Books Make Great Gifts

This lavishly illustrated chronicle examines relationships between the mass-market ready-to-wear industry, fashion journalism and advertising. Click to enlarge.

If books are on your holiday shopping list, browsing through Texas Tech University’s Fall & Winter 2007 Catalog could solve your gift questions.

New releases range from a lingering look inside Texas’ storied dance halls; to the beauty of Texas quilts and their makers; to an examination of American fashion and culture through a century of advertising in Vogue Magazine.

For aficionados of the outlaw West, a biography of Texas Ranger Arthur Hill offers an insightful exploration of law on the last frontier, while an anthology of frontier women writers poignantly offers up first-hand observations and impressions seldom shared in general histories. There is even a sweeping historical novel of the Cheyenne Nation.

“From Western Americana to frontier and fashion history, this is truly a gift-book list,” said Judith Keeling, editor-in-chief. “There is something for readers of all ages and even a classic holiday tale, ‘One Christmas in Old Tascosa.’”

Texas Tech University Press publishes a variety of titles each year ranging from nonfiction in natural history and the natural sciences to works in costume and textile history and all aspects of the Great Plains and the American West – especially biography, history, memoir and travel.

The press also publishes fiction for children, a mystery series and poetry. While some of the titles are scholarly, many are not. But whether history or fiction, each book aims to teach.

“It may be surprising to readers just how much they can learn from our general titles,” said Keeling. “Whether it’s our mystery series or our children’s books each book come out of thorough and painstaking research. In the case of our children’s fiction, each book aims to complement social studies curricula in the schools.”

Texas Tech University Press was established in 1971 and is a member of the Association of American University Presses. The press publishes about 15 books each year.

The Fall & Winter 2007 Texas Tech University Press catalog is available on line at www.ttup.ttu.edu or call (806) 742-2982 for a copy.