I can’t believe we’re just ten days away from Christmas! It doesn’t seem like it was all that long ago that we were driving back to Hutto from spending Christmas with Margie’s family in Alabama, followed by a fun little road trip on our way back that took us through my old home in Chattanooga, Tennessee as well as Jackson and Vicksburg in Mississippi, Monroe and Shreveport in Louisiana, and a host of little Texas towns.
But here we are.
If you’re still looking for gifts for your favorite book lover, here are a few recommendations:
[Note: Links to Amazon are affiliate links, which means I’ll get a small commission if you purchase the books, at no additional cost to you.]
1. In Search of a Home: Nineteenth-Century Wendish Immigration by George Nielsen [https://amzn.to/34lmJvt] – This is a fantastic in-depth study of Wendish immigration– not just to Texas, but also Australia, South Africa, Nebraska, Iowa, and Canada
2. The Wendish Texas by Sylvia Ann Grider [https://amzn.to/2toapy5] – Grider, a folklorist, spent a fair amount of time in Lee County studying the culture of the Wends in Texas; this book is the result!
Moving into Texas history in general…
3. The Blood of Heroes: The 13-Day Struggle for the Alamo–and the Sacrifice That Forged a Nation by James Donovan [https://amzn.to/2POITRO] – After deciding to move to Texas in late 2014, I figured I’d better learn a little bit about its history. This well-written book was part of my crash course in Texas history!
4. Gone to Texas: A History of the Lone Star State by Randolph B. Campbell [https://amzn.to/2LXu0vj] – This was the other piece of my crash course in Texas history. It’s a very nice general introduction to the history of the Lone Star State.
5. Gildersleeve: Waco’s Photographer – edited by Geoff Hunt and John S. Wilson [https://amzn.to/2PNfHuf] – Yep, there’s gotta be at least one book with photos… and this is it. It’s full of fantastic historical photos of Waco!
(Pictured: Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Warda)