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You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on
bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.
Big Bend, The Story Behind The Scenery
by Carol E. Sperling
This book is dedicated to all who find nature not an adversary to conquer and destroy, but a storehouse of infinite knowledge and experience linking man to all things past and present. They know conserving the natural environment is essential to our future well being.
I'll Gather My Geese
by Hallie Crawford Stillwell
The New York Times identified Hallie Stillwell (1897-1997) as a "rancher and a Texas legend."
At the age of nineteen, Hallie decided to take a job teaching school in the remote border town of Presidio, Texas. Her father thought it a dangerous proposition and told her she was getting into a wild goose chase. She responded, "Then I'll gather my geese." After teaching for a year, she got a proposal from an old-fashioned rancher twice her age, Roy Stillwell. Hallie's escapades as a bride in the rough environs of the Big Bend ranch have appealed to thousands of readers.
Naturalist's Big Bend
by Roland Wauwe
An introduction to the trees, shrubs, wildflowers, cacti, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and insects of the Big Bend.
The Big Bend, A History of the Last Texas Frontier
by Ron C. Tyler
A study of four centuries of human society-Indian, Spanish, Mexican, Texas and American - in a region remote and little known.
Beneath the Window: Early Ranch Life in the Big Bend Country
by Patricia Wilson Clothier
A memoir by Patricia Wilson Clothier. Before it became a national park, the Big Bend was home to a number of ranches and mining operations. On the Wilson ranch, which stood at the center of the current park, Mrs. Clothier spent her youth exploring the wonders of ranch life in the Chisos. Patricia's richly detailed memories, coupled with a backdrop of Depression era hardships, bring the Big Bend to life in this original and vivid description of a childhood spent "Beneath the Window".
God's Country or Devil's Playground
by Edited by Barney Nelson
In this anthology of nature writing, Barney Nelson gathers nearly sixty literary perspectives on the landscape and life of the Big Bend region, broadly defined as Trans-Pecos Texas and northern Chihuahua, Mexico. In addition to Leopold and Webb, the collection includes such well-known writers as Edward Abbey, Mary Austin, Roy Bedichek, and Frederick Olmsted, as well as a wide range of voices that includes explorers, trappers, cowboys, ranch wives, curanderos, college presidents, scientists, locals, tourists, historians, avisadores, and waitresses. Following a personal introduction by Barney Nelson, the pieces are grouped thematically to highlight the distinctive ways in which writers have responded to the Big Bend.
Big Bend Vista, A Geological Exploration of the Big Bend
by William MacLeod
The Story of Big Bend National Park
by John Jameson
This book offers a comprehensive, highly readable history of the park from its founding in 1944 up to the present.
Big Bend, A Homesteader's Story
by J.O. Langford
A story of the Langfords' life in the rugged and spectacularly beautiful country which they came to call their own. This account is told with the help of Fred Gipson, author of Old Yeller.
Hiking Big Bend National Park
by Laurence Parent
Comprehensive guide to 44 most popular hikes in the national park as well as three hikes in Big Bend Ranch State Park
