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SOME RECENT BOOKS FROM Click each image to get a larger view |
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Jim Hollers, born in the Texas Panhandle,
developed an illustrious career not only as a dentist but also as a
brigadier general in the U S Air Force Reserve, as president of the In this book, with a foreword by Dr. Claude
Nabers, Bill Ryan Baker shows his love of history with meticulous
research and detail as he tells the story of this remarkable man. Published under the auspices of The University
of Texas Health Science Center at 6 x 9, paper, xviii, 206 |
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This is the story of three prominent South
Texas players in real estate in the late nineteenth century and
early twentieth centuries. The characters profiled are true-life
individuals who shaped the skyline of San Antonio: Atlee B. Ayres,
Joseph Madison Nix and his wife Birdie Lanier Nix. This fledgling
architect and the Nix partners set milestones in the development of
the city and left a permanent imprint from the old King William
District to the modern South Texas Medical Center. The architect/author's restoration of the
twin Nix houses as certified green historic residences involved
delving into the social, economic, and political histories of these
houses in the state's oldest historic district. The effort to
maintain the integrity of design and material of the original
structures while observing modern standards of environmental honesty
and energy conservation was a challenge which Pachecano met with
flying colors. The many illustrations show the processes from start
to finish. 6 x 9, cloth with slipcase, 152 pages |
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This new small volume contains some 52
poems, written during the last twenty years, and some
previously published in slightly different forms. He offers it
not for sale, but free for the asking. (Please include $1.50
for shipping and handling). 5½ x 8½, paper, 52 pages |
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After 20 years as a military wife, mother of five, and community volunteer, Marcy Meffert retired from full-time homemaking in 1974 to begin a new career - first as a free-lance writer and editor, then in 1994 in what she calls the ultimate volunteer job of serving on the Leon Valley, Texas, City Council. She served four years as a councilmember and six as mayor. On behalf of her city she was active on regional and state levels in leadership positions, including chairman of the Greater Bexar County Council of Cities, chairman of the Alamo Area Council of Governments, and president of the Texas Municipal League Region 7. In 2004, she retired from public service to write this book, which she hopes will encourage more people to get seriously involved in government as candidates, election workers, and/or at the very least, as voters. She writes with an inimitable sense of humor and shows the human side of politics at the grassroots level. 6 x 9, pb, viii, 182 pages
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 FOUND ON 16TH AVENUE by Karen Roth This novel tells a wonderful story of a teenage orphan boy in the Czech district of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 1934. Joe Vesely has had a turbulent and at times violent existence in his fourteen years, but suddenly he becomes a member of his late mother's estranged family and a whole new life opens up for him. How he learns to adjust to the new life is a fascinating and moving story of the way he learns to handle the war within himself and find his place in the loving new-found family. The book's editor said, "I found myself blotting frequent tears as I followed the development of this young man and saw how a profound faith in God reached him through his uncle's ministering and dedication." 6 x 9, pb, viii, 312 pages |
 A
LIFE OF GRACEMemoirs of John H. Crichton The long and successful life of John Crichton began in Minden, Louisiana, in 1920, the descendent of an affluent family in a small town where all the barefooted kids enjoyed the same happy semi-rural existence. World War II altered his course as he joined the army and became an infantry officer, a company commander, 155th Infantry, and an Intelligence Officer in the 6th Army, before being assigned as aide-de-camp to General Walter Krueger in the South Pacific. Discharged with the rank of major at war's end, he earned a law degree at LSU, then began a progression in the business world which brought him wealth and successes in corporate management from coast to coast. Finally he has settled in San Antonio, where he and his wife, Flo Cameron Crichton, enjoy a well-earned retirement and the pleasure of watching the growth of their progeny. His "life of grace" has been full of instances of the special providence which seems to hover over him. His book has been produced in limited editions in
paperback and in |
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This is Clyde Pulley's third book on his native South and issues of race and color. A retired military man, prison official, and professor of criminal justice and sociology, he has now written the story of his father, a Black tobacco farmer and carpenter who endured the years of segregation and abuse, disrespect and violence which were the conditions below the Mason-Dixon line during the Depression years. The brutality his father endured is set against the deep friendship between his family and that of their White neighbors. The story tends to destroy many stereotypes that portrayed all Blacks as poor, ignorant, and impoverished and Whites as violent bigots and oppressors. Discrimination and violence against Blacks are dealt with forthrightly, but the influence and acts of many compassionate Whites bridged the two worlds. Pulley's introduction states, "This book is not an effort to defend the South during its violent, turbulent history of the Jim Crow era. Instead, it tries to give a fairer, accurate, objective and balanced portrayal of real people, their lives and events in the 1930s and 1940s."
6 x 9, pb, x, 102
pages |
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From the Preface: "Mr. Pastrana with his many
years of experience working with very challenging clients, to
include perpetrators as well as victims, together with his
compassion and belief in the goodness of humanity provides us with a
provocative and necessary literary work. I congratulate him for
having the courage to go beyond the simple understanding of a
profoundly complex issue. 6
x 9, pb, 212 pages |
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"This is about the bell ringer, a young kid who
for years jogged two miles from his home in Edna to ring the St.
Agnes Catholic Church bell at 5 a.m. It's about a boy who used that
early morning rise and long run to teach himself discipline while
rounding into condition for future greatness. It's about a small
town country boy who found fame in big cities as he climbed
countless ladders to success. It's about an athlete who became a
coach and earned many awards and at least a dozen trophies. It's
about an educator who earned more degrees than you'll find in an old
stove. This then is about an old friend, Dr. Victor Rodriguez, who
retired in 1994 as superintendent of the San Antonio School
District." "Victor is the epitome of a great Christian
educator and this book will bless and challenge you!" 6 x 9, cloth with dustjacket; viii, 216
pages |
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The town of Snyder in West Texas presents this survey of their historic buildings as "a step back in time." There are photographs of fifteen houses - the oldest built in 1883 - and a hotel and movie theatres. Separate chapters tell the stories of these structures and of the people who built them, and in so-doing give a picture of life in the early days of the settlement of West Texas. A map shows the location of the buildings, and material from the annals of the local newspaper add historical details. Design and drawings are by Paul Hudgins. 6 x 9, pb, xii, 122 pages |
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"This lively and enlivening introduction to real Anglicanism speaks loud and clear to those who want to be serious with the Bible and its God. It is a forthright recall to the things that really matter." - J. I. Packer The Reverend Canon Chuck Collins is rector of Christ Episcopal Church in San Antonio, Texas. His book is named in reference to Thomas Cranmer, the first Archbishop of Canterbury in the newly formed Church of England, "my reluctant hero . . . remembered here for his courage to question the hallowed traditions of his day and follow the leading of his reformed heart." With discussion questions appended to each chapter, the book is an excellent text for new members of the Episcopal Church, and serves also to help older members "who have forgotten the strength of our heritage." 6 x 9, pb, viii, 102 pages |
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In a treatise addressing the plea of insanity as used in the judicial system, the author presents the conflict between church and court on this subject. Well researched, the book gives the history of mental illness in both areas, and shows how the plea has been used and misused in the past. "Our history is full of evidence that men's minds are subject to strange influences. . . . In the field called religion there is found the largest harvest of this unnatural crop of insanity." He adds, "Many of the great movements in history could only have been inspired by madness - madness which afflicted whole populations for centuries." 5 ½ x 8 ½, pb, xxii, 102 pp |
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HISTORY OF THE SAN ANTONIO COUNTRY CLUB 1904-2004"Golf, Tennis, and other Innocent Sports" by Carol S. Canty To celebrate the 100th anniversary of its founding, the San Antonio Country Club undertook to compile its history, and found among its own members an expert researcher and writer to plumb the files for facts and gather photographs from members. SACC was one of the first country clubs organized in Texas, and played a major role in the development of golf and tennis in the early twentieth century, both locally and at the state level. The Club has weathered fire, wars, the Depression, and recessions, and its membership rolls through the decades list the names of many of the "first families" of the city - those who have quietly kept the Alamo City going and growing from then to now. A big beautiful book chock full of photos, the strong emphasis on sports shows the club's origins, and the extensive color picture section covers everything from early buildings and golf groups to recent parties and the extended and devoted staff who run today's institution. 8 ½ x 11, cloth, x,
180 pages, endpapers |
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As a child, John Igo enjoyed the natural splendors of Charco Martinez - a primordial swamp on his grandfather's land north of San Antonio. Today the charco has been absorbed by developers who built houses there during a drouth. When the rains came, houses began to sink and fences to lean. A branch library is to be built about 500 feet from the northwest corner of the area. Will the books stay on the shelves? John, who still lives next to his grandfather's house, has written a nostalgic word picture of what he knew so well and lost forever, as houses usurped the charco. A poet, playwright, and longtime professor of English at San Antonio College, the author writes prose like poetry as he mourns the flora and fauna, the sights and sounds that have been swept away. 6 x
8, paper, 24 pages, $4.95 |
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Following his earlier volume on Avinger, Texas (see listing below), Mr. McKenzie here continues the story of the area where he arrived in 1919 as a baby and still lives today. The early communities of Youngs Chapel and Hickory Hill later merged to become Avinger, and no one knows more about that town than Fred McKenzie. His second volume is packed with photographs, maps, and documents as was the first one, but he has also added 62 genealogical charts of the pioneer families of Avinger. He has produced the kind of town history which tells it all - the folks who settled the area, their background, their businesses, and their progeny, and the relationships and connections that developed among them. Anyone who grew up in a small town in America will see their own childhood reflected in the story of Hickory Hill. 8-3/4
x 11, cloth, dust jacket, xii, 468 pp, endpapers |
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The author moved to Avinger at the age of four months, and has become its historian and chronicler. The small town is in Cass County, northwest of Jefferson in East Texas. McKenzie first published his two volumes of regional history in 1988, this first volume covering the town of Avinger and the second about the village of Hickory Hill. He now issues an updated fourth edition of Volume I, and plans to reissue Volume II in the near future. A big handsome book packed with photos and drawings, it has been called "an exemplary history of an East Texas town" in the "East Texas Historical Association Journal." "It reads like a William Faulkner novel or a Mark Twain story more than a conventional local history," says reviewer Dr. Ralph Wood. McKenzie is a semi-retired real estate broker, turned book merchant, who at the age of 85 still enjoys flying his Cessna 150. 8-3/4
x 11, cloth, dust jacket, viii, 316 pp, endpapers |
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This engaging booklet was prepared for Paul's grandchildren, but we persuaded him to expand the printing to a limited edition of 100 numbered copies. The story was one his father told of a cattle drive in 1904 - possibly the last big cattle drive of the Old West. His father was five years old when his own grandfather took him on a cowpony a mile or so from home to see the trail herd gathered from small ranches around Post in West Texas on the "high plains" - ready to set out for the railhead at Colorado City. Recording the story as his father wrote it for him, Paul has added a word picture of the time and place, and fine drawings of the chuck wagon, the cattle, cowboy gear, the Hudgins home in Snyder, and the faces of his grandfathers, his father, and himself. In thirty pages, this is a story of West Texas as it was a hundred years ago. 8
x 5-7/8, paper, 30 pages |
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This biography of Julius Splittgerber, written by his great-granddaughter, provides fresh insight into existing accounts of both the mid-nineteenth century German colonization endeavor in Texas and the subsequent role of these German settlers during the Civil War and Reconstruction years. Splittgerber, a Prussian army officer, came to Texas in 1845 as a messenger for Prince Carl Solms Braunfels, and served the Verein in the capacity of courier until its demise in 1853. He became a U.S. citizen in 1851 and resided in Fredericksburg from 1845 to 1876, spending the last twenty years of his life in Menard County. Mary
Lewis Turner has also compiled a companion genealogy of the
Splittgerber family which she published in 1998. Her books are well
researched, and though scholarly in preparation are enjoyable
reading for everyone interested in the early days of Texas and
especially the Hill Country. 6
x 9, paper, xxii, 284 pp |
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In
2003, St. Andrew's in Seguin celebrates its sesquicentennial,
and Elizabeth Hollamon has written a history of its 150 years of
existence. In so doing, she has traced the development of the
Episcopal Church in Texas, from the first visits of missionaries
to the fledgling Republic to the
thriving institutions of today. St. Andrew's began with
six people in 1853, and now consists of over 500 members and
covers a block and a half in downtown Seguin. The book's 12 pages of color photos include all of the bishops, from Leonidas Polk in 1838 to Bishop James Folts, who presides over the Diocese of West Texas today. There are 21 photographs of the splendid stained-glass windows in the old and new parts of the building. Hollamon discovered that much of the early records of this church had vanished, but as a fourth generation member herself, she had much family history and newspaper files to lean on, and has accomplished a wonderful - and entertaining - story which could serve as a prototype of how to produce readable history. 6
x 9, paper, xxvi, 102 pp |
 BLACK
BEADS & COLORED BEADSby Patricia Zoch Tate  This beautiful little book contains personal poems, some glad but many sad, straight from the heart. In the Epilogue, the author says, ". . . my endless quest for truth, meaning, and God has been a wondrous journey." These poems/beads, bright and dark, tell us much about the life of Patricia Tate. Designed and illustrated with line drawings by Paul Hudgins, the book is printed on pale blush paper and quarterbound in blue buckram with bonded leather. 4-1/2
x 9, cloth, xii, 76 pp |
 RIDING
THE WAVEA journey of continuous improvement by Thomas Houlihan and Judy S. Phillips In
2000, these authors published a book called Commonsense.Com
[see listing below] in which they told a "fable" about a
school superintendent, a principal, and a classroom teacher
receiving e-mail instruction from a mentor which enabled them to
improve their job performance. In their new book, Houlihan and
Phillips use the setting of a whitewater rafting trip to give
further instruction using an Aligned Management System. With the
Garth Brooks song "The River" as inspiration, the lessons of
the raft trip are applied to the processes of school teaching and
administration in a lucid and exciting manner. Dr.
Houlihan is Executive Director of the Council of Chief State
School Officers in Washington, D.C., and Judy Phillips is
CEO of the North Carolina Partnership for Excellence which was
established in 1997 to help transform education in the state.
5-1/2
x 8-1/2, paper, xii, 124 |
| Revised edition 2003
5-1/2 x 8-1/2, paper, xii, 116 |
 3.6
YEARS OF HELL In Japanese Prisoner of War Camps, 1942-1945
by Joseph D. Lajzer The story of the suffering of U.S. troops at the hands of the Japanese on the Bataan Death March in 1942 has been too soon forgotten by the American people for whom their sacrifice was made. Joe Lajzer, one of the survivors of this terrible experience, endured near starvation, hard labor, and torture as a prisoner in the Philippines and then on Formosa until his rescue in 1945. At age 87, he is one of the dwindling number of men who still live to tell us what it was like, and remind us of what it means to be free. Joe has spoken to schoolchildren and other groups and finds that too many people today have no idea of where Bataan is or what happened there in 1942. With the help of Alfred Evans and Raul Solis, he has put before us a story we should never forget. Of the many illustrations in the book, the photos of Joe before and after his imprisonment are startling evidence of what he endured. 5-1/2 x 8-1/2, paper,
xvi, 120 pp. |
 RETURN TICKETMy Diary as a POW Airman in WWII by Carl R. Carlson The author enlisted in the Army Air Corps after Pearl Harbor, and was soon in England as waist gunner on a B-17, on bombing runs over occupied France and German. On his 25th mission, his plane, "Return Ticket", was shot down in France, and he spent the next year as a POW in German Stalags. This is a story of hunger, misery, and homesickness, all of it recorded by Carlson inside cigarette package covers which he obtained from the Red Cross. For a farm boy from Central Texas, spending his 22nd birthday behind barbed wire was the worst experience of his life. Their prison camp on the Baltic Sea was liberated by the Russians on May 1, 1945, but it was June 12 before Carlson boarded a ship at Le Havre and late July before he was released from a Norfolk hospital and headed home to Texas. His story is a telling description of what war is like, and a vivid story of the courage of young Americans who went to battle, endured, and survived. 6 x 9, paper, xvi, 140 |
 MOMENTARY HEROESA Tribute to a Father's Generation by George Gaytan This fascinating book about the USS Walker honors the typical, ordinary men who became extraordinary heroes during World War II. A must-read for anyone interested in our nation's history. Brig .Gen. David Lee "Tex" Hill, of the "Flying Tigers." The late Jesse Gaytan was a 20-year-old quartermaster on
the USS Walker in the South Pacific in 1943-45,
seeing action throughout the area, and facing attack from
Jap subs, surface ships, and Kamikazes. After his death in December 1994, his son George began to
research the history of the Walker and its survivors. As he
found his father's shipmates, he obtained interviews and
photographs, and has put them together into this remarkable
story of a US Navy destroyer and its crew in combat. |
 FRANKENSTEIN: THE DAWNING AND THE
PASSINGA Sequel by Mario Marcel Salas The author first became acquainted with Mary Shelley's Frankenstein when his mother read the story to him on his tenth birthday. For years he was captivated by the tale and his interest grew even more when he studied the classic as an undergraduate student. This sequel to the Frankenstein story is an ambitious attempt to recapture the soul of one of the greatest literary tales of sorrow ever told. Mr. Salas holds a Masters in Education, an Associate in Applied Science in Engineering, and an Associate in Arts, as well as an Honorary Doctorate from Guadalupe College. He is a member of the City Council of San Antonio, Texas, and a teacher in the San Antonio School District. 6 x 9, paper, xii, 220 |
 SPLINTERS FROM THE HICKORY STICKA few million words about the adventures of running a private school by Elizabeth Hollamon For a quarter of a century, the author was headmistress of Trinity Episcopal School in Galveston, Texas, then spent a year as the only female head of Texas Military Institute in San Antonio. One of her concurrent duties was writing a monthly column for The Texas Churchman, which she titled the "Hickory Stick." "Most of the time in the early years it really was about schools," she says, "but then as I got older and some of my insulation wore thin it became more and more a vehicle for my monthly temper tantrum. Nobody seemed to mind. The fan mail kept coming." The fan mail will keep on coming with the publication of this collection of her choice essays. Her sense of humor will delight the reader, and the occasional serious articles are wonderful food for thought, especially on the state of education today. 5-1/2 x 8-1/2, paper, x, 230 pages |
 THE WORLD BY THE TAIL by Brooke Negley Brooke is the mother of three daughters and the guardian of dogs, cats, and various other creatures who cross her path. Born in Washington, D.C., brought up in San Antonio, she was educated in Switzerland and worked in London before returning to her true roots in Texas. In The World By The Tail, the author takes us on a
disarmingly witty and poignant journey, from the moment a
small Jack Russell terrier named Jane comes into it--from a
movie set on the moors of Devon, to the village of Gstaad in
the Swiss Alps, and the vast landscapes of her home in
Texas, while picking up several more dogs along the way.
Across the pages troop her boundlessly energetic mother,
Nancy Holmes; a malapropian brother, Pete; and Dick Negley,
a square-jawed, dyed-in-the-wool Texan, whom the author
marries. It's a story of irresistible dogs and great
characters whose lives are woven together--and all the
better for it. |
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This document was updated on January 29, 2008. |
