Before I knew it I was nearing the end of the book! The writing is so smooth and the storytelling wonderful that I didn't want to put it down nor have it end! The characters are well written and the location sounds breathtaking.

Early Tejano Ranching: Daily Life At Ranchos San Jose And El Fresnillo by Andres Saenz (Professor of History, Austin Community College, Austin, Texas) is the story of the author's family (the Saenzes and the Lopezes) who established San Jose and El Fresnillo during the 1850s and 1860s. Drawn and composed from interviews, historical records, visits to historical sites, and more, Early Tejano Ranching presents a fascinating picture of life in the past, the daily work of ranching, the labor of self-sufficient families who struggled to surviving against drought, wild animals, and even Indian attacks. Early Tejano Ranching is solid and highly recommended representation reflecting the history and heritage of Texas. Also highly recommended is Professor Saenz's earlier work, Tejano Empire: Life On The South Texas Ranchos (0890968349)

This soft-cover edition is a welcomed reissue of Rundell's classic photo essay that was published originally in 1977. The colorful history of Texas' major oil discoveries is told through rare photographs gleaned from period newspapers, industry files, and federal, state, and university archives, and is accompanied by a text rich in historical vignettes. Photos of roughnecks, gushers, and derrick-choked boomtowns capture the era of wildcats, discoveries, and production records that preceded "Big Oil."

"The Robinson Crusoe of Texas." said J. Frank Dobie. "The most literate of all nineteenth-century Texas memoirs...authentic history." wrote John H. Jenkins in his "Basic Texas Books". In 1835, Texas offered young men like John C. Duval a chance for action and glory. That year he and his brother, Burr, the sons of a former governor of Florida, organized a volunteer company called the "Mustangs." Like Davy Crockett, they were fired up "to give the Texans a helping hand on the road to freedom" from Mexican rule. The first chapters of this book lead up to the Goliad Massacre, in which Burr was killed. John was luckier. After a hair-raising escape from Goliad, he wandered across the country-side, dodging the Mexicans and living by his wits. The diary that Duval kept during these exciting months was the basis for this book, which was published more than fifty years later, in 1892. In the intervening years he was a Texas Ranger known as "Texas John" and later was recognized as one of Texas's first men of letters as the author of "The Adventures of Big-Foot Wallace". A must for any Texas collector.

In The Eclectic Odyssey Of Atlee B. Ayres, Architect, Robert Coote (professor emeritus of architecture at the University of Texas, Austin) informatively surveys thirty years of the architectural career of Atlee Ayres, focusing on Ayres' residential architecture in the San Antonio suburbs of Monte Vista, Olmos Park, and Terrell-Hills. It is in these architectural designs that Ayres' eclecticism is most apparent. Coote studies twenty-five of Ayres' houses in detail including their plans, spaces, exteriors, materials, and structure. Additionally, Coote describes Ayres' architectural education, travels, and career highlights. Highly recommended for professional and academic architectural reference collections, The Eclectic Odyssey Of Atlee B. Ayres, Architect is a superbly presented treatise on the work and career of a most remarkable American architect.

Ed Gooding served his nation as a soldier on the battlefields of Europe and returned home and served the State of Texas as a dedicated peace officer. This man's service to his country over the past 60 years is amazing. I am proud to call him a friend.

Randy Sillavan
Trinity, Texas

Authors Frank Kemerer and Jim Walsh have written one of those "must-haves" that belongs in your professional library. If you are an educator in Texas, you need this book. Readable and thorough, the book touches all areas of concern, with emphasis on how the law applies in Texas. Kemerer is Regents Professor of Education Law and Administration at UNT and Walsh is senior partner in the Walsh, Anderson, Underwood, Schulze & Alderidge firm which has been heavily involved with districts across the state for some time now. This one is a needful reference, no matter what you level you teach.

Genealogical Data on Burleson Family, Gives data on the migration of the Family from N.C. to Tenn.,to Georga ,to Alabama and to Texas, Biographacal data on General Edward Burleson Early life, Indian Troubles, Mexico, Gen. Burleson Captures The Alamo from the mexicans, Ordered out of the area to train troops, Later a Sen. in the Republic of Texas , President Pro tem of Texas. Stories, Data, Family history, The History of Texas is in here. A great read.