Flippin' San Antonio Fiesta

Artist Rolando Briseño brought some cultural adjustment to an iconic Texas landmark at the June 2011 "Flippin' San Antonio Fiesta" in San Antonio, Texas. Briseño and his art are the subject of Moctezuma's Table (TAMU PRESS 2011) by Norma Cantú. Watch exclusive footage from the event here:

Get an inside look at Briseno's art, order your own copy of Moctezuma's Table here.

TAMU Press author on PBS Austin!

Author William C. Welch recently appeared on KLRU PBS Austin's Central Texas Gardener to talk about his book Heirloom Gardening in the South: Yesterday's Plants for Today's Garden. Welch illustrates our cultural garden design melting pot and some of its pioneer plants. Watch the segment here!

“In Heirloom Gardening in the South, discover which native plants were respected for survival, those that made their way to our shores, and the ones that have stuck it out through thick and thin. Discover the reason behind 'swept gardens' and how plants like crinums and Phlox paniculata ‘John Fanick’ found their way into our backyards.”— Linda Lehmusvirta, Central Texas Gardener Producer, KLRU-TV, Austin PBS

Read more of Linda’s blog featuring Heirloom Gardening in the South here! Her blog includes pictures from the book, tips from Welch and videos.

Want to see what all the hype is about? Read more about Heirloom Gardening in the South: Yesterday's Plants for Today's Garden and order your own copy here!

How to “Adapt and Overcome”

“Adapt and Overcome” is the motto Urban Search and Rescue lives by.

Texas Task Force 1, the state’s primary search and rescue team and one of 28 federal teams in the national urban search and rescue system, has been dispatched for state and national emergencies ─ probing the devastation at Ground Zero and saving lives on the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Members are trained for ground, water, and air missions throughout Texas and the nation.

In Bud Force’s book Texas Task Force 1: Urban Search and Rescue, readers get an intimate picture of Texas Task Force 1 at work as he follows the team on their major deployments and documents their specialized equipment and training, including time spent at the unique facility known as Disaster City. The result is a lively mix of history, interviews, and photographs that paints a fascinating portrait of these courageous people — and their canine partners — who place themselves in danger in order to save others.

Texas Task Force 1 hits stores in August! Order your own copy here!

With 289 color photos, readers get a truly inside look on how to “adapt and overcome.”

Enjoy these exclusive photos from the book:

Multiple Transformations…Not Just for Celebrities

Did you know that the Texas Clipper, which currently sits off the coast of South Padre Island, was once an attack transport in World War II? The Texas Clipper has undergone transformation…after transformation… after transformation.

After the war, the ship became the SS Excambion, one of the “4 Aces” of American Export Lines: the only fully air-conditioned ships in the world at the time.

In 1965, the versatile Excambion underwent yet another transformation—into a floating classroom. Recommissioned as the USTS Texas Clipper, the ship began a third life as a merchant marine training vessel with its home port in Galveston. For the next three decades the Texas Clipper would be home to merchant marine cadets, and by the time it was retired in 1996, it was the oldest active ship in the U.S. merchant marine fleet. Finally, the Texas Clipper, after lengthy bureaucratic wrangling, was designated to be sunk in the Gulf of Mexico as an artificial reef to provide habitat for marine life. In 2009, the ship was towed to its final resting place, 17 nautical miles off the coast of South Padre Island. Now, 136 feet below the surface, the venerable Texas Clipper lives on as home to a wide variety of underwater species.

If this series of transformations captivates you, order a copy of Stephen Curley’s The Ship That Would Not Die now!

Curley’s book is filled not only with meticulously researched technical and historical data about the ship’s construction, service record, crew procedures, and voyages, but also features lively anecdotes from crew members, passengers, and officers. More than 140 color and black-and-white photos illustrate the ship’s construction, its wide variety of shipboard life, the exacting process of making the Texas Clipper ready to become an artificial reef, and its final sinking in the Gulf of Mexico.

Read more about The Ship That Would Not Die and order your own copy here!

High Hopes

"Two toymakers have literally written the book on building chimney swift nesting towers- vital to the declining bird’s survival-and turned their Texas property into a thriving Audubon sanctuary."

These toymakers are not only innovative bird watchers but TAMU Press authors as well! Paul and Georgean Kyle were recently featured in Audubon Magazine for their ability to turn their Texas property into a prosperous sanctuary. The magazine features the Kyles and their books Chimney Swift Towers and Chimney Swifts.

If you are not a subscriber to Audubon Magazine, make sure to check out this web exclusive here! It features YouTube videos, an article excerpt, and photos about how the Kyles have dedicated their spare time—and their property—to providing summer homes for chimney swifts. Or, read the FULL article here!

TAMU Press is offering both Chimney Swift Towers and Chimney Swifts for just $5 each! Get your own copy now!!!!

A book-loving ape and a tech-savvy donkey talk digital vs. print?

Watch the It's a Book trailer here!!!

Judging by the book trailer, It’s a Book by author and illustrator Lane Smith (Roaring Brook Press), will sure be a hit! A book “for the technorati and literati alike”, it features a book-loving ape and a tech-savvy donkey talking digital vs. print. Quite a treat for those of us who fondly remember a time before e-readers, computers, iPods and WiFi.

This is a must read for book lovers, book readers and just anyone who needs a little lesson in what a book is and what a book is not.

To learn more about author/illustrator Lane Smith, check out his website here!

Serious Tomato Problem!

What if your next tomato harvest produced 200 tomatoes?!

Cliff Shackelford, author of Hummingbirds of Texas has a serious problem with tomatoes! After reading a copy of The Texas Tomato Lovers Handbook (Texas A&M University Press), by Bill Adams, his kitchen is now over-run with homegrown tomatoes. Obviously, this is a VERY good problem to have!

Shackelford says:
". . . Holy smokes! They are juicy, tasty, and wonderful. We've enjoyed a lot of tomato sandwiches, fresh tomato sauce, Julie's homemade pico-de-gallo, and more. Because we cannot eat them all, a small sack-full can sure put a smile on the faces of friends."


Tomatoes from Cliff’s own kitchen. (His set of keys in the photo are merely to demonstrate that these are not little tomatoes.)

Looking to create your own “tomato problem?” Order your own copy of The Texas Tomato Lovers Handbook here!