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Spotlight on Texas is a quarterly cassette publication announcing
the latest audio books produced by volunteers at the Talking Book
Program Volunteer Recording Studio in Austin and at the Recording
Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped in Midland. The
audio version of "Spotlight on Texas" is distributed on request
to Texans with disabilities who are registered to receive the Talking
Book Program's free library service.
Since 1978, Talking Book volunteers have recorded thousands of
fiction and nonfiction titles by Texas authors or about the history,
culture, folklore, and people of the Lone Star state. Titles recorded
include biographies, histories, westerns, romances, mysteries, self-help,
travel, and children's books. More than 10 new books are completed
each month, including some in Spanish. In addition, volunteers record
three Texas magazines: Texas Monthly, Texas Parks & Wildlife, and
Texas Highways.
If you would like to receive an audio cassette copy of "Spotlight
on Texas" each quarter, please contact the Talking Book Program
through the phone numbers, e-mail address, postal address, or fax
number listed at the bottom
of this page.
To order any of the books listed below, note the titles and CT
book numbers you would like to request. Then call a Reader Consultant
toll-free in Texas at 1-800-252-9605 or, in Austin, at 512-463-5458.
A voicemail message service is available after hours and on weekends
for you to leave book requests or other messages. Say your full
name and patron number (if known) clearly when leaving messages
and give the CT book number and title for each request. Book orders
may also be sent in an e-mail message to: tbp.services@tsl.state.tx.us
Following the list of titles recently recorded by our volunteers,
we also feature in this issue a section on mysteries recorded in
years past. We are pleased to provide this reminder to you that
these mystery books are available.
Note the titles and book numbers you would like to request, then
call us at any time with your order.
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Fiction
The Barons of Texas
CT 6446
by Jory Sherman, Narrated by Jack Gazzale, 3 cassettes
Soon after Texas gained independence from Mexico, men like Martin
Baron came with a dream of wealth and a vision of an empire. There,
in the vast Rio Grande Valley, he began to build a cattle ranch
encompassing millions of acres. In time, he would build the greatest
dynasty of the New West, and breed the best beef the world had ever
known. But the Barons of Texas would not fulfill Martin Baron's
dream easily not without great cost, great suffering, and a great
loss of life. This book contains: Some Sex, Violence, Profanity
Dead Reckoning
CT 6441
by Mike Blakely, Narrated by Theresa Hackley, 2 cassettes
After a botched confidence scam, swindler Dee Hassard begins a killing
spree that covers half of the Colorado Territory. His first victim
is the brother of rustler-turned-preacher Carrol Moncrief. Now Carrol
must fall back on his former outlaw savvy to track the murderer
down. This book contains: Profanity
Dew on the Thorn
CT 6232
by Jovita Gonzalez Mireles, Narrated by Noble Atkins, 2 cassettes
Dew on the Thorn seeks to recreate the life of Texas Mexicans as
Anglo culture gradually encroached on them. Gonzalez provides us
with a richly detailed portrait of the ranch life of the Olivares
clan of South Texas, focusing on the cultural traditions of Texas
Mexicans at a time when the divisions of class and race were pressing
on the established way of life. I
High John The Conqueror
CT 6440
by John W. Wilson, Narrated by Jeanne Guichard, 2 cassettes
Set in the river bottoms of southeast Texas where the Navasota and
Brazos rivers come together, High John the Conqueror tells the story
of African-American cotton farmers struggling to keep their land
during the last years of the Great Depression. Ruby Lee and Cleveland
Webster are sharecroppers on property owned by the rich white man,
John Cheney, but Cleveland's parents are struggling to hold on to
the farm they have owned since the end of slavery. This book contains:
Violence
The House of Forgetting: A Novel
CT 6452
by Benjamin Alire Saenz, Narrated by Janice Lathin, 2 cassettes
At the age of seven, Gloria Santos is taken by Thomas Blacker from
the barrio in El Paso, Texas, to his home in Chicago. There Blacker,
a respected writer and academic, raises Gloria to be a refined,
educated young woman with an appreciation of literature, music,
and fine cooking. For more than twenty years, she is confined to
Blacker's house. She becomes like his flowers, lovingly tended,
but utterly at his mercy. This is a psychological drama that examines
one woman's search for her identity and explores what it means to
have freedom. This book contains: Some Sex, Violence, Profanity
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I Promise
CT 6294
by Joan Johnston, Narrated by Therese East, 2 cassettes
The New York press calls Delia Carson the Hanging Judge which makes
her an oddity on the Brooklyn Supreme Court. Concealed behind her
successful legal career is a romance that shattered twenty years
earlier and forced her to flee her family's Texas ranch. Now her
mother's illness brings Delia back to Uvalde and she can't avoid
Marshall North, her former love, who found his own path to fame
as a journalist. Their youthful passion, interrupted but not destroyed,
can bring lifelong happiness only if Delia and Marsh can solve the
crime that drove them apart so many years ago. This book contains:
Heavy Sex, Profanity
Mourn Not Your Dead
CT 6447
by Deborah Crombie, Narrated by Dorothy Blair, 2 cassettes
Scotland Yard Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and Sergeant Gemma James
are sent to suburban Surrey to investigate the murder of a high-ranking
police officer. Alastair Gilbert was bludgeoned to death in his
kitchen, and the list of potential suspects is long. Duncan and
Gemma must put aside their personal feelings to solve the case.
This book contains: Violence, Profanity
Ordeal
CT 6407
by Deanie Francis Mills, Narrated by Staci Thompson, 3 cassettes
Wren Cameron, a science teacher in San Antonio, is happily married
with two children. Sixteen years earlier, she survived a dangerous
love affair with Jeremiah Hunter, the leader of a radical militia
group. She has put the terrifying FBI raid on the group's camp away
in a distant corner of memory to concentrate on the joy of the present.
Suddenly Jeremiah, newly paroled, reappears from her past and kidnaps
Wren and her son Daniel. He needs her help to wreak his revenge
on the government by blowing up the Federal Building in a large
Texas city. This book contains: Some Sex, Violence, Profanity
Promises of Home
CT 6103
by Jeff Abbott, Narrated by Jack Huff, 2 cassettes
Small-town Texas librarian Jordan Poteet needs all of his talent
as an amateur sleuth in this third mystery set in his hometown of
Mirabeau. Twenty years earlier, twelve-year-old Jordan, Junebug
Moncrief, and four of their close friends stumbled upon the corpse
of a teenage girl in the aftermath of a tornado. Now those friends
are being murdered, one by one. Why and by whom? Unless Jordan and
Junebug, now Mirabeau's Police Chief, can find the answers fast,
they will be the next to die. This book contains: Profanity
Wagontongue
CT 6410
by Elmer Kelton. Narrated by Michael Neibergall. 2 cassettes
As a slave, Isaac Jefford went to war with his owner, Major Lytton,
and saved the man's life. As a free man in post-Civil War West Texas,
Isaac became one of the major's top ranch hands. When the major
hires Pete Runyan, a bitter ex-Confederate, Isaac has to deal with
Runyan's hostility. Gunmen attack Pete and Isaac as they try to
deliver the cash profit from the sale of the herd to the Fort Worth
bank before a foreclosure deadline. The two cowboys must decide
whether to fight alone-or to survive together. This book contains:
Violence, Profanity
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Nonfiction
Letters by Lamplight: A Woman's View of Everyday Life in South
Texas, 1873-1883
CT 6450
by Lois E. Myers, Narrated by Linda Fox, 2 cassettes
Through letters written by one family in post-Reconstruction Texas,
Myers shows what life was like in South Texas, from a feminine perspective.
The detailed letters of joy and struggle on the frontier remind
us that "broad historical events ... are made up of myriad ordinary
lives."
Precious Dust: The Saga Of The Western Gold Rushes
CT 5918
by Paula Mitchell Marks, Narrated by Craig York, 3 cassettes
From the outbreak of gold fever in California in 1848 to the mad
rush to Alaska at the nineteenth century's close, this is the aspiring
miners' story. Historian Paula Mitchell Marks focuses on what propelled
Americans and foreigners to the gold fields, how they endured the
journey and the search, what kept them going or separated them from
their dreams, and what sense they made of the whole experience.
She also explains how the rushes hastened the development of the
western regions and served as a "safety valve" for restless dreamers
who wanted to reassert their individuality (both personal and economic)
as the industrial age engulfed them. This book contains: Profanity
Texans of Valor: Military Heroes in the 20th Century
CT 6451
by Dede Weldon Casad, Narrated by Jeanne Guichard, 1 cassette
This book contains twenty three short biographies of men and women
born in Texas who became military heroes serving in the twentieth
century. Included are heroes of World War I, World War II, the Korean
War, and the War in Vietnam. This book contains: Violence
Texas Forgotten Ports, Volume 2
CT 6185
by Keith Guthrie, Narrated by Cinda Cyrus, 2 cassettes
This second volume in Keith Guthrie's series on Texas forgotten
ports deals with river ports on the Rio Grande, Brazos, and Red
rivers, landings on Caddo Lake and Buffalo Bayou, the river ports
at Jefferson, and the landings on Galveston Bay. The author and
his wife who illustrated the book visited all of the sites of the
old ports in order to research their histories as thoroughly as
possible.
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Spanish Nonfiction
Todavía Remueve Piedras (He Still Moves Stones)
CT 6386
by Max Lucado, Narrated by Dr. Juan Lujan, 2 cassettes
Author Max Lucado answers the question, "How can Jesus change your
life?" by introducing ten individuals from the New Testament. Every
one experienced an extraordinary change in his or her life because
of an encounter with Jesus.
To order any of these titles, call 1-800-252-9605 or, in Austin,
512-463-5458.
Thousands of additional titles recorded in Texas are available
from the Talking Book Program. Ask a Reader Consultant to recommend
other Texas titles and authors or have Texas titles added to your
reading list through our automatic selection program. A world of
Texas books is just a phone call or e-mail message away.
Among the titles available, you may want to consider ordering
these previously recorded western titles:
Spotlight
on Westerns
Black Jack
CT 3259 also RC 30510
by Max Brand, Narrated by Oliver Handley, 2 cassettes
Terry Hollis's father had earned the name Black Jack in a spectacular
career of crime. Now Terry, reared in wealth and treated with kindness,
must either deny his father's heritage or become an outlaw because
society called him Black Jack, too.
Death on the Texas Range
CT 5720
by Patrick E. Andrew,s Narrated by Ev Lunning, 2 cassettes When
an outlaw gang terrorizes the cowtown of Stavanger, Texas with a
spree of murder, robbery, and cattle rustling, Texas Ranger Captain
Charlie Delano is called in to restore law and order to Denton County.
But Delano and his men are outnumbered by the blackhearted Ace Erickson
and his army of rogues, and the final showdown will have to be a
one on one battle of good versus evil. This book contains: Violence,
Profanity
Gents
CT 5911
by Bruce H. Thorstad, Narrated by Cliff Hardwick, 2 cassettes
Riley Stokes, a Kentuckian, and Cass McCasland, a Texan, had hearts
as big as the West: two down-on-their-luck misfits who found each
other and found a way to make some of the worst enemies and best
friends to be had on the frontier. After signing up to guard an
Army paywagon on its way to Fort Dodge, they leave the job to help
a half-Chinese, half-Kiowa woman rescue her Kiowa sister from a
band of whiskey runners. This book contains: Violence, Profanity.
Grass Kingdom
CT 6204
by Jory Sherman, Narrated by Janice Lathin, 3 cassettes Matt Baron,
patriarch of the Baron family, is determined to carve a piece of
the Texas panhandle into the most profitable cattle ranch west of
the Mississippi with the help of his tough-as-nails sister Lou.
Their rule of this grass kingdom is threatened by drought, oil drilling,
marauding rustlers and their own ruthless ambitions. This book contains:
Heavy Sex, Violence, Profanity
Gun Trouble in Tonto Basin
CT 3607
by Zane Grey, Narrated by Ken Lockerman, 2 cassettes Arizona Ames
faces deadly Slade Corton and helps break up a dangerous bandit
gang.
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Gunfight at Eagle Springs
CT 5600
by Frederic Bean, Narrated by Floyd Travis, 1 cassette
Being sheriff was a big responsibility for a nineteen-year-old,
even when the job was part-time in a quiet place like Eagle Springs,
Texas. Gabe Miller's first real test came when a hardened gunman
showed up to investigate the unsolved murder of his younger brother
and the disappearance of his mother. This book contains: Profanity
Guns of Dorking Hollow
CT 3572
by Max Brand, Narrated by Dan Loveland, 2 cassettes
This story of violence and gunplay set in a roaring mining town
tells of a feud between an invincible giant and a man who had to
win a battle with death to protect his kingdom.
Hanging Judge
CT 4108
by Elmer Kelton, Narrated by Tom Fairbrother, 1 cassette
In a story based on the famous 'hanging judge,' Isaac C. Parker,
a newly appointed deputy marshall must deal with a vengeance-seeking
family.
Hard Luck
CT 5734
by Frederic Bean, Narrated by Ed Farrell, 1 cassette
Dan Willis is heading toward the promise of high-paying work in
the New Mexico territory. But by the time he crosses Texas, he is
broke, starving, and willing to take any job he can find. When Dan
takes a job digging holes on Jake Logan's ranch, he soon notices
that something strange-and possibly illegal- is going on. Not wanting
to get involved, Dan is tempted to ride out before payday, but he
feels obliged to help Jake Logan's wife Jane, who has confided in
him. This book contains: Violence
King of the Outlaw Horde
CT 4328
by Zane Grey, Narrated by Bob Schenkkan, 2 cassettes Continues the
adventures of Arizona Ames. As a young man, Rich Ames lived as a
range drifter. After a gunfight that left two men dead, Ames' skill
with a six-gun made him one of the most feared and respected men
in the West.
Outlaw's Fortune
CT 5637
by W.W. Lee, Narrated by Ed Corrigan, 1 cassette
When the Santa Fe Railroad hires Tisdale Investigations to stop
nototious train robber Tom Hogan, Tisdale is surprised to find his
best investigator, Jefferson Birch, reluctant to take the job. Birch
agrees to go after Hogan-not for money or a sense of justice but
to lay the past to rest. This book contains: Violence, Profanity
Snowy Range Gang
CT 6051
by Mike Blakely, Narrated by Ed Corrigan, 2 cassettes
Retired livestock detective Claude Duval thought he was through
with rustlers and killers when he left Texas for Wyoming. But when
duty calls again, he finds himself accepting help from his sworn
enemy Lone Wolf Wolverton, and the two team up to track down the
Snowy Range Gang. This book is contained: Violence, Profanity
Texas Trackers
CT 5538
by Doyle Trent, Narrated by Harold Steadman, 2 cassettes
This is a Western with elements of a detective story, involving
a young eastern dude and a young cowboy. The two join forces to
track down the bad guys, and their quest leads from northern New
Mexico to El Paso, with adventures all along the way. This book
contains: Violence, Profanity
Ordering
More Texas Titles
Thousands of additional titles recorded in Texas are available from
the Talking Book Program. Ask a Reader Consultant to recommend other
Texas titles and authors or have Texas titles added to your reading
list through our automatic selection program. A world of Texas books
is just a phone call or e-mail message away.
As with all of the books in our collection, there is no time limit
for ordering any of these books. Feel free to ask for these titles
at any time-now or in the future.
The Texas volunteers welcome your comments and suggestions. Send
an e-mail message to the Volunteer Recording Studio at tbp.services@tsl.state.tx.us
or write to us at Volunteer Recording Studio, Talking Book Program,
PO Box 12927, Austin, TX 78711-2927. If you live in the Austin area
and are interested in volunteering to record books, please call
463-5546 for more information. More information about volunteering
is available on the web page of the Friends
of the Talking Book Program Volunteer Recording Studio.
Talking Book Program, Austin, TX, July 2000.
Talking Book Program
Texas State Library & Archives Commission
PO Box 12927
Austin TX 78711-2927
1-800-252-9605 (in Texas)
512-463-5458 (in Austin)
512-936-0685 (fax)
tbp.services@tsl.state.tx.us
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