Every area of the world can be mapped out for adventure, and brilliant babies love the sophistication of traveling by train.

This book contains all kinds of fun and fascinating facts about the regions of Texas and their valuable resources. You'll find colorful maps that help you locate Texas' regions and understand their features. You will learn about the many natural and man-made resources of the state and how they affect its economy.

From country and blues to rap and punk, Texas music is all over the map, figuratively and literally. Texas musicians have pioneered new musical genres, instruments, and playing styles, proving themselves to be daring innovators who often call the tune for musicians around the country and even abroad. To introduce some of these trailblazing Texas musicians to a wider audience and pay tribute to their accomplishments, Michael Corcoran profiles thirty-two of them in All Over the Map: True Heroes of Texas Music. Corcoran covers musicians who work in a wide range of musical genres, including blues, gospel, country, rap, indie rock, pop, Cajun, Tejano, conjunto, funk, honky-tonk, rockabilly, rhythm and blues, and Western swing. His focus is on underappreciated artists, pioneers who haven't fully received their due. He also includes well-known musicians who've been underrated, such as Stevie Ray Vaughan and Selena, and invites us to take a closer look at the unique talents of these artists. Corcoran's profiles come from articles he wrote for the Dallas Morning News, Austin American-Statesman, Houston Press, and other publications, which have been expanded and updated for this volume. His musical detective work even uncovers a case of mistaken identity (Washington Phillips) and corrects much misinformation on Blind Willie Johnson and Arizona Dranes. Corcoran closes the book with lively pieces on the Austin music scene and its most famous, if no longer extant, clubs, as well as his personal lists of the forty greatest Texas songs of all time and the twenty-five essential CDs for Texas music fans.

“Gail Collins is the funniest serious political commentator in America. Reading As Texas Goes… is pure pleasure from page one.” —Rachel Maddow A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year (Nonfiction) As Texas Goes . . . provides a trenchant yet often hilarious look into American politics and the disproportional influence of Texas, which has become the model for not just the Tea Party but also the Republican Party. Now with an expanded introduction and a new concluding chapter that will assess the influence of the Texas way of thinking on the 2012 election, Collins shows how the presidential race devolved into a clash between the so-called “empty places” and the crowded places that became a central theme in her book. The expanded edition will also feature more examples of the Texas style, such as Governor Rick Perry’s nearsighted refusal to accept federal Medicaid funding as well as the proposed ban on teaching “critical thinking” in the classroom. As Texas Goes . . . will prove to be even more relevant to American politics by the dawn of a new political era in January 2013.

Includes an excerpt from the author's Feast Day of Fools.

Rough and tumble, cocky and charming, bullfighter Joe Cassidy is one of the best in the business... And he's way out of Violet's league. But it's going to take more than impossible odds to keep this fierce single mother from her forever cowboy. Violet Jacobs is fearless. At least, that's what the men she snatches from under the hooves of bucking horses think. Outside the ring, she's got plenty of worries rattling her bones: her young son, her mess of a love life, and lately, her family's struggling business. When she takes matters into her own hands and hires on a hotshot new bullfighter, she expects to start a ruckus. She never expected stubborn, showboating, secret heart-of-gold Joe Cassidy. Joe came to Texas to escape a life spiraling out of control. He never planned on sticking around, and he certainly never expected to call this dry and dusty backwater home. But Violet is everything he never knew he was missing, and the deeper he's pulled into her beautiful mess of a family, the more he realizes this fierce, fiery woman may be offering him the one thing he never could find on his own. People are falling in love with Kari Lynn Dell's rodeo cowboy romance: "Look out, world! There's a new cowboy in town."—CAROLYN BROWN, New York Times Bestselling Author "A fun, wild ride!"—B.J. DANIELS, New York Times Bestselling Author "Real Ranches. Real Rodeo. Real Romance."—LAURA DRAKE, author of Sweet on a Cowboy series "An extraordinarily gifted writer."—KAREN TEMPLETON, author of Wed in the West series Need more convincing? Just watch these sparks fly: Joe lifted a finger to brush back a strand of her hair, savoring the cool slide of it over his skin. She frowned, but didn't slap at his hand, didn't shrink away when he leaned in. Would she let him kiss her? Maybe, but he was enjoying the slow rev of his engine, the lazy swell of heat, all from just sitting next to her, barely touching. He traced a line down the side of her neck, watching the skin pebble in response. "Go out with me, Violet." Her forehead puckered. "But...I don't even like you." "Yes, you do." She sucked in an outraged breath, but Joe only smiled wider.

NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FINALIST • The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Looming Tower—and a Texas native—takes us on a journey through the most controversial state in America. • “Beautifully written…. Essential reading [for] anyone who wants to understand how one state changed the trajectory of the country.” —NPR Texas is a red state, but the cities are blue and among the most diverse in the nation. Oil is still king, but Texas now leads California in technology exports. Low taxes and minimal regulation have produced extraordinary growth, but also striking income disparities. Texas looks a lot like the America that Donald Trump wants to create. Bringing together the historical and the contemporary, the political and the personal, Texas native Lawrence Wright gives us a colorful, wide-ranging portrait of a state that not only reflects our country as it is, but as it may become—and shows how the battle for Texas’s soul encompasses us all.

This is Texas, Y'All! written and illustrated by Misha Blaise A charming gift for proud Texans of all ages Take a rollicking ride through Texas culture and history with this quirky illustrated guide to all things Texan. Beyond celebration of classic cowboy culture, you will discover: -the only Czech word known to all Texas -what city outlawed dancing for 52 years -the Texas history that underlies the Oscars -what automotive culture is called "hip hop on wheels" -and what town was named after a famous English novelist Fascinating factoids paired with whimsical hand-drawn art bring to life the land, food, nature, events, and music that collectively form the unparalleled culture of the Lone Star State. Young and old will enjoy this visual feast almost as much as a plate of barbecue.

2nd Edition. This book is a peek into the Texas psyche and explains why Texans are the way they are...where all that attitude comes from.

Welcome to Texas! Whether they're locals or visitors, young readers will love this bright, cheerful, fact-filled picture book celebration of "The Lone Star State." With information about the state's animals, plants, regions, food, people, customs, and fun places to visit, this tribute to Texas is the perfect gift for vacationers and residents alike. The warm, bright illustrations highlight the many delights to be found throughout the state, and the easy-yet-informative details ("Texas is BIG! It's the second-largest state in the USA") give just the right amount of information to kids from preschool on up.