Product Description
In this unique guidebook, the reader is invited to experience the landmarks and campsites used by the Indians of Texas. Full of local history as well as entertaining folklore, both natives and visitors will be intrigued by this unconventional account of Texas' rich heritage. The authors connect the past and present and, with detailed chapters arranged by six geographic regions, allow readers to experience the land as the Indians once knew it. This volume presents a new appreciation for the diverse history of the Lone Star State. ... Read more

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The Forth Worth Record started as a morning paper in 1903 in Fort Worth, Texas. The paper reported news from across Texas, Indian Territory, Oklahoma Territory, the nation, and the world. It provided coverage of the Russo-Japanese war, the presidential el ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

One of the Best Sources On the Subject
Paul D. Lack has written an excellent social and political history of one of the most important and interesting episodes in North American history.A well organized book, this volume not only displays the author's command of the source material, but also ranks highly as a well written narrative.Of particular note is Lack's mostly even-handed treatment of the Tejano and African-American perspective on the Texas Revolution and its after-effects.While the book does fall somewhat short in its overall mastery of some of the Mexican and African-American sources it is nonetheless to be commended for discussing aspects of the revolution usually short-shrifted in more conventional accounts.

Much ink has been and continues to be spilled about the Texas Revolution, much of it by propagandists.This is a scholastic and deeply learned interpretation of that troubled time period and brings to light aspects of what happened that many people would prefer to keep dead and buried.

The Texas Revolutionary Experience
Having read this book, one finds it was written more as a history book than a fact book.It was an excellent book, mostly for those students of Texas history.It gives details as if you were living in that time frame.Kinda like a time machine back to the 1835-36 period.I would recommend this book only to the serious in mind of Texas history.Otherwise you might find it pretty boring. ... Read more

Product Description
Focuses on the human interest aspects of the people and events of Frontier Texas. Included are stories of early colonists, Indians, cowboys, gunslingers, lawmen, entrpreneurs, and statesmen. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Humor & Drama of Early Texas
Great book - full of short-length stories of history of the great State of Texas.Recommend highly. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The number one book on its subject.
This is a book with all the answers to anything a person may want to know about Texas lighthouses, including their construction, history, and all of the data about them.It's really complete and exhaustive but not at alldull to people who like lighthouses.I think all Texas lighthouse loversshould have this book. ... Read more

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This classic, reprinted in 1990, pictures and describes all of the 254 Texas Courthouses .. a ... Read more

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This book records the personal stories of one family (the Chandlers) from the late 1800's to the 21st Century.It records how the personal lives of individuals interacted with the greater conditions and events of their times, including the dust bowl, the Great Depression, World War II, and the move from farm to small town to city.It is largely an oral history, based on audio recordings, but also includes genealogical and historical background, plus information from letters and other documents.It is history from the bottom up, illustrating the great events of the time as seen from, and impacting upon, the lives of ordinary people. ... Read more

Product Description
Fritz and Annie Lippe Family-German Cotton Farmers in Early 1900s Texas describes the childhood of Fritz and Annie beside the Brazos River in east Texas, their families' move west, their courtship and marriage, and the rearing of their eleven children on rented farms. In some years, the cotton crop was profitable. In other years, drought, boll weevils, or floods destroyed the crop. The children missed the first few weeks of school in the fall because picking the cotton took priority over education. The family raised most of their own food-vegetables from the garden; hogs for meat, lard, and soap; cattle for meat, milk and butter; and chickens for meat and eggs. They grew corn, grinding it into cornmeal to make bread. Money from the cotton sale was used to buy the few items that were not made or grown, such as coffee, sugar, and farm tools. Their many narrow escapes from death due to accidents, injuries, and illnesses are described here. It is amazing that all of the children lived to adulthood. Annie almost died after giving birth to one of the younger children, but she recovered and lived to the age of 103. Every Lippe son and son-in-law served in the military, some of them during World War II, some in combat. All returned safely. Several grandchildren and their spouses also served. Eight of the eleven children and the wives of two deceased sons contributed photographs and stories of life on the family farms. The author inherited many letters and photos from her mother, who was Fritz and Annie's eldest daughter. The book also contains stories of Fritz and Annie's children as adults. They all became hardworking solid citizens and remained true to the faith in God instilled in them by their parents. ... Read more

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Assembled from local land office records after Texas gained its independence fromMexico, the Character Certificate files in the General Land Office in Austin establish the

identities of early immigrants to Texas, fix their date and place of settlement, and shed light ontheir origins and their families. In using this book, then, the researcher has at his fingertips theunique genealogical records of around 5,000 early Texas settlers! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Texas Ranger Jack Hays
A must read for anyone interested in the legendary Texas Rangers. It provides a good historical account of Col Jack Hays's exploits beginning from his childhood to his involvement in the Mexican-American war and then briefly, the later years of his life. Anyone interested in leadership will want to read this as well. Col Jack Hays was a pioneer and leader worthy of emulating. I found it hard to put down.

Wow! What a legend.Top Ten of any Old West History Reader
First I am from Texas.That would normally bias me to any historical figure from Texas.However, without a doubt this man did more in a lifetime to fill any biography.As a Texas Ranger captain fighting Indians, fighting Mexican bandits, scouting for the US Army in the Mexican-American war, to California sheriff and land developer...everything is done in a big way in his life.James Greer writes a biography that is historically-fact based...he doesn't have to make Jack Hays larger than life...he lived larger than life.

As an avid reader of biographies from the wild west...this is no history book review of a man...this is the best lawman book I have ever read.This guy is now my number one wild west hero!

I highly recommend the book...you won't believe the bravery! ... Read more

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This book is aimed at genealogists with Texas roots, genealogists in search of missing ancestors (perhaps they did "go to Texas"), and also readers interested in Texas and local history. The Telegraph and Texas Register was born at the same time as the Te ... Read more

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"For 60 years, The Trail Drivers of Texas has been considered the most monumental single source on the old-time Texas trail drives north to Kansas and beyond. . . . Because of its vast volume of raw material, expressed in the words of those who lived the life and rode the long miles, students of cattle industry history regard it with high respect, even awe."--Elmer Kelton, Dallas Morning News". . . the essential starting point for any study of Texas trail driving days. Walter Prescott Webb called it 'Absolutely the best source there is on the cattle trail . . .'" --basic texas booksThese are the chronicles of the trail drivers of Texas--those rugged men and, sometimes, women who drove cattle and horses up the trails from Texas to northern markets in the late 1800s. Gleaned from members of the Old Time Trail Drivers' Association, these hundreds of real-life stories--some humorous, some chilling, some rambling, all interesting--form an invaluable cornerstone to the literature, history, and folklore of Texas and the West. First published in the 1920s and reissued by the University of Texas Press in 1985, this classic work is now available in a handsome paperback edition that contains the full text, historical illustrations, and name index of the hardcover edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

The Trail Drivers of Texas, Part One
The Trail Drivers of Texas Part OneThis book was ordered as a gift so I did not review it.Although it was advertised as a hardback I was sent a paperback.I returned it but the reshipment was also a paperback so I just kept it.Still not sure if I was overcharged.

Trail Driver Tales of Texas
The stories included in this book give the reader a detailed account of life in Texas during the early to mid 1800's through the beginning of the 1900's. Some stories are frightening and sent chills up my spine. Other stories had me laughing so hard I lost my breath and cried, and that's 150+ years after the fact!! I read one or two stories a night, each one a rare jewel. History told through first person accounts brought their lives into 3D and now I appreciate their struggles and sacrifices in a new light. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys early American history and first person accounts. It's the best book I've ever read and I savor each story.

Truly takes me back!
I loved this book.The stories, sometimes funny, and sometimes sad, took me back to when I lived with my Grandmother and she would tell me great tales of her father and grandfather.
If you like non-fiction, interesting books, buy this one.You won't be sorry.

Lives spent on the trail punching cattle

This large book, in size (over a thousand pages) and in spirit, is a compilation of first-hand accounts of cowboys on the trail driving cattle. At annual Old Trail Drivers' conventions held in Texas during the nineteen-teens, vice-president George W. Saunders would try to "round up all of the old boys and girls and get their history in print so that the coming generations may read of the hardships and dangers they encountered and the splendid achievements of his comrades of the days gone by." Soon sketches and letters began trickling back until enough were gathered to publish them in a book. The book was a big success and a second volume was planned. Saunders bade out of editing the new volume and J. Marvin Hunter took over. Eventually both books were combined into one.

There are hundreds of sketches and accounts included here, all of them from the pens of the men who rode the range and the women who were right there with them. Their quality and length vary, of course, with some being only a paragraph or two long while others go on for many pages. Some have written what amounts to almost complete family histories, while others write of only a single incident.

With so many people writing reminiscences of basically the same experiences, certain commonalities are detected: the weather was on everyone's mind often, so was the coming of barbed-wire; nothing seemed harder than getting cattle to cross a river. Indians and the threat of Indians were everywhere; stampedes were a big concern. George W. Brock of Lockhart, TX, wrote a 7-page sketch with the fetching title "When Lightning Set the Grass on Fire," though this potentially exciting event is told in one sentence: "The lightning would strike the ground and set the grass on fire, then the rain would put it out." That's it. The rest of the account is all about Mr. Brock's countless adventures with cattle and horses, each one usually reduced to one sentence. So it goes. Some even submitted poetry.

There is a certain amount of "You had to be there" feeling about many of these sketches, but part of that is that there are just so many of them here. No one should (or probably could) read this book straight through; like eating chocolate truffles it's best to pick and choose in relatively small doses. But taken that way they can be quite enjoyable. The simplicity and robustness of the writing, so wonderfully nonacademic, can be downright refreshing. An interesting and charming book for anyone with a flair for those cowboy "days gone by."

Trail Drivers of Texas
Excellent.My father, 83 years old and a lifelong rancher in New Mexico, received a copy of this book from his sister for his birthday.He enjoyed it so much because of its true to life accounts of the trail driving days. Dad has been on some trail drives in the old days, and could relate to the writings in this book.I am reading this book now, and it is so fun ... true history, written by the men in their own styles ... some had little or no formal education, while others were highly educated. All are very interesting. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Hype, Hype, Hooray!
Cough ... cough ... gag ... choke ... spit ...

Excuse me a moment ... just hocking up some of the endless marketing hype and buzz words that fill this book ...

"founded on innovative technology" ... "worlds first independent" ... "launched a new strategy" "completely change""ignited a revolution" ... "leading the industry" ... "critical innovations"

AND THAT'S JUST THE *FIRST* PAGE !!!

"Even though the odds were stacked against it, a small company faced down the Great Depression and built a visionary geophysical business that brought a new technology to the old-fashioned art of oil exploration.GSI [TI's original name] sent shock waves into the earth to map underground structures that might hold accumulations of oil and gas, and its innovative methods sent shock waves through an industry at home and abroad." (beginning of page 2)

THE WHOLE BOOK IS LIKE THAT!

This might actually be a good book. ... Honestly, I don't know.I got through about 6 pages of endless hype and just couldn't stomach any more. If you would enjoy reading a 259-page ad telling you how the latest version of Windows is so great or how the Model X Car is "the best in its class", you'll love this book.It's a shame really ... I've lived in Texas since January 1982 and Dallas since February 1995 and I really was hoping to learn something about TI.But there's only so much marketing hype a person can take before it becomes just unbearable.

Engineering the world
If you have ever worked at TI you know that it was and still is a special company. This book will remind you why you love the company. The history of the founding of the company reminded me how special the culture is.The willingness to take risk and tackle the impossible emerged from the early days in the oil exploration business and thankfully stayed with the company through the years. Buy this book!

Good overview of a leading American enterprise
This handsome volume, lavishly illustrated with photos from Texas Instruments archives, is the culmination of a TI-history project that proceeded spasmodically over many years and which reportedly produced an earlier manuscript that was vetoed by the company's then president.What has finally come forth as "Engineering the World" will surely grace the public spaces of all TI facilities, providing visitors waiting to see TI engineers or interview for jobs an excellent overview of the company's considerable innovations and achievements during its first 75 years (e.g., the transistor radio and the integrated circuit).But the book is not a definitive examination of the interpersonal dynamics among the extremely bright, ambitious, and hardworking men involved.A chronicle such as Gay Talese's saga of the evolution of the New York Times ("The Kingdom and the Power," London, Calder & Boyars, 1971) was not the model for this endeavor.And at this point, with TI's founders and many principal participants gone, such a work is probably not possible.Since, as far as I know, none of those folks was inclined to publish a memoir elaborating on his part in the company's creation and evolution, I assume that journals or diaries may not be available.

For more detailed TI nuts and bolts, you might enjoy the story of Cecil Green, a founder of TI and its parent company, Geophysical Service Inc ("Cecil and Ida Green: philanthropists extraordinary," by Robert Shrock, MIT Press, c1989), or the humorous memoir of 37 years at TI by engineer/inventor Ed Millis ("TI, the Transistor, and Me, " Dallas, Ed Millis Books, 2000). Mr. Millis was also a member of the research committee for "Engineering the World." ... Read more