Editor's Note

Editor’s Note:

Dancing With Myself

William Jensen

A lot of complications have delayed this issue of Texas Books in Review, but I think it arrives when books are more important than ever. Just about everyone is on lockdown, in quarantine, and practicing social distancing, which means we are all inside a lot more than typical. This is difficult for some. The State Parks in Texas are closed. Schools and universities have moved all classes online. Theaters, gyms, and bars have shut their doors. There is not much to do now other than… read.

   I am sure most of you have some type of plan for reading during this pandemic. Maybe this is where you binge on apocalyptic literature; you can burrow into Stephen King’s The Stand, Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, or The Children of Men by P.D. James. Maybe you are finally getting to the classics you skipped, or maybe you are plowing through the ever-rising pile on your nightstand. There is no wrong way to read during this outbreak. And there are no wrong books to choose from.

   For fans of Texas history, this issue has a special review of LBJ’s 1968: Power, Politics, and the Presidency in America’s Year of Upheaval by Kyle Longley. Dr. Mary Brennan, the dean of Liberal Arts here at Texas State University, gives her opinion on this book about Landslide Lyndon and his last months in office. If the 36th president does not fascinate you but you still need a history fix, the always reliable Joseph Fox is back with his review of Texas Rangers in Transition: From Gunfighters to Criminal Investigators, 1921-1935 by Charles H. Harris and Louis R. Sadler. There are lots and lots of books about the Texas Rangers, and Mr. Fox will let you know if this one should be on your bookshelf.

   Of course, we have reviews of other genres if you prefer a good story or some poetry to distract you from all things Covid-19 related. Yesenia Medina-Jaramillo reviews Johnnie Bernhard’s novel How We Came To Be, and Anthony Isaac Bradley tackles This American Autopsy: Poems by José Antonio Rodríguez. Both books examine life, legacy, and loss in the Lone Star State. Find out if they sound like something you will want to keep you company while sheltering in place.

   All of us here at The Center for the Study of the Southwest hope you are staying safe, staying healthy, and staying sane. This may not be the happiest time, but if we remain cautious, vigilant, courteous, and kind, we will get through this quickly and have better days ahead. I hope you can stay in contact with your friends and loved ones, and I hope you can use this time to read some great books. Texas is lucky to have lots of good ones.