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Authentic Texas: People of the Big Bend (Clifton and Shirley Caldwell Texas Heritage Series)

Biographies & Memoirs

Wright, Bill

Daudistel, Marcia Hatfield

Community & Culture

University of Texas Press

Winner, Southwest Book Award, Border Regional Library Association, 2015The Texas of vast open spaces inhabited by independent, self-reliant men and women may be more of a dream than a reality for the state’s largely urban population, but it still exists in the Big Bend. One of the most sparsely settled areas of the United States, the Big Bend attracts people who are willing to forego many modern conveniences for a lifestyle that proclaims “don’t fence me in.” Marcia Hatfield Daudistel and Bill Wright believe that the character traits exemplified by folks in the Big Bend—including self-sufficiency, friendliness, and neighborliness—go back to the founding of the state. In this book, they introduce us to several dozen Big Bend residents—old and young, long-settled and recently arrived, racially diverse—who show us what it means to be an authentic Texan.Interviewing people in Marathon, Big Bend National Park, Terlingua, Redford, Presidio, Alpine, Marfa, Valentine, Balmorhea, Limpia Crossing, and Fort Davis, Daudistel and Wright discover the reasons why residents of the Big Bend make this remote area of Texas their permanent home. In talking to ranchers and writers, entrepreneurs and artists, people living off the grid and urban refugees, they find a common willingness to overcome difficulties through individual skill and initiative. As one interviewee remarks, you have to have a lot of “try” in you to make a life in the Big Bend. Bill Wright’s photographs of the people and landscapes are a perfect complement to the stories of these authentic Texans. Together, these voices and images offer the most complete, contemporary portrait of the Texas Big Bend.

Winner, Southwest Book Award, Border Regional Library Association, 2015
The Texas of vast open spaces inhabited by independent, self-reliant men and women may be more of a dream than a reality for the state’s largely urban population, but it still exists in the Big Bend. One of the most sparsely settled areas of the United States, the Big Bend attracts people who are willing to forego many modern conveniences for a lifestyle that proclaims “don’t fence me in.” Marcia Hatfield Daudistel and Bill Wright believe that the character traits exemplified by folks in the Big Bend—including self-sufficiency, friendliness, and neighborliness—go back to the founding of the state. In this book, they introduce us to several dozen Big Bend residents—old and young, long-settled and recently arrived, racially diverse—who show us what it means to be an authentic Texan.
Interviewing people in Marathon, Big Bend National Park, Terlingua, Redford, Presidio, Alpine, Marfa, Valentine, Balmorhea, Limpia Crossing, and Fort Davis, Daudistel and Wright discover the reasons why residents of the Big Bend make this remote area of Texas their permanent home. In talking to ranchers and writers, entrepreneurs and artists, people living off the grid and urban refugees, they find a common willingness to overcome difficulties through individual skill and initiative. As one interviewee remarks, you have to have a lot of “try” in you to make a life in the Big Bend. Bill Wright’s photographs of the people and landscapes are a perfect complement to the stories of these authentic Texans. Together, these voices and images offer the most complete, contemporary portrait of the Texas Big Bend.

The Big Bend is one of the last places left in America that's a long way from anywhere. Maybe that's why it draws such an eclectic range of people. Certainly it was Big Bend's unexplored remoteness that drew Bill Wright and three high school friends on an Easter break in 1950. Since that earliest visit, he has returned to Big Bend again and again, finding sustenance in its spare, desert landscapes and in friendships with the people who have found a home there. In this book, Wright combines deeply observed photographs with a beautifully written text to offer an intimate portrait of the people and the land of the Big Bend. Covering an almost-fifty-year span, his words and images capture both the timeless quality of the region and the changes that have followed in the wake of increasing tourism and human settlement. The heart of the book is Wright's portraits of the people who have added unique chapters to the Big Bend story. From artist Donald Judd, who found the perfect setting for his work in Marfa, to Terlingua and Lajitas residents who gladly forego urban amenities to the Mexican villagers who have offered him hospitality, Wright explores why so many people have developed an almost mythic attachment to the Big Bend.

Portraits from the Desert: Bill Wright's Big Bend

Arts & Photography

Individual Artists

In this book, Wright combines photographs with text to offer an intimate portrait of the people and the land of the Big Bend. Covering an almost-fifty-year span, his words and images capture both the timeless quality of the region and the changes that have followed in the wake of increasing tourism and human settlement. The heart of the book is Wright's portraits of the people who have added unique chapters to the Big Bend story. From artist Donald Judd, who found the perfect setting for his work in Marfa, to Terlingua and Lajitas residents who gladly forego urban amenities, to the Mexican villagers who have offered him hospitality, Wright explores why so many people have developed an almost mythic attachment to the Big Bend.

Collects sixty-nine duotone images taken around the world that celebrate the love, hope, and resilience of the human spirit, from a portrait of a woodcarver in Tanzania to a photograph of aboriginal children in Australia.

People's Lives: A Photographic Celebration of the Human Spirit

Gives advice on ground strokes, volleys, serves, lobs and overheads, discusses tactics and strategies, and suggests ways to get a better workout playing tennis

Aerobic Tennis: How to Get Fit and Play Better

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Exercise & Fitness

Random House, Inc.

Hans Florine and Bill Wright pried themselves off the rock long enough to write this book because, as they say, "The only thing better than climbing is more climbing!" Mixing humor with history, personal experiences, and lots of common sense and good advice, they offer other climbers the tips they've used successfully for moving faster up the rock. The techniques, illustrations, and inspirational stories offered in this book will have you climbing more routes more often in not time. (6 x 9, 144 pages, b&amp;w photos, diagrams)

Climb On!: Skills for More Efficienct Climbing (How to Climb)

Sports & Outdoors

Florine, Hans

Mountaineering

Falcon Pr Pub Co

This is a complete introduction to the techniques of speed climbing, including training, soloing, simul-climbing, passing, equipment, and more. Also includes a history of speed climbing and compiles speed-climbing records.

Speed Climbing!: How To Climb Faster And Better (How To Climb Series)

Falcon Guides

Presents a variety of science experiments on such topics as circuits, conductors, magnets, motors, and batteries

Electricity and Magnetism Fundamentals: Funtastic Scienceactivities for Kids (Fundamentals (Philadelphia, Pa.).)

Children's Books

Wood, Robert W.

Science, Nature & How It Works

Chelsea House Pub

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Wright, Bill. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Wright, Bill

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Wright, Bill. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Authentic Texas: People of the Big Bend (Clifton and Shirley Caldwell Texas Heritage Series)

Authentic Texas: People of the Big Bend (Clifton and Shirley Caldwell Texas Heritage Series)

Authentic Texas: People of the Big Bend (Clifton and Shirley Caldwell Texas Heritage Series)

Portraits from the Desert: Bill Wright's Big Bend

Portraits from the Desert: Bill Wright's Big Bend

People's Lives: A Photographic Celebration of the Human Spirit

Aerobic Tennis: How to Get Fit and Play Better

Climb On!: Skills for More Efficienct Climbing (How to Climb)

Speed Climbing!: How To Climb Faster And Better (How To Climb Series)

Electricity and Magnetism Fundamentals: Funtastic Scienceactivities for Kids (Fundamentals (Philadelphia, Pa.).)