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"All Afire to Fight" by Martha L. Crabb is a civil war history of the 9th Texas Calvary. Based primarily upon diaries and letters of the actual soldiers, it follows Texas cavalry soldiers through their time in the war. It's a well written and very personal account of the war from those who fought. I loved it. HIGHLY recommend it.

UpTheIrons,

A book that falls in the history of the west category that I found both entertaining and educational is, Three Roads to the Alamo; The Lives and Fortunes of David Crockett, James Bowie, and William Barret Travis, by William C. Davis, an author who specializes in Civil War and Southern history (so if you like this book, you may want to look up one of his other 30-some books).

I quoted from it in some of the "This Day in Texas History" posts during the couple weeks leading up to the anniversary of the fall of the Alamo -- you might want to go back and check some of the late Feb/early March posts to see how you like it. This book is a triple biography of these men, so most of the book is focused on their lives in the East, before they came to Texas, but it is interesting and important to see how that led them to come to "The West." (And of course "The West" started a lot further east in those days.. ). It does have an excellent accounting of the final days of the Alamo, which is what I quoted from in joe817's posts.

Since you live in/near Seguin, if you want to borrow my copy, maybe we could meet in town for lunch. Know where Christina's is, I presume?

Another interesting one, if you can find it: "Letters from the Field: John Sylvanus Loud and the Pine Ridge Campaign of 1890 - 91"

"River of Doubt", a biography of Teddy Roosevelt's last excursion along an uncharted Amazon river. Excellent read.

Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen is worth checking out and a fairly quick read. Not an actual history book, rather it is a critique of American history text books and their oversites and ommissions

Day Trips
BY GERALD E. MCLEOD

History Ahead: Stories Beyond the Texas Roadside Markers by Dan K. Utley and Cynthia J. Beeman is part travel guide and part history book. Loaded with unusual places to explore, this new book puts a face and personality on Texas history. If grade-school history books were this interesting, then recess would become many more students' second-favorite subject.

Few people are better qualified to know where the ghosts of Texas history are hidden than Utley and Beeman. He is the former chief historian of the Texas Historical Commission, and she is the former director of the Texas Historical Commission's History Programs Division. Published by Texas A&M University Press, the book carries on the tradition of passing history from one generation to the next through storytelling.

Since the first historical markers were placed around the state in 1932, more than 13,000 of the aluminum signs with raised lettering have sprouted at landmarks and historic sites. Quite often these interpretive plates, many of them written or edited by Beeman, give only abbreviated versions of much larger tales. In 19 chapters and 25 sidebars, the authors take the reader on a journey behind the historical signs from the oil fields of the Permian Basin to the musical lanes of Deep Ellum. Each entry in the book is followed by the location of historical markers related to the story.

For day-trippers and history buffs, this tome is both useful and entertaining. It is going to be hard for many readers not to go in search of the little-known historic places such as the tabernacles of Erath County or to retrace Charles Lindbergh's flights across Texas once they read the stories of the people and events behind the historical markers.

The pages of the book are filled with the most famous Texans that you have never heard of before. There is Bessie Coleman, "Queen of the Air." Born in Atlanta, Texas, she was the first black woman in the world to earn a pilot's license. There also is jazz guitarist Charlie Christian of Bonham, suffragist Jessie Daniel Ames of Georgetown, first solo circumnavigator pilot Wiley Post of Grand Saline, and faith healer Don Pedro Jaramillo of Los Olmos. Even J. Frank Dobie, JP "The Big Bopper" Richardson, and Will Rogers make appearances in this collection of faded Texas tales.

Once you read the histories, you will want to search out places like the Natatorium in Amarillo, Kleb Woods Nature Preserve in Tomball, the Ozark Trail in the Panhandle, and the Armstrong Browning Library in Waco – which houses the world's largest collection of material about and by Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

History Ahead is a fine companion to Betty Dooley Awbrey's book Why Stop? A Guide to Texas Historical Roadside Markers. The Utley and Beeman book will pique the interest of those looking for something unusual to do for this summer's driving trip.

977th in a series. Day Trips, Vol. 2, a book of "Day Trips" 101-200, is available for $8.95, plus $3.05 for shipping, handling, and tax. Mail to: Day Trips, PO Box 33284, South Austin, TX 78704.

SIA listened to the above 2 authors on a call-in show. The above text is from the 3/26/10 Austin Chronicle.
The above book doesn't exactly fit your requests, but you can't get too much Texana!!

ELB wrote:UpTheIrons,

A book that falls in the history of the west category that I found both entertaining and educational is, Three Roads to the Alamo; The Lives and Fortunes of David Crockett, James Bowie, and William Barret Travis, by William C. Davis, an author who specializes in Civil War and Southern history (so if you like this book, you may want to look up one of his other 30-some books).

I quoted from it in some of the "This Day in Texas History" posts during the couple weeks leading up to the anniversary of the fall of the Alamo -- you might want to go back and check some of the late Feb/early March posts to see how you like it. This book is a triple biography of these men, so most of the book is focused on their lives in the East, before they came to Texas, but it is interesting and important to see how that led them to come to "The West." (And of course "The West" started a lot further east in those days.. ). It does have an excellent accounting of the final days of the Alamo, which is what I quoted from in joe817's posts.

Since you live in/near Seguin, if you want to borrow my copy, maybe we could meet in town for lunch. Know where Christina's is, I presume?

This sounds like a good one to me. Yes, I know Christina's well (tasty tortilla soup!), and I'd like to borrow your copy if you're willing to loan it out. So I don't keep it all summer, let me get through my crazy May and June first, and we'll meet up after that. I'll even buy - call it a "rental fee" if you like.

Up, PM sent.

Unintended Consequences, by John Ross
Every gun owner needs to read it. It's fiction, but there is lots of firearms minutae and gun law history mixed in with a gripping fictional story.
The plot is quite controversial, be forewarned.

BTW, I read this book using an ebook reader on my iPhone.
I do most of my book reading that way now. Currently I have about 20 books - novels and non-fiction, loaded on my phone. I always have something to read. Currently reading The Fountainhead, by Ann Rand. Excellent read.