Center for American History launches The Texas Book with panel discussion and book signing on November 17
AUSTIN, TX – November 9, 2006 – The Center for American History will celebrate the publication of The Texas Book: Profiles, History, and Reminiscences of the University with a reception, panel discussion, and book signing on November 17 in the San Jacinto Residence Hall Multi-Purpose Room on the UT campus.
The event’s opening reception will begin at 6:15 p.m., with a program and panel discussion scheduled from 6:45 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. A book signing with contributing writers will follow the panel discussion. Dr. Don Carleton, director of the Center for American History, will serve as master of ceremonies. Guest panelists will include the book’s editor, Richard Holland, and contributing writers Larry Speck, Don Graham, and Douglas Laycock.
The Texas Book is an anthology of 24 personality profiles, historical essays, and first-person reminiscences written by University alumni and current and former faculty and staff. Originally conceived under President Larry Faulkner’s administration in the mid 1990s, The Texas Book was published by the University of Texas Press as part of the Center for American History’s Focus on American History series, of which Dr. Carleton serves as editor.
“The Texas Book is an informal, highly readable history of UT,” said Holland, who spent the past six years writing, collecting, and editing the essays. “The University’s most fascinating characters appear in these pages, including Harry Huntt Ransom, J. Frank Dobie, and Frank C. Erwin. The book also spans some of the most dramatic and challenging episodes in UT’s history, from recurring attacks on the school by politicians and regents to desegregation, the sixties protests, and the Tower sniper shooting.”
“This is the first book of its kind in UT’s 125-year history,” commented Carleton. “The essays depict the University’s defining moments while poignantly capturing the spirit of the campus. The Texas Book resonates with anyone who is intrigued by the character, the conflict, the charm, and the history of the Forty Acres.”
More information about The Texas Book is available online at http://www.utexas.edu/utpress/books/holtex.html.
To request an invitation to The Texas Book event on November 17, email David Dettmer at the Center for American History, ddettmer@mail.utexas.edu.
