Book Description
Praise for Johnny Bush and
Whiskey River (Take My Mind):
"Johnny Bush and I started out together... The story contained in this book is gospel."
—Charley Pride
"From the crown of his western hat down to the tips of his needle-nosed James Leddy cowboy boots, Johnny Bush is pure-D Texas from the get-go. His telling reads like a honky-tonk song, only real; you can hear the hurtin', heartache, cheatin', and pain in every word and feel the boot-scootin' shuffle with every turn of the page."
—Joe Nick Patoski, author of
Selena: Como La Flor and
Stevie Ray Vaughn: Caught in the Crossfire and writer for
Rolling Stone and
No Depression
"Through his talents Johnny Bush has made a significant contribution to country music, and has given to his many fans the joy of magnificent music. You will enjoy meeting this creative man through this book."
—Ralph Emery
"I am as proud of Johnny Bush as I am of Willie Nelson, Roger Miller, and Johnny Paycheck—all Cherokee Cowboys alumni. I am especially proud of his triumph over his debilitating voice problem. This is the real story, told in his own voice."
—Ray Price
"From hard-time hungry Houston childhood to Nashville hit-making, from scuffling honky-tonk sideman to king of the Texas dancehalls, from victim of a strange career-killing illness to comeback kid, Johnny Bush has a Texas-sized story to tell about his life and times in country music. He tells it honestly, with humor and humility. Listen up when he speaks."
—John Morthland, contributing editor,
Texas Monthly, and former associate editor of
Rolling Stone,
Creem, and
Country Music
"Johnny Bush is one of my oldest and dearest friends. He and I started out together in music, and we're still together. Everything that's been said about me in this book, good or bad, is pretty accurate."
—Willie Nelson
"I love Johnny Bush. He is classic Texas honky-tonk, one of our state's treasures. Every honky-tonker out there has tried to sing like him, myself included. Thanks, Johnny, for being a true Texas original, and for your friendship."
—George Strait
When it comes to Texas honky-tonk, nobody knows the music or the scene better than Johnny Bush. Author of Willie Nelson's classic concert anthem "Whiskey River," and singer of hits such as "You Gave Me a Mountain," "Undo the Right," "Jim, Jack and Rose," and "I'll Be There," Johnny Bush is a legend in country music, a singer-songwriter who has lived the cheatin', hurtin', hard-drinkin' life and recorded some of the most heart-wrenching songs about it. He has one of the purest honky-tonk voices ever to come out of Texas. And Bush's career has been just as dramatic as his songs—on the verge of achieving superstardom in the early 1970s, he was sidelined by a rare vocal disorder that he combated for thirty years. But, survivor that he is, Bush is once again filling dance halls across Texas and inspiring a new generation of musicians who crave the authenticity—the "pure D" country—that Johnny Bush has always had and that Nashville country music has lost.
In
Whiskey River (Take My Mind), Johnny Bush tells the twin stories of his life and of Texas honky-tonk music. He recalls growing up poor in Houston's Kashmere Gardens neighborhood and learning his chops in honky-tonks around Houston and San Antonio—places where chicken wire protected the bandstand and deadly fights broke out regularly. Bush vividly describes life on the road in the 1960s as a band member for Ray Price and Willie Nelson, including the booze, drugs, and one-night stands that fueled his songs but destroyed his first three marriages. He remembers the time in the early 1970s when he was hotter than Willie and on the fast track to superstardom—until spasmodic dysphonia forced his career into the slow lane. Bush describes his agonizing, but ultimately successful struggle to keep performing and rebuild his fan base, as well as the hard-won happiness he has found in his personal life.
Woven throughout Bush's autobiography is the never-before-told story of Texas honky-tonk music, from Bob Wills and Floyd Tillman to Junior Brown and Pat Green. Johnny Bush has known almost all the great musicians, past and present, and he has wonderful stories to tell. Likewise, he offers shrewd observations on how the music business has changed since he started performing in the 1950s—and pulls no punches in saying how Nashville music has lost its country soul. For everyone who loves genuine country music, Johnny Bush, Willie Nelson, and stories of triumph against all odds,
Whiskey River (Take My Mind) is a must-read.
Customer Reviews:
Country Music Veteran .......2007-03-29
Not everybody can be Garth Brooks, and thank the Good Lord for that. Johnny Bush is the real deal in country music, he's been laying down good music for years both as a songwriter and singer, primarily on that Texas circuit where the fans demand high quality and will go to the wall for you if they love you. But you have to earn that respect and Bush did. He cut his teeth playing in small time Texas bands like that led by uncle, minor honky tonk legend Jerry Jericho. He then moved up to Ray Price's glorious Cherokee Cowboys. Frustrated in Nashville, he headed back to Texas and built a career based around strong songwriting (he wrote Whiskey River, made famous by Willie Nelson) and solid performance. He tells most in this open, honest autobiography. The text is engagingly written and the stories well told. There is no better insider look at the world of honky tonk music.
Book Description
Out of school, out of work, and out of motivation, Abby Rose is contemplating her life and wondering what to do next. It's the kind of situation that would get some girls down, but luckily Abby's got a heart the size of Texas-and a bank account to match. But when she discovers the gardener dead in her greenhouse, Abby realizes what she needs to do with herself: she needs to solve a murder...
Customer Reviews:
Great detective.......2006-08-24
First in the Yellow Rose series, this series is in Texas, featuring Abby Rose. Abby's gardener is murdered, and she wants to find out why: why he was killed and why he was there. Abby's fraternal twin Kate helps her run the computer business that their father left them, and she also gets roped into helping Abby find the answers to her questions. In this, Abby finds out answers to other questions, ones she wished she hadn't asked. I found this to be better than your average cozy - I was leery of the basis of the spoiled rich girl playing detective - but Abby redeems herself.
Witty, Charming Début!.......2006-07-29
Introducing Abby Rose...a privileged woman living in River Oaks, Texas...a wealthy town near Houston. In the first book in the Yellow Rose Mystery series, we find that Abby has inherited her late father's home and computer business along with her twin sister, Kate. The business runs fine without them, and they are able to pursue other interests while having a steady income. Having no real ambition in her life, and feeling left out now that Kate is finishing her dissertation and moving in with her boyfriend, Abby longs for something meaningful to fill her time. When their hard-working gardener is found dead after he promises to share a large family secret with the twins, Abby begins to investigate both his death and her past. Questions about their adoption begin to loom again in Abby and Kate's mind, and she wonders if they have the whole truth about their birthparents. When the trail to a killer leads her directly to a shady adoption agency, Abby begins to ask some tough questions. Will she discover the killer and the key to her past in time to stop a murderer on the loose?
This was a great start to a new series! The fact that Abby and her twin sister, Kate, sometimes work together in the book (but are not "joined at the hip"), made a likeable, interesting combination. The mystery itself offered a lot of twists and turns, and I was kept guessing throughout the book as to the twin's past, and to the identity of the killer. The only thing that I disliked in the book was the overuse of clichés. I know previous reviewers have mentioned this as well, and I completely agree with their feelings on the subject. However, the book was too good to pass up even with this minor flaw, and I will eagerly pick up future installments in this fun, witty series.
The next book in the series is called "A Wedding to Die For". Enjoy!
Enjoyable Read.......2005-12-16
I enjoyed the book. However, I agree with the Reviewer that said the main character used too many bad cliches. It did seem forced and got to be a little "too much". I thought the ending could have had a more interesting twist but I knew that wasn't going to happen because it is a series so all the main characters had to stay in tact.
Delightful.......2005-08-15
My second book by Leann Sweeney and I laughed all the way through at the antics of Abby Rose, an amateur sleuth who manages to get in and out of trouble in delightful ways. I'll be buying a third book by Ms. Sweeny as they are easy reads and keep you entertained.
Fabulous first mystery! Abby's a winner........2005-02-15
Abby Rose is trying to decide what to do with her life. Since she has a large bank account, she doesn't have to rush to decide. Her twin Kate is soon moving out to be with her boyfriend, and Abby doesn't know what she will do with the large house their father left them - it's too big for just her.
After she discovers her gardner, Ben, dead in the greenhouse, she realizes how little she knew about him. She begins to look into his life so that she can express her condolences. That just opens up more questions, like who killed Ben's wife years before? And why was he working for Abby's father?
Abby contracts with her ex-husband, who swears he is clean and getting his life together, to help her renovate the house in Galveston. It hasn't been lived in for years. She finds herself having to interact with him more than she likes.
The sexy detective from the Houston P.D. who is investigating Ben's death, adds some spice to Abby's dull life. Especially when he tells her that Ben was poisoned. Now Abby is determined to unravel the mystery surrounding Ben and who killed him. She finds more questions to have to find answers to.
In her investigation, she finds herself in many sticky situations. Can she discover the truth before someone puts an end to her?
This is the first Yellow Rose Mystery. LeAnn Sweeney has a real winner. I had trouble putting this book down. Abby and Kate are terrific. The Texas setting is fabulous. I've always wanted to go to Galveston, and I feel like I've at least had a short visit there. I just started reading A Wedding to Die For, the second in this series. It looks to be just as great as the first.
I highly recommend this book!
Book Description
In the 1950s, a series of dams was proposed along the Brazos River in north-central Texas. For John Graves, this project meant that if the stream’s regimen was thus changed, the beautiful and sometimes brutal surrounding countryside would also change, as would the lives of the people whose rugged ancestors had eked out an existence there. Graves therefore decided to visit that stretch of the river, which he had known intimately as a youth.
Goodbye to a River is his account of that farewell canoe voyage. As he braves rapids and fatigue and the fickle autumn weather, he muses upon old blood feuds of the region and violent skirmishes with native tribes, and retells wild stories of courage and cowardice and deceit that shaped both the river’s people and the land during frontier times and later. Nearly half a century after its initial publication,
Goodbye to a River is a true American classic, a vivid narrative about an exciting journey and a powerful tribute to a vanishing way of life and its ever-changing natural environment.
Customer Reviews:
Steinbeckian reflections on a Texas few still know.......2006-10-23
This is one of my favorite books. I went to YMCA and Scout camp in the Palo Pinto country. Back then, the divide that exists today between the so-called "cultural elite" and rural Texas didn't exist (or at least both sides respected each other enough to be civil, as a funny episode from the book relates), and Graves lived in both worlds. His is a lost generation, and although only one or two of the dams along his route got built, the country is now part of the vast exurb of Dallas-Fort Worth, filled with rural retreats for the city folk, 5 acre ranchettes, and driveways lined with 40-thousand-dollar pickup trucks. Graves doesn't mourn its loss, but commemorates what seemed like "progress" in the 60s and has only accelerated thousandfold since. If you pass through that country, or want to know what rural Texas used to be like, read this book. It's a bit long in the telling, but if you trace the journey on a map, it was no small trip.
Unique look at a specific area and history of the Lone Star State.......2005-10-10
I was very impressed with this book. Graves does so much in this enjoyable volume. As he takes a canoe trip down the Brazos near where he grew up, he shares the history of the land--both recent and not-so-recent. Through him, we learn the reality of life for the average settler on the edge of the frontier. He also seems to be detailing a life that in his time was declining and in our age is nearly completely gone. His writing is difficult to describe and unlike anything I have ever read. It flows smoothly with a combination of regional speech and erudition. As you read you feel like you are in the canoe with an incomparable guide to this region of our state. A great book that deserves to be read much more widely than it is.
Goodbye to a River--Hello to the Past.......2005-07-28
As a native Texan, I grew up with the stories of the wild frontier and I'm sure that Graves did too. But he takes those stories and, with beautiful prose, shows the really hardscrabble life that folks overcame on the edge of the frontier. Not the stories of Texas Rangers, but of ordinary pioneers who made a life for themselves despite drought, snowstorms and other natural disasters. But the book is also a wonderful "painting" of a part of Texas that is rich in history and natural beauty. A must-read for anyone who wants to know what Texas was like before the arrival of air conditioning and the discovery of oil.
As Good as Walden.......2005-06-16
Not since I read "Walden" has a book so moved me. If you ever loved a river, or a piece of land, or ever felt at home in the presence of Nature, then you will delight in this book. But if you are a Texan, then heaven help you, this book is nothing less than magic.
As another reviewer suggested, Mr. Graves should be considered a National Treasure, or nothing less than a Texas Treasure.
A piece of Texas to carry with you.......2004-05-11
I carried a copy of this book with me while away from Texas, while in the US Army back in '71. Every time I would get terribly lonely for home and Texas, I would read this book. I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves history, Texas, nature, or rivers. I own several copies (five last count, as have given away half a dozen to good friends), and continue to re-read the book, as I always enjoy Mr. Graves' words, his history lessons, and his use of the English language. His imparting of the north Texas dialect is wonderful, as that dialect is the one in which I also was and am immersed. I have many other of Mr. Graves books, but GTAR is the first you should read!
Average customer rating:
- good book to read
- Save the Neches!
- Paddling the Neches River, Donovan sees so much
|
Paddling the Wild Neches (Texas A&M Nature Guides)
Richard M. Donovan
Manufacturer: Texas A&M University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Turtleback
 General
| Water Sports
| Sports
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Canoeing
| Water Sports
| Sports
| Subjects
| Books
Reference & Tips
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
| Beaches
| Business Travel
| Cruises
| Essays & Travelogues
| Food & Lodging
| Guidebooks
| Pictorial
| Reference
| Spas
| Tips
| Tourist Destinations & Museums
| Travel Writing
West South Central
| South
| Regions
| United States
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Texas
| States
| United States
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
Canoeing
| Adventure
| Specialty Travel
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
Travel with Pets
| Specialty Travel
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
North America
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
Texas
| State & Local
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Prairie Time: A Blackland Portrait (Sam Rayburn Series on Rural Life)
-
Goodbye to a River: A Narrative
ASIN: 1585444960 |
Book Description
"There is no river like the Neches."-from the Foreword
From its origins on a sandy hillside in Van Zandt County, the Neches River flows through the heart of East Texas. In its watershed lies some of the wildest country in Texas, tucked amid the remains of one of the finest hardwood forests in the world.
With the goal of keeping the Neches flowing free, East Texas native and riverman Richard M. Donovan takes readers canoeing down a two-hundred-mile stretch of the upper Neches. Through two national forests and mile after mile of remote river woodlands, he chronicles the river's natural and cultural history, describes its animal inhabitants, recounts stories of early settlers and East Texas hunting traditions, and calls attention to the recreational potential of the river for paddlers and others, whether residents or visitors.
Donovan also makes a case against damming the river. He convincingly promotes the idea of turning the Neches into a National Wild and Scenic River, preserving forever the river's natural flow and what remains of the verdant bottomlands of this historic watercourse.
Customer Reviews:
good book to read.......2007-02-07
I read this book with great interest. Born and raised in Angelina County in 1927 I relived many wonderful adventures on the Neches river. I only wish Richard Donovan every success in this venture which he has undertaken, to see the Neches receive the coveted Wild River designation.
Save the Neches!.......2006-11-01
Some buddies and I have been paddling or climbing over log jams on the Neches River from Lake Palestine section at a time and eventually will go as far as the river will take us. If you are planning to paddle the Neches river this is the definitive book. The river float milage maps are extremely helpful in planning your trip.
The author also tells the story of the Neches River and how important it is to the environment, wildlife and history of the East Texas region and even down to the coastal areas of Texas. If you enjoy a true well written entertaining outdoor adventure this book will suffice.
Unfortunately, are threats facing the wild Neches River. There are interests that are attempting to dam and have plans to further harm this unique natural resource. The author wrote this book for public awarness of the importance of the Neches River and not for personal profit. In fact, proceeds benfit the Conservation Fund for the purchase of Neches River bottomland.
Paddling the Neches River, Donovan sees so much.......2006-06-04
This quality book is recommended reading for anyone who loves the outdoors, nature or our wilderness areas. Mr. Donovan writes about the Neches River and the surrounding East Texas area and tells our history with such clarity that you can see the sights, hear the sounds and smell the scents. His love of our beautiful but vanishing outdoors is evident. There are some people who could walk out in to the woods and not see or feel as much as you can reading this book. When reading about his canoe trip down the river, it was so exciting that I found myself staying up until nearly 2 AM when I had to be at work the next morning by 7 AM.
There are a lot of beautiful pictures of nature as well as historic photo's that are captivating. If you were interested enough to read this review, take my advice, and read this book; you will be glad you did.
Book Description
In a stark and haunting debut novel, Harry Hunsicker introduces Dallas P.I. Lee Henry Oswald,a Special Forces veteran of the Gulf War whose work begins where legal options end...He bears a killer's name...Lee H. "Hank" Oswald inherited more from his bull-headed father than just a name. It's not that he looks for trouble; he just can't seem to keep out of its way. Fortunately being named Oswald in Dallas makes a man tough enough to get the job done, no matter what side of the law he's forced to walk... He seeks a missing brotherThings get even rougher for Hank when he agrees to help an old friend find her troubled brother. She swears Charlie's quit the drugs for good, now that he's got a job in real estate. But Hank's barely taken the case when he discovers that the Dallas real estate wars can be as vicious and dirty as anything he'd encountered on the battlefield. He's found three suspects-and a hundred ways to die...Before long, three prime suspects emerge: a ruthless Dallas dealmaker; a rising young real estate developer and community activist; and one of the city's most notorious, and deadly, drug lords. Digging through the muck to find something to tie these three together-and to Charlie-Hank comes to one unmistakable truth: For the right price, a man might do anything.
Customer Reviews:
Doesn't read like a first novel.......2006-08-15
Strong effort. In the paperback the print is tiny, give us a break next time, because this writer shows great promise. Loose the drawing room confrontation next time. Good action, good time.
Good, but not great.......2005-12-18
Some have compared this book to Lehane and Connelly. While I understand the comparison, to me this book just didn't have the same cachet as those. Hank is interesting and there are the well-armed, violent, gay-couple sidekicks, but I never felt connected to them. Hank gets beat up and shot, and shot, and shot but is the proverbial Timex. There are a lot of bad guys without any of them being memorable. The dialogue is good, although the author needs to ensure he does not overuse the phrase (paraphrasing) "If someone knows of a better...I wish they'd show me." The author works too hard at cleaver names for his characters: Lee Henry Oswald, for a book set in Dallas; Vera Drinkwater, client with an alcoholic brother; bad guys Clairol and Fagen. For all that, the story moves well and there are some clever moments. The book was good, but didn't knock me out.
Funny, sexy, unexpected. Breathless pace. High stakes........2005-09-28
Funny, sexy, unexpected:
"Spanky's didn't even have a liquor license, so the girls could dance naked, rather than just topless. For this, you paid a cover charge and a setup fee, and brought in your own alcohol so you could sit at a cramped, wobbly table and watch a strung-out-nineteen-year-old with three kids shake her ass to Metallica. The bar was also where I met my e x-wife, Amber, but not in the capacity most imagine."
Breathless pace:
"I rolled out of the car onto the pavement, dropped the knife and pulled my gun. Kneeling by the ruined Mercedes, I held the pistol pointed out, not sure what I was going to shoot since I couldn't see anything......I wiped blood out of my eyes and could see. A shape appeared at the back side of the Mercedes."
High stakes:
"A pistol materialized in his hand. He pointed at me and pulled the trigger. A millisecond later, someone hit my stomach with a two-by-four. My knees wouldn't support my body anymore and I fell, squeezing the trigger of the Browning one time as I went over."
Delicious, witty, fast-paced thriller!.......2005-06-21
Our newspaper gets "review copies" of new books every week... most go in the trash. This gripping debut from Harry Hunsicker has gone from editor to editor and is a great read! Hunsicker really captures the underbelly of Dallas in steamy, noir fashion. His characters all have their own fun, quirky personalities and the plot rips along with over-the-speed-limit velocity. I stayed up late to finish this book and I can't wait to see what Lee Henry Oswald gets himself into next time!
WOW! BEST OF THE YEAR!.......2005-05-26
Incredible modern mystery noir! Characters the you love to hate and hate to love. A must read for all fans of Michael Connelly, Michael Kordoba, and Ross MacDonald. The character of Lee Henry Oswald (you've got to wonder about his parents) lives and breathes on the streets of Dallas.
Nicely done, a thoroughly enjoyable read introducing me to a darker, more sinister and menacing in which I live. Nicely done, Harrry Hunsicker has written the best mystery I've read this year!
Average customer rating:
- Intense and compelling
- An absorbing, powerful epic novel
- A novel filled with dread, ghastly events, and remorse
- All Students of Texas History should read this book
|
Promised Lands: A Novel of the Texas Rebellion (Southwest Life and Letters)
Elizabeth Crook
Manufacturer: Southern Methodist University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
| 18th Century
| 19th Century
| 20th Century
| African American
| Asian American
| Classics
| Collections & Readers
| Drama
| General
| Hispanic
| History & Criticism
| Humor
| Jewish American
| Letters & Correspondence
| Native American
| Poetry
| Short Stories
| Women Writers
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Historical
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
-
The Raven's Bride (Southwest Life and Letters)
-
The Night Journal
-
Whitethorn Woods
-
The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel
ASIN: 0870743856 |
Book Description
Elizabeth Crook's vast yet intimate novel of the Texas Revolution takes us beyond the traditional setpieces of the Alamo and San Jacinto to the other places where the war was fought--to the forest traces and prairies and Gulf Coast beaches, and to the hearts of the novel's vibrant characters. Among them: Domingo de la Rosa--the great Tejano ranchero, implacable and devout, for whom the fight against the Anglo "heretics" is nothing less than a holy war. Hugh Kenner--a physician whose son has run away to the war. Hugh will discover the heroic strength of his compassion, and also its brutal cost. Katie Kenner--Hugh's restless daughter, a refugee caught up in the massive human stampede known as The Runaway Scrape, who finds herself in love with a foreigner and responsible for the life of an orphan baby. Adelaido Pacheco--a dashing tobacco smuggler loyal to no cause but his own, a man without a country and in peril of becoming a man without a soul. Crucita Pacheco--Adelaido's beautiful sister who has lost her family, all but Adelaido, in the cholera epidemic of 1832. Feeling that God has forsaken her, she enters Domingo de la Rosa's employ as a spy against the Anglo rebels, and discovers an improbable love. Through these people and others, Promised Lands brings a myth-encrusted chapter of American history to authentic life. Elizabeth Crook demonstrates once again a stunning command of her period and a passionate regard for her characters. Promised Lands bears the hallmark of a master novelist: a grand vision, rendered on an unforgettably human scale.
Customer Reviews:
Intense and compelling.......2007-09-21
Elizabeth Crook's novel, Promised Lands captivated me. Her research so accurate and her characterization so poignant that I feel like I lived the times with these people. And though Fannin's indecision, the subsequent cause of his downfall, stings the Texan,history is never made up of simple infallible characters. My imagination was so piqued, I revisited Goliad after reading the book. Reading Ms. Crook's novel illuminates the past and it is beautifully written. And outstanding work and yes,a must for every student of Texas history.
An absorbing, powerful epic novel.......2007-04-09
I'm not a Texas history buff but this story is fascinating. It captured my interest right at the beginning and picked up steam all the way to the end. It has everything you want in historical fiction: romance, humor, violence, tragedy, and characters you care about. It has funny scenes and extremely amusing dialogue mixed in with the tragedy. It's also beautifully written. There are two or three plot lines in the beginning but I was happy to go from one to another as they all interested me, and as they came together fairly quickly. If you're looking for a great epic, this is a perfect selection. It's not light reading, but enriching and satisfying. Highly recommended.
A novel filled with dread, ghastly events, and remorse.......2006-09-01
Promised Lands, by Austin author Elizabeth Crook, is a grim novel about grim people caught up in one of the grimmest incidents in Texas history, the Goliad Massacre of 1836. And did I mention that the book is grim?
In following two families as their fate puts them on a collision course with history, Promised Lands is based on a time-honored premise for historical fiction. But Crook, who showed her skill in writing about emotionally damaged people in her earlier novel The Raven's Bride, does not settle for easy cliches about high-spirited women and two-fisted men. The characters in Promised Lands are extraordinarly complex and finely drawn. On the Anglo side of the divide, we follow the Kenner family, particularly dad Hugh, a doctor who has given up practice; daughter Katie, a young woman who yearns to feel needed; and son Toby, a bespectacled boy who wants nothing more than to prove himself. On the Tejano side, we follow the brother-sister pair of Adelaido, an arrogant young caballero, and Crucita, an introspective seamstress whose kindness tears her between love and loyalty.
One of the problems in Promised Lands is the number of characters. Besides the five primary characters mentioned above, there are a half-dozen more point-of-view characters, all with complex motivations, back stories, and emotional baggage. I think that because of the large cast, the story never achieves much momentum. I felt I had to press a mental "Reset" at the beginning of every chapter to follow someone new. Even within a chapter, there is some "head jumping" to include the thoughts and motivations of even minor characters. While the writing is skillfully handled, I got frustrated after a while. This novel is stuffed with enough characters and ideas for three novels. I wish Crook had done some cutting and perhaps refocused the novel on just a few characters. For example, it would have been interesting to see what she did with a book that followed just Katie, Crucita, and Toby, allowing us to see the others only through their eyes.
I also became weary of the depression that enshrouded most of the characters. While I didn't expect a rollicking good time with a book on the Goliad Massacre, I think the novel might have been improved with if the characters had been more varied. Several of these folks were significantly traumatized before the novel even began. A couple of smart-alecks would have provided some much-needed relief for the reader and maybe even have added some good interpersonal conflict to the story.
All Students of Texas History should read this book.......1996-12-29
Very readable book about the Texas War of Independence with Mexico. Although a fictional book, it accurately shows the real issues in the Texas War. The "heros" of the Texas Revolution such as Fannin and Bowie were shown to be men who made serious mistakes in the war. Some of the issues surrounding the "war" such as slavery were documented. While I have read several books on Texas History, this book brings out new information and facts through the fictional setting. The horror of Goliad was accurately protrayed in this book. This is truly a book that is hard to put down once it has been started. There are touches of Jean Auel in the author's writing style. It is obviously a well researched book that even documents in detail the early use of "natural" medicines
Customer Reviews:
Reflecting the Times.......2003-12-05
At 60 years old, Geraldine Watson decided to make the eighty mile journey down the Neches River in the pineywoods of East Texas that she had wanted to take all her life. As a naturalist and Big Thicket activist, she had visited parts of the river many times over the years. In three separate segments, she floats down the river from Town Bluff to just north of Beaumont. On the way, the reader is treated to actual accounts of the trip along with memories and histories of the river, the land, and its people. There are beautiful memories, such as finding of a rare colony of yellow ladies slipper orchids in a hidden glen, celebrating with the river people; sad memories, such as the raping of the forests, the loss of her faithful dog, the hard times of the people inhabiting the river bottoms; and funny memories, such as hitching a ride off an island on a tugboat.
An absorbing memoir of past childhood.......2003-08-08
Deftly written by Geraldine Ellis Watson (a plant ecologist and former ranger for the National Park Service), Reflections On The Neches is an absorbing memoir of a past childhood as well as a commentary upon the natural and social history of the Neches (one of the last "wild" rivers in Texas, just now being subjected to dams) region of the Big Thicket country. A moving and insightful reflection of the ecology and the natural beauty of the land itself, Reflections On The Neches is informed and informative reading, and highly recommended to students of Natural History in general, and the Neches River Valley country in particular.
Books:
- Winter Flowers: And Other Signs of Redemption
- WoodsWalk: Peepers, Porcupines, and Exploding Puff Balls!
- Words From the Land Encounters with Natural History Writing
- 70 Common Cacti of the Southwest
- A Field Guide to the Grand Canyon
- A Sense of the Morning: Nature Through New Eyes
- Already Home: A Topography of Spirit and Place
- Amazon Grace: Re-Calling the Courage to Sin Big
- An Illustrated Laboratory Text in Zoology
- Analysis Of Health Surveys (Wiley Series in Probability and Statistics)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Coming of Age in Samoa: A Psychological Study of Primitive Youth for Western Civilisation
- 500 Earrings: New Directions in Contemporary Jewelry
- The Trust Process in Organizations: Empirical Studies of the Determinants and the Process of Trust D
- The Moral Purpose of the State
- The Tempest
- 90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death & Life
- With Their Eyes: September 11th--The View from a High School at Ground Zero
- Irmi's Commercial Auto Insurance Guide
- Think Single: The Woman's Guide to Financial Security at Every Stage of Life
- Making Financial Dreams Your Reality: The Novice Investors Guide To An Inspiring Quality Of Life
Kashmere Gardens Mud
Texas State of Mind
Live Fast, Love Hard: The Faron Young Story (Music in American Life)
Last of the Breed
The Little Darlin' Sessions
