Synopses & Reviews
Since Roy Bedichekand#8217;s influential
Adventures with a Texas Naturalist, no book has attempted to explore the uniqueness of Texas nature, or reflected the changes in the human landscape that have accelerated since Bedichekand#8217;s time.
Pride of Place updates Bedichekand#8217;s discussion by acknowledging the increased urbanization and the loss of wildspace in todayand#8217;s state. It joins other recent collections of regional nature writing while demonstrating what makes Texas uniquely diverse.
These fourteen essays are held together by the story of Texas pride, the sense that from West Texas to the Coastal Plains, we and the landscape are important and worthy of pride, if not downright bravado. This book addresses all the major regions of Texas. Beginning with Roy Bedichekand#8217;s essay and#147;Still Water,and#8221; it includes Carol Cullar and Barbara and#147;Barneyand#8221; Nelson on the Rio Grande region of West Texas, John Gravesand#8217;s evocative and#147;Kindred Spiritsand#8221; on Central Texas, Joe Nick Patoskiand#8217;s celebration of Hill Country springs, Pete Gunter on the Piney Woods, David Taylor on North Texas, Gary Clark and Gerald Thurmond on the Coastal Plains, Ray Gonzales and Marian Haddad on El Paso, Stephen Harrigan and Wyman Meinzer on West Texas, and Naomi Shihab Nye on urban San Antonio.
This anthology will appeal not only to those interested in regional history, natural history, and the environmental issues Texans face, but also to all who say gladly, and#147;I'm from Texas.and#8221;
About the Author
David Taylor is the Academic Advisor in the Honors College at the University of North Texas and teaches in the Philosophy and English Departments. His previous works include South Carolina Naturalists: An Anthology, 1700and#150;1860 and Lawson's Fork: Headwaters to the Confluence. He lives in Denton, Texas.