sponsored by Globe Pequot / Lone Star Books
MEMOIR
Shelley Armitage
Walking the Llano: A Texas Memoir of Place
University of Oklahoma Press, 2016
Hardcover, 978-0806151625, 216 pages, 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.5, $24.95
Reminiscent of the work of memoirists Terry Tempest Williams and John McPhee,
Walking the Llano is both a celebration of an oft-overlooked region and a soaring testimony to the power of landscape to draw us into greater understanding of ourselves and deeper connection with the places we inhabit.
For author Shelley Armitage, who grew up on the Llano in the tiny town of Vega, Texas, and on her family farm three miles to the northwest, the act of walking is inseparable from the act of listening and writing. While meditating on the region’s history, Armitage tells of the settlements of ancient, Native, and Hispano peoples—and their imprints, barely visible today, on the natural world. Interlaced with the author’s observations are poignant reflections on her childhood, her
mother’s final years, and her father’s efforts to maintain a working ranch.
Walking the Llano was named one of the best indie books of 2016 by Kirkus and received a starred review.
FOOD & BEVERAGE
Rob Arnold and Eric Simanek
Shots of Knowledge: The Science of Whiskey
Texas Christian University Press
Hardcover, 978-0-87565-654-0, 160 pages, 12 x 12, $35.00
October 2016
Shots of Knowledge is a guidebook for whiskey lovers. Organized into approximately sixty illustrated essays, the book samples topics in whiskey production through the lenses of science and engineering.
While the essays are divided into three sections—From Sunshine to Sugar, From Wee Beasties to White Dogs, and From Barrel to Brain—the reader is free to sip them in any order. The story commences with water, carbon dioxide, and sunlight; travels through the manufacturing process; and ends with the molecules that entertain the palate. The essays seek to reveal the simple beauty too often hidden in science and engineering. At approximately one page in length, each essay and accompanying artwork can be digested slowly at the rate estimated at three essays per bourbon or Scotch.
Monte Akers, Nathan Akers, Ph.D., and Roger Friedman
Tower Sniper: The Terror of America’s First Active Shooter on Campus
John M. Hardy Publishing, 2016
Hardcover, 978-0-9903714-3-4, 376 pages, $24.95
On August 1, 1966, University of Texas engineering student Charles Whitman went to the top of the 307-foot campus tower. Over the next 96 minutes he shot and killed 15 people and wounded 31. Tower Sniper: The Terror of America’s First Campus Active Shooter explores the history and personal experience of this seminal tragedy, enriches public memory, and advances our understanding of mass shootings that continue to haunt America.
The authors vigilantly examine the details leading up to the event, the shootings, and their half-century legacy in stark detail. In doing so the authors correct various myths that have been part of the public narrative for decades, such as a brain tumor having motivated Whitman’s actions, that he intentionally targeted certain victims, and that he attempted to make it appear that multiple snipers were active. Witness interviews, examination of primary sources, and handwriting analysis reveal information overlooked until now, including the factors that actually contributed to Whitman’s predatory behavior and how his death and autopsy were mishandled. Employing the expertise of a clinical psychologist who was best friend to one of the shooter’s young victims, the book contrasts current understandings of trauma with the approach taken at the time, documents the long-term traumatic legacy of mass shootings, and describes how individuals and communities can successfully cope with traumatic memories.
T. Lindsay Baker
Portrait of Route 66: Images from the Curt Teich Postcard Archives
Hardcover, 9780806153414 280 pages, $34.95
University of Oklahoma Press
September 2016
Portrait of Route 66 will interest historians of art and design as well as the worldwide audiences of Route 66 aficionados and postcard collectors. For its mining of an invaluable and little-known photographic archive and depiction of high-quality photographs that have not been seen before, Portrait of Route 66 will be irresistible to all who are interested in American history and culture.
While cherished by collectors, these postcard depictions do not always reflect reality. They often present instead a view enhanced for promotional purposes. Portrait of Route 66 lets us see for the first time the actual photographs from which the postcards were made, and in describing how the production process worked, introduces us to an extraordinary archival collection, adding new history to this iconic road.
R. Gaines Baty
Champion of the Barrio: The Legacy of Coach Buryl Baty
Hardcover, 288 pp., 40 b&w photos, index, 978-1-62349-266-3, $24.95
Also available as ebook
Football, and sports in general, have contributed as much or more to the fight against bigotry than possibly any other activity or movement. And an unsung football coach, Buryl Baty, was a very early leader in this fight when, in 1950, he took over a downtrodden Hispanic high school team in the ghetto of El Paso, Texas. In the end, he had transformed the lives and culture of an entire generation of young men. As evidence of his lasting impact, the school’s football stadium now bears his name, and he is a legend.
Champion of the Barrio looks like sports book, but it’s much more than that. At its core, this is a powerful and inspiring story about character and leadership, and the building of winners and good men. The book was written by Coach Baty’s son, who, after losing his dad at the age of four, got to meet him during the writing of this story.
FUN AND INSPIRATION
Annette Bridges
Oh, How the Years Fly By! A Whimsical Coloring Journey
Ranch House Press, 2016
Paperback, 978-0997601466, $10.95
An adult coloring book that features vibrant original illustrations and lettering that will take you on an enchanting voyage down memory lane. Be reminded of the simple pleasures that make you feel happy. Find the encouragement you need to nourish your soul and refresh your spirit. Get out your markers or crayons and discover the stress relieving, calming pleasure of coloring.
• Thirty unique illustrations
• Something for every skill level
• Use your choice of coloring tool - pens, pencils, markers, crayons
• One-sided pages
• High-resolution images
• Comfortable and convenient 8.5 x 11 size
• Colorful, playful and glossy book cover
FICTION
Brett Burlison
Barton Creek Press, 2016
Paperback, 348 pages, 978-0996969604, $13.95
In the heady days of early nineties Austin, two young lovers move in together and decide to marry and open a cafe and chase the American dream. As the young couple struggles to find their way they are besieged by their own pasts, drugs, and New Orleans mobsters. As the story winds and the plot unfolds it grows increasingly sinister. Over the course of little more than a week the couple must find a way to protect each other and all they are struggling for or lose everything.
Kirkus Reviews called Riverside “A steamy tale and beguiling thriller, with plenty of local color and some provocative twists.”
FICTION
Dana Glossbrenner
The Lark: A Novel
Boldface Books, 2016
Paperback, 270 pages, 978-1935619161, $16.95
Also available as ebook
You’re never too old to learn—or too young
Good-looking, good-hearted Charley Bristow’s the most sought-after hair stylist in five West Texas counties. He’s an expert on the dance floor and sharp at the pool tables, too—but when it comes to picking cars, dogs, and women, luck hasn’t quite gone his way lately. And there’s the ever-present worry over his mother, whose own trailer-park plight he’d just as soon steer clear of. Just when he’s sworn off temptation of the female sort, an evening at the local honky-tonk drives two prime targets right into his path.
Weighing the sudden wealth of options in his love life, while also searching for the right choice of wheels to suit his needs, Charley stumbles upon a long-hidden secret and an unforeseen road to redemption. The colorful denizens of the Wild Hare Salon, Jarod’s Automotive, and Hopper’s nightclub, along with those of the Briargrove First Methodist Church and the Sulfur Gap Centennial Celebration, will two-step their way right into your heart, to music as familiar as Willie Nelson and Charley Pride. And you just might start to fall in love with an old Johnny Mercer tune, too, as Charley Bristow faces his past and embraces the challenge of his future.
Looking for the perfect gift for the writer or reader in your life? Give them peace and serenity with a retreat at The Writing Barn.
Situated on 7.5 wooded acres in Austin, Texas, The Writing Barn is surrounded by mature trees, home to birds and deer. It’s a peaceful out-of-town environment without ever leaving Austin. With floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, rows of instructional craft books, free Wi-Fi, and no television, the Writing Barn is the perfect spot for an overnight writing retreat, to host a writing class, or throw a book launch party.
The Writing Barn, operated by Bethany Hegedus author of Grandfather Gandhi, Between Us Baxters, and Truth with a Capital T, is located near Manchacha Road and Slaughter Lane in South Austin, Texas. For an exact address and to schedule a viewing appointment, please book a tour here. For further details, please see Rates & Rental Information.
PICTORIAL
Jack Knox
Texas: Ghost Towns, Gas Stations, and a 20-Foot Cowboy
John M. Hardy Publishing, 2016
Hardcover, 978-0990371458, 136 pages, $48.85
From its Great Plains in the Panhandle to its 367 miles of coastline, Texas is one of the most diverse states in the US. Between the covers of Texas: Ghost Towns, Gas Stations, and a 20-Foot Cowboy, readers find an eight-year collection of fine art photography created by artist Jack Knox. Arranged into 7 categories, one for each region of Texas, this selection of photographs features antiquated theaters, gas stations, cars, barns, boats, farmhouses, and more, with a focus on the beautiful rust and decay that consumes so many of these majestic icons from our past.
TRAVEL / BOOKS
Literary Texas: A Guide to the State's Bookish Destinations
from the editors of Lone Star Literary Life
Blue Road Books, 2016
978-1935619079, 124 pages, $9.95
Most of the readers and writers we know, far from being the sort to only haunt the recesses of their town's library or curl up on the couch when the sun's shining, like to get out and visit the places they've read about. Or to learn more about the authors and settings that inspire them. Lone Star Literary Life polled our staff about the places in Texas that fueled their bookish imaginations. What literary destinations called to them, to get out the map, get in the car, and go? Was it a whim to attend a festival, a desire to follow in a favorite author's footsteps, an urge to browse the shelves of an unusual bookshop, a hunt for a novel's real-life inspiration? We gathered our top list of alluring locales from the piney woods to the prairies, in big cities and small, from the coast to the mountains. We ranked and researched and ranked some more.
We hope that Lone Star Literary Life readers will find something here you didn't know before—and even if you have to just toss all ten names in a hat and take turns choosing the next goal for a road trip, you'll enjoy what you find when you get there. Follow us weekly at LoneStarLiterary.com, Texas’s only statewide coverage of book news, reviews, events, and author interviews.
RANCH HISTORY
6666: Portrait of a Texas Ranch
Henry Chappell (Author), Wyman Meinzer (Photographer), Mike Gibson (Afterword), Red Steagall
Texas Tech University Press, 2004 (new printing, 2013)
Hardcover, 978-0896725362, 178 pages, $45.00
The Four Sixes is not a relic, showpiece, or preserve. It’s a working cattle ranch, some 290,000 acres of West Texas prairie carefully used. Here, men still earn their livelihoods on horseback, not out of blind adherence to tradition, but out of necessity. Since Samuel “Burk” Burnett began buying rangeland in King County in the 1890s, his cowhands have relied on methods developed by early vaqueros and refined on the great trail drives. Perhaps, though, the Four Sixes’ greatest legacy is the land itself. Across four generations, foremen have striven to nurture and restore, to leave a healthy range. That stewardship has produced some of the richest, most ecologically diverse grassland found on the Southern Plains today. Meinzer’s and Chappell’s defining look at the Sixes’ heart, soul, and heritage illuminates and spellbinds.
FICTION
Margaret Mooney
Kiddrose, 2015
Paperback, 978-0986415005, 273 pages, $16.99
Also available as ebook
A remarkable time period and cast of characters come together in Redneck Opera, a mostly true tale about the early days of oil discovery in East Texas when sleepy farm towns were transformed into hotbeds of greed and corruption. Junior Peck’s escapades (stolen oil wells, fake investment schemes, swindling family members) portray the sordid realities that ushered in the petroleum age.
“Margaret Mooney casts a knowing and amused eye on the roughnecks, wildcatters, and swindlers who thrived in Texas oil fields half a century ago. They still do.” —Jan Reid, author of Commanche Sundown and Let the People In: The Life and Times of Ann Richards
Philip Parisi
The Texas Post Office Murals: Art for the People
Texana / Art
Texas A&M University Press, 2004, 2016
Joe and Betty Moore Texas Art Series
9.5 x 9.5, 200 pages; 22 b&w photos., 103 color plates
Flexbound (with flaps), 978-1-62349-488-9, $29.95
Cloth, 978-1-58544-231-7, $50.00
Walk into any of sixty post offices or federal buildings in Texas and you may be greeted by a surprising sight: magnificent mural art on the lobby walls.
In the midst of the Great Depression, a program was born that would not only give work to artists but also create beauty and optimism for a people worn down by hardship and discouragement. This New Deal program commissioned artists to create post office murals—the people’s art—to celebrate the lives, history, hopes, and dreams of ordinary Americans.
In Texas, murals were created from San Antonio, Houston, and Dallas to Big Spring, Baytown, and Hamilton. The artists included Tom Lea, Jerry Bywaters, Peter Hurd, Otis Dozier, Alexandre Hogue, and Xavier Gonzalez.
In this beautiful volume Philip Parisi has gathered 115 photographs of these stunning and historic works of art—36 in full color. He tells the story of how they came to be, how the communities influenced and accepted them, and what efforts have been made to restore and preserve them.
Philip Parisi, who now lives in Logan, Utah, and is a freelance writer and visiting assistant editor of the Western Historical Quarterly, began work on this manuscript while on the staff of the Texas Historical Commission. He directed a project that involved assembling a collection of slides of the extant murals and tracing the history of this WPA project.
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