Good to hear. I bought the book a while back, just havent read much in a while. It,is about #4 or #5 on the list of "been mea,ing,to get around to reading".

Older stuff:

Robert Weddle's histories of some of the less-famous missions in Texas (San Saba in Menard, San Juan Bautista, etc.); Cabeza de Vaca's Shipwrecks and Commentaries; and Marion Habig's histories of the missions (especially San Jose).

normaleagle05 said:

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schmellba99 said:

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Sandbars and Sternwheelers: Steam Navigation on the Brazos
Pretty much as it sounds, I haven't read this one yet but it's on the list of books I have that I need to read. Starts off in the early settlements of Texas and talks about the various navigation along the Brazos through history.

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I have read this and it is entirely worth the read. Steamboat traffic came way inland in Texas and influenced a lot of projects that later failed and/or succeeded mightily. Interesting history in its own right as well.

I checked it put from Evans, if that's still an option for you.

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I also liked this book. Gets a bit dry in parts but it has tons of good information.

I have a book going to auction in the coming months that is a biography of SM Swenson. Y'all should all bid on it. It's 1st edition.

Trails and Trials of a Texas Ranger by William Sterling.

Has some interesting color on early days of Texas A&M and a chapter on Sul Ross.

Contrabando: Confessions of a Drug-Smuggling Texas Cowboy

Don Henry Ford, Jr., is an unapologetic outlaw. For seven years he made his living smuggling marijuana across the U.S.-Mexico border in the Big Bend region of Texas. His business partners were some of the era's biggest narcotraficantes like Pablo Acosta and Amado Carrillo Fuentes. After Ford was arrested and imprisoned, he escaped and lived for a year in rural Mexico, raising a bumper crop of weed and hiding out from the federales, before his recapture and return to the penitentiary.

Contrabando is the extraordinary, unabashed memoir of a rebel -- a warrior on the other side of the War on Drugs who lived to tell the tale. But more than a riveting and remarkable true crime confession, Contrabando is an ode to the beauty of the dry, dusty West Texas plains and the lonely hills of Mexico -- and a tribute to Ford's friends, protectors, and fellow outlaws who stood by him during the dangerous smuggling years.

Was an Aggie...for a while.

If dry in parts isn't your thing then definitely don't take my other suggestion. But it is informative as all get out.

Tagged

The Apocalyptic Elephant by Henry Spears. Not exactly about Texas per se. It is fiction but set in historical context. Two young Texas men, one who graduated from the A&M College of Texas when Lawrence Sullivan Ross was president, go to Africa to hunt elephants and get tied up in Boer War. Henry is an Aggie Class of 60 something.

Isaac's storm.

https://g.co/kgs/74WpJa

Bookmark

I haven't seen this one mentioned yet.
The Son - Philipp Meyer

I read it a few years ago and really enjoyed it.

Story basically follows multi generations of a family from right after independence/statehood to modern times. The first character is a white boy raised by Commanches.
I read it a few years ago and enjoyed it.
It looks like it is being turned into a TV series on AMC.

Buy my book:

https://www.dsloan.com/cms/auction/25/item/anderson-hyphenated-1916

The Texas Rangers, Wearing the Cinco Peso.

And if you enjoyed Empire of the Summer Moon, Crazy Horse and Custer by Stephen Ambrose is also excellent, though not Texas related.

Locknload said:

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Lone Star: A History Of Texas And The Texans by T.R. Fehrenbach[url=https://www.amazon.com/T.R.-Fehrenbach/e/B001IQZN0W/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1][/url]

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Also Fehrenbach's Comanche

Couple good ecology related books:

The Big Thicket Guidebook by Bonney

https://www.amazon.com/Big-Thicket-Guidebook-Exploring-Backroads/dp/157441318X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1528991070&sr=8-1&keywords=big+thicket

Life on Matagorda Island by McAlister

https://www.amazon.com/Matagorda-Island-sponsored-University-Corpus-Christi/dp/1585443387/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1528991180&sr=8-1&keywords=life+on+matagorda+island

Just ordered about 10 books from this thread. Appreciate everyone's suggestions.

Has anybody read the King Ranch book-set by Tom Lea? I've had it recommended to me a few times.

"Texas " by James Michener.
"9 years among the Indians" about Herman Lehmann , very good book about his capture and life during and after capture.

If you have not read
"Life Among the Apaches" by John C Cremony. Find it now and read it , fantastic book about the Indians , Indian wars and life at the time. Book was Published in 1868. Can not recommend enough.

They jump between Texas and Mexico but Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian and the Border Trilogy (All the Pretty Horses,The Crossing, and Cities of the Plain) are all excellent novels. I'll second the votes for The Son and The Big Rich.

Also you could count Friday Night Lights and Junction Boys as books about Texas.

Moss Bluff Rebel. Great se tx history from the diary of a Confederate captain

Some good ones have already been mentioned, especially "Goodbye to a River". That's one that a young buck may not appreciate at 18 or 19, but add 15 or 20 and you probably will. Probably more so after 30 or 40...


I'll recommend "Ishi and Elvis". It isn't strictly a book about Texas, but portions of it definitely are. You bow hunters will enjoy it for sure. Also, the author is an ol' Ag.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/720478.Ishi_Elvis

Another one that is a quick read is "Joe Lopez" by Leon Payne, Jr.

https://www.amazon.com/Joe-Lopez-Leon-Payne-Novel/dp/1632990350

The author is the son of the old-time songwriter Leon Payne, and this is an adaptation of one of his songs. It's about an old Mexicano who loses his sons in the Civil War and returns home only to find more trouble. It is set in the western end of the Hill Country.

He's no Larry McMurtry or Elmer Kelton, but it's a fun, quick read that is pretty good, especially considering it is a first novel.

And if you like old time honky tonk, you should check out Leon Payne's music. His songs were covered by many singers from George Jones to Jack Kittel to Elvis Costello.

Through Time and the Valley by John Erickson gets my vote. This was written about 40 years ago, before the Hank the Cowdog series made him famous. Erickson's an outstanding writer of nonfiction as well as kid's books.

https://www.amazon.com/Through-Time-Valley-Western-Life/dp/1574415093

Erickson and Bill Ellzey traveled the Canadian River valley in the north Panhandle by horseback, stopped and talked to the folks that lived there, and collected lots of good stories from the 19th and 20th centuries. Wonderful read, especially if you live in or are from the area.