{"id":878,"date":"2018-12-31T14:28:53","date_gmt":"2018-12-31T14:28:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/?p=878"},"modified":"2018-12-31T14:28:53","modified_gmt":"2018-12-31T14:28:53","slug":"lone-star-reviewsmichelle-newby-nbcc-64","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/?p=878","title":{"rendered":"Lone Star ReviewsMichelle Newby, NBCC,"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Contributing Editor<\/span><\/h1>\n
\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span>SPORTS\/BASEBALL\/AMERICAN HISTORY<\/p>\n

Robert C. Trumpbour and Kenneth Womack<\/span><\/p>\n

The Eighth Wonder of the World: The Life of Houston Iconic Astrodome<\/span><\/p>\n

University of Nebraska Press<\/p>\n

Hardcover, 978-0-8032-5545-6, 272 pages, $27.95; also available as e-book; 2016<\/p>\n

When it opened in April, 1965, Houston\u2019s Astrodome<\/span> was \u201cthe world\u2019s first indoor, air-conditioned, all-weather sports stadium.\u201d But more than that, Robert C. Trumpbour<\/span> and Kenneth Womack<\/span> write, the stunning structure\u2014quickly nicknamed \u201cthe Eighth Wonder of the World \u2014 \u201cwas a unique place just to be inside, just to watch whatever was going on.\u201d In their well-written and entertaining history of the Astrodome, they quote comedian Bob Hope<\/span> as observing: \u201cIf they had a maternity ward and a cemetery, you\u2019d never have to leave.\u201d >>READ MORE<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/span>Texas Reads<\/span>Glenn Dromgoole<\/span><\/h1>\n

>> archive<\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n

Former president
finds a new passion
in painting<\/h1>\n

Former President George W. Bush\u2019s<\/span> Portraits of Courage<\/span><\/a><\/span> is subtitled \u201cA Commander in Chief\u2019s Tribute to America\u2019s Warriors,\u201d and that accurately sums up his impressive new book (Crown, $35 hardcover).<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In color paintings and personal essays, Bush offers a close-up look at ninety-eight men and women who have served in the armed forces since Sept. 11, 2001.<\/p>\n

\u201cI painted these men and women as a way to honor their service to the country and to show my respect for their sacrifice and courage,\u201d Bush writes. \u201cI hope to draw attention to the challenges some face when they come home and transition to civilian life \u2014 and the need for our country to better address them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bush\u2019s introduction, \u201cPainting as a Passion,\u201d tells how he took up painting in 2012 because he wanted a new adventure in his life \u2014 \u201cwithin the confines of the post-presidential bubble.\u201d<\/p>\n

He told his wife, Laura,<\/span> and an artist friend that he might like to take up painting.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were surprised,\u201d he said. \u201cI had been an art-agnostic all my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Or, as Laura puts it in her foreword to the book: \u201cWhen George and I married, if someone told me that he would become President, I would have thought, \u2018Well, maybe.\u2019 He was running for Congress at the time, and we loved politics. But if someone said, \u2018One day you will be writing a foreword for a book that includes George\u2019s paintings,\u2019 I would have said, \u2018No way.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

In the four years since he took up painting, Bush has indeed shown a passion for it, as this remarkable collection proves.<\/p>\n

Sixty-six service men and women are profiled with a full-page painting and a one- or two-page essay.<\/p>\n

Between pages 96 and 97 is a four-page, four-panel color mural that folds out. Thirty-five men and women are included in the mural. Three of them are also among the 66 individuals profiled, bringing the total to 98. The stories of the other 32 in the mural are told briefly at the back of the book.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sure how the art in this volume will hold up to critical eyes,\u201d Bush writes. \u201cAfter all, I am a novice. What I am sure of is that each painting was done with a lot of care and respect.\u201d<\/p>\n

Portraits of Courage<\/span> is the third book by Bush since he left the presidency in 2008, following his memoir, Decision Points,<\/span> and the very personal biography, 41: A Portrait of My Father.<\/span><\/p>\n

Glenn Dromgoole\u2019s<\/span> latest book is West Texas Stories<\/span><\/a><\/span>Contact him at g.dromgoole@suddenlink.net.<\/p>\n

>> <\/span>Check out his previous Texas Reads columns in Lone Star Lit<\/a><\/span>erary Life<\/span><\/h1>\n

* * * * *<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

Bloomsbury USA<\/p>\n

Hardcover, 978-1-6328-6314-6, (also available as an e-book and on Audible), 448 pgs., $33.00<\/p>\n

February 28, 2017<\/p>\n

\u201cHuman rights apply equally to Soviet dissidents, Chilean peasants and American women.\u201d \u2014Barbara Jordan<\/p>\n

Gloria Steinem refers to the National Women\u2019s Conference, <\/span>held November 18-21, 1977, in Houston, Texas, as \u201cthe most important event nobody knows about.\u201d Twenty thousand women attended the conference. These delegates were Democrats and Republicans, ranging from students to housewives to the presidents of national groups such as the League of Women Voters, the National Federation of Business and Professional Women, and the National Organization for Women. The star-studded cast included Bella Abzug, Margaret Mead, Betty Friedan, Texas\u2019s Barbara Jordan, Maya Angelou, Jean Stapleton<\/span> (aka Edith Bunker of All in the Family<\/span>), Coretta Scott King,<\/span> and three first ladies of the United States. >>READ MORE<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

Clarion Books<\/p>\n

Hardcover, 978-0-5445-8650-5, (also available as an e-book, an audio book, and on Audible), 464 pgs., $17.99<\/p>\n

March 7, 2017<\/p>\n

\u201cjust because my love isn\u2019t perfect doesn\u2019t mean I don\u2019t love you\u201d<\/p>\n

Seventeen-year-old Salvador \u201cSally\u201d Silva likes his life. <\/span>What he doesn\u2019t like is change. Beginning his senior year at El Paso High School, Sally has a great relationship with Vicente, his adoptive father; a steadfast best friend of many years, Samantha \u201cSammy\u201d Diaz; and a loving extended family of aunts, uncles, cousins, and his grandmother Mima. But when Sally, an easygoing guy with \u201ca control thing over [himself]\u201d who prefers \u201ckeeping it calm,\u201d gets into a fistfight on the first day of school, he begins to wonder about his \u201cbio father\u201d for the first time, and doubting that he really knows himself at all. \u201cMaybe the kind of guy I was was like someone I didn\u2019t know,\u201d Sally thinks. \u201cYou know, the guy I\u2019d never met whose genes I had.\u201d Then Sally\u2019s Mima gets sick, his father\u2019s former boyfriend returns, and his friends\u2019 lives are turned upside down, forcing Sally to confront impending adulthood and question what it means to be a man. >>READ MORE<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Contributing Editor SPORTS\/BASEBALL\/AMERICAN HISTORY Robert C. Trumpbour and Kenneth Womack The Eighth Wonder of the World: The Life of Houston Iconic Astrodome University of Nebraska Press Hardcover, 978-0-8032-5545-6, 272 pages, $27.95; also available as e-book; 2016 When it opened in April, 1965, Houston\u2019s Astrodome was \u201cthe world\u2019s first indoor, air-conditioned, all-weather sports stadium.\u201d But more […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/878","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=878"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/878\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}