desert...

I'd recommend this book highly to anyone who grew up in El Paso. You will be pleasantly reminded of things you may have long forgotten! The author spins a page-turning tale of her personal memoirs of her adolescent years, but also a colorful description of life in El Paso in the 20's and 30's.

Where the Creosote Blooms, by Mary King Rodge is a delightful romp through the outer reaches of El Paso, Texas in the mid-twenties and very early thirties. MafraUs adventures are believable, and are true to the thoughts, feelings and actions of the people of her old neighborhood.

The description of the flash-flood coming from McKelligon Canyon on a day when her house got only a moderate amount of rain was exactly the way those floods occur. The trash, mud, snakes and debris has to be seen to be described with such vividness. She describes this flood in an arroyo that has had houses and a park built over it for at least the past fifty years, and flood control dams upstream have reduced the floods, and books with descriptions like this are our only touch with a wilder, more unrestrained past in a city that was just becoming tame.

She has caught the essence of her neighborhood that was still there twenty five years after her book closes. I can remember in the mid fifties the feeling around Rusk School that White's Grocery (Mr. Printz's) was not a good place, and Quinn's Grocery across the street was good. I don't know why we thought that; it was just the feeling that pervaded the elementary school. Now, having read about Mr. Printz and the person he was, I understand my neighborhood better.

Growing up was easier in those days. The villians were clear, and friends were faithful through it all. There was humor in her neighborhood, both in thought and in deed. The chapter about learning to ride a bicycle only during lunch when it was available was very funny. I especially enjoyed her ride down the hill while hollering to all who were in earshot to tell her where the brakes were.

I recommend this book to late teens and adults with an interest in history of the Twenties, the problems of growing up on the edge of civilization, and general history of the Southwest. The story is delightful and the book flow along with little effort. It is a gem of personal history.

I live in Montgomery County Texas and unfortunately this book is as accurate as it is frightening. The book does a wonderful job of exposing the racism which exists just below the surface in Conroe and throughout Texas.

Recommended for anyone who wants to be shocked and disgusted at what can happen in Small Town USA today.

White Lies by Nick Davies should be required reading for all Texas high school students. This is a well chronicled story of Clarence Brandley, a school janitor in Conroe, Texas. When a high school cheerleader is brutally assaulted and murdered during a Saturday practice at school, the local police are called to the scene. They quickly identify the perpetrator of the heinous crime: Clarence Brandley. The only evidence to support their conclusion? Brandley is the only black custodian. Tried and convicted of capital murder, Brandley receives the death penalty and languishes on death row for years. Is there justice in Texas? If you're white and wealthy. No white person has ever been executed in Texas for killing a black. Former Texas Governor George Bush proudly claims that no innocent person was ever executed on his "shift". Little would he know. Proponents of the death penalty need to read this chilling account. Perhaps something would have been learned from history, instead of being forced to repeat previous mistakes - or injustice. Napoleon Beasley, a black man who as a teenager killed the father of a federal court judge, was convicted by a racist jury and sentenced to death. Recently he received a stay of execution. When will this insanity end? Incidentally, the book is very difficult to find - especially in Texas!

I read this book about 10 years ago. It is one of the best books I have ever read. It is horrifying, and unbelievable, but you will not put it down. Nick has a brilliant writing style. Hope the publishers reprint it -I lent mine to someone and have been looking for another for years.

As a citizen of Conroe and someone who lived throuh the events, I find this book an amazing and horrifying story of justice gone wrong. Small town justice at its worst in Texas.

This book is clearly a labor of love on the part of the authors, and is one that should be very useful to nature lovers in general, and both amateur and professional orchidologists. The photography is excellent, giving a feel for both the habitat and individual plants and flowers. There is only one very rare species that is not pictured. The index is well done and quite useable. The authors have done a superb job of promoting the cause of orchid conservation -- including such things as "How to Save Our Native Orchids: What You Can Do" on page 5. They have a good general discussion of orchid life cycles, their habitats, mycorhizal associations and pollenators. For those not familiar with Texas the inclusion of a vegetation map and a short description of each major vegetation type is very useful. Orchids are listed by: 1) flower colour, 2) by vegetation/habitat types, and finally species distributions by county are given. One orchid Habenaria quinqueseta does not have a distribution map, but since it was collected over 150 years ago, we shouldn't be too concerned. The only real lack that I have found is that there is no key to the genera and species given. This is an excellent book that every serious orchid species enthusiast should have in their book collection -- if only for the wonderful photography.

The authors, a husband-wife team, combine their specialties to create an exciting experience for the reader. Joe is a biologist and photographer, and Ann is a writer. They have crafted a beautifully executed book. The writing is excellent; the photography is exquisite; the organization is wonderful; and the information is easily digestible for the lay person. The authors have spent years chasing down these delightful and beautiful orchids and now bring their beauty to you. The University of Texas Press has created a book of high quality and beauty with great color photographs. Fifty-four types of orchids are discussed and described in their natural habitats. Each of the regional sections are described and orchids living in each listed. Orchids are listed by flower color, genus and species, and scientific names. One appendix lists species distribution by county. The list of references and index add great value to the book.

This book is highly informative, entertaining, and (must be) the definitive guide book for visiting any or all Texas wineries.

The informative aspect is not limited to a textbook about Texas grapes, wines and wineries, though it certainly could be used that way. It is much more. The Introduction is an excellent summary for novice or seasoned wine lovers--telling us about varieties of Texas grapes, terminology people use to describe wines and wine-making, and, of course, much information about how to taste wine so you can compare one wine with another and converse with others about wines if that is something you want to do.

Marshall dishes out detail so neatly that you hardly realize how much you are learning while you are engrossed in the stories of the wine-makers, their passions, and their products. Some of the difficulties they describe make you want to cry, but most are more humorous than defeating.

It is not surprising that Robert Mondavi would be so complementary about Marshall and his book. I think it is a book that readers will want to tell their friends about before they buy Texas wine or visit the wineries. I will keep it handy when in Texas as a useful reference book.

There are many interesting things to do in Texas, but who knew visiting wineries might be one of them? I heard about this book from a friend and ordered two copies, one for me and one as a gift. Wes Marshall gives us an entertaining read, not just facts and figures. There are interesting little stories about the various wineries that make you not only want to try the wines, but visit the wine makers on your next vacation.

I highly recommend this book. You won't be disappointed.

just returned from visiting the alamo and want to read this boo

If you're from one of the lesser states, you might not care, but for Texans, or those who have to deal with Texans, this is a reference work without comparison. I always have a current copy on my desk. (I would have given earlier editions only four stars because of all that junk about entertainment stars, etc.) The history section has been improved and the county by county section, with maps and demographics, is what I use almost daily.