History Ahead: Stories beyond the Texas Roadside Markers (Texas A&M Travel Guides) [Flexibound]

Dan K. Utley (Author), Cynthia J. Beeman (Author)

Book Description

Series: Texas A&M Travel Guides | Publication Date: February 10, 2010

More than 13,000 historical markers line the roadsides of Texas, giving drivers a way to sample the stories of the past. But these markers tell only part of the story.

In History Ahead, Dan K. Utley and Cynthia J. Beeman introduce readers to the rich, colorful, and sometimes action-packed and humorous history behind the famous (Charles Lindbergh, Will Rogers, The Big Bopper, and jazz great Charlie Christian) and the not-so-famous (Elmer "Lumpy" Kleb, Don Pedro Jaramillo, and Carl Morene, the "music man of Schulenburg") who have left their marks on the history of Texas. They visit cotton gins, abandoned airfields, forgotten cemeteries, and former World War II alien detention camps to dig up the little-known and unsuspected narratives behind the text emblazoned on these markers.

Written in an anecdotal style that presents the cultural uniqueness and rich diversity of Texas history, History Ahead includes nineteen main stories, dozens of complementary sidebars, and many never-before-published historical and contemporary photographs.

History Ahead offers a rich array of local stories that interweave with the broader regional and national context, touching on themes of culture, art, music, technology, the environment, oil, aviation, and folklore, among other topics. Utley and Beeman have located these forgotten gems, polished them up to a high shine, and offered them along with convenient maps and directions to the marker sites.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"As a work designed to tell the stories "behind" selected Texas historical markers, it will make a worthwhile contribution to the understanding and appreciation of the regional past. . . the outstanding features are the compelling nature of the stories that the authors selected and the careful way in which they recounted these stories in order to intrigue the readers. They did a superb job."--T. Lindsay Baker, W. K. Gordon Chair, Tarleton State University

(T. Lindsay Baker Tarleton State University )

". . . thoroughly researched and remarkably well written with both emotion and overall clarity of fact. . . History Ahead . . . provides the ''rest of the story'' and then some for those featured. These nineteen chapters are complete biographies of Texans of significance . . . and essays on important events."--Archie P. McDonald, former executive director, East Texas Historical Association, community liaison, Stephen F. Austin University

(Archie McDonald East Texas historical Association )

"I''m a native Texan, and I thought I knew most of the state''s oddballs. This book introduced me to a whole new set of hermits, flimflam men, curanderos, bimetallists, ghost busters and aviatrixes. I guess I need to slow down and read the markers." --John Burnett, NPR Texas correspondent

(John Burnett NPR Texas Correspondent )

"History Ahead: Stories Beyond the Texas Roadside Markers is an extremely enjoyable and informative book. Utley and Beeman divulge the fascinating back stories behind some of Texas'' more obscure historic sites, and delve into the cultural and economic forces and the famous and not-so-famous figures that have shaped the state''s history. Their entertaining and informed writing touches on subjects as diverse as architecture, aviation, the oil and cotton industries, the military, religion, music, theater and conversation. I''m ready for more! - Liz Carmack, author, Historic Hotels of Texas

(Liz Carmack Author-Historic Hotels of Texas )

About the Author

DAN K. UTLEY, former chief historian of the Texas Historical Commission, has served as the president of the East Texas Historical Association and is a fellow of the Texas State Historical Association. A resident of Pflugerville, he now teaches at Texas State University-San Marcos. CYNTHIA J. BEEMAN, of Austin, retired in 2007 as director of the Texas Historical Commission’s History Programs Division and is a board member of the Ruthe Winegarten Memorial Foundation for Texas Women’s History.

Product Details

• Flexibound: 336 pages
• Publisher: TAMU Press; 1 edition (February 10, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1603441514
• ISBN-13: 978-1603441513
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #688,071 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for Texas history buffs, December 8, 2010

By 

Ag52 (Texas) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: History Ahead: Stories beyond the Texas Roadside Markers (Texas A&M Travel Guides) (Flexibound)

It is very apparent the author did thorough research and is a very good writer. Anyone interested in Texas history should find this book facinating. If you ever wanted the complete story behind a Texas historical marker, this is the book for you. Since there are so many of these markers, my hope is that there will be future volumes published by the author detailing more of them.

5.0 out of 5 stars An engaging book, worth owning, October 25, 2011

By 

Carl Kessler - See all my reviews

This review is from: History Ahead: Stories beyond the Texas Roadside Markers (Texas A&M Travel Guides) (Flexibound)

The best history books not only reveal the past so as to help us learn from it but also are fun to read. This book meets that mark. It is a "micro -history" in that it tells the smaller stories, tales that might otherwise go unknown. And some of the fun comes from the design: the material is entirely based on roadside historical markers in Texas. This means you can not only read about events but also plan your road trip to the specific marker site; this is cool!

Just because I refer to this as a micro -history does not mean the stories are insignificant. The story of Bessie Coleman, who in June of 1921 became "...the first black woman in the world to earn a pilot's license," or of Carl Morene, who was perhaps the least likely person to bring organized music instruction to Schulenburg High School in the 1930s and '40s, are inspirational, touching and meaningful.

Similarly, reading about Margo Jones -- perhaps my theatre friends know the name, but I'd never before heard of her -- was interesting, given that her work in the first half of the 20th century may have played a big role in my ability to see live theatre in a variety of venues today.

Nearly every chapter gives a similar example. This is a very enjoyable read.

But, not without flaw: editing in chapter 19 allowed reference to Margo Jones' 1942 encounter with Tennessee Williams to be described on page 272 and again on page 273 as though it hadn't previously been mentioned. This would be easy to correct in a following edition. [The page references are from my hard copy first edition, which I acquired at the Texas Book Festival, having had the good fortune to also hear the authors speak at one of the sessions.]

All in all this is a book worth owning -- most particularly, but not exclusively, for those living in Texas; it deserves a five-star rating.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book, May 2, 2010

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K. W. Heydrick - See all my reviews
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This review is from: History Ahead: Stories beyond the Texas Roadside Markers (Texas A&M Travel Guides) (Flexibound)

Excellent book. Full of great stories, details and interesting information. A handy book for travels throughout Texas.