Holiday Offer: Signed Texas Books at 40% off, free shipping!

Through midnight on Monday, December 11, the University of Texas Press is proud to offer signed copies of select Texas books delivered in time for the holidays at 40% off, with free standard domestic shipping.

To order your signed, personalized copy:

• Place any book below (scroll to view selections) in your shopping cart.
• Enter the discount code GIFTBOOKS before checkout.
• In the comments field during checkout, write your personalized message: What should the author write in the book? Click to view an example inscription.
• Complete checkout.

Books will ship on Thursday, December 14. No rush shipping. Not valid for orders outside the United States. If you have questions or concerns about your order, or would like assistance, please call 512-232-7637. 

Armadillo World Headquarters A Memoir By Eddie Wilson, with Jesse Sublett The founder of Armadillo World Headquarters recalls the lively history of this legendary music venue and its role in launching cosmic cowboy/redneck rock and making Austin, Texas, the live music capital of the world. Hardcover, $20.97 (40% off) ISBN: 978-1-4773-1382-4 Buy Now Surf Texas By Kenny Braun Evocative and nostalgic, this extended photo essay presents an insider’s portrait of the surf culture of Texas, one of the top six surfing states in America, as well as the singular and sometimes unexpected beauty of the Texas coast. Hardcover, $33.00 (40% off) ISBN: 978-0-292-75770-7 Buy Now Republic of Football Legends of the Texas High School Game By Chad S. Conine With interviews and stories of celebrated players, including past and present NFL stars, as well as legendary coaches and dynastic teams from across Texas, The Republic of Football captures the standout moments in Friday night lights. Hardcover, $14.97 (40% off) ISBN: 978-1-4773-0371-9 Buy Now Under Surveillance Being Watched in Modern America By Randolph Lewis Tackling one of today’s most timely issues from a broad, humanistic perspective, this book explores the emotional, ethical, and aesthetic challenges of living under constant surveillance in post-9/11 American society. Hardcover, $16.77 (40% off) ISBN: 978-1-4773-1243-8 Buy Now They Came from the Sky The Spanish Arrive in Texas By Stephen Harrigan This signed edition presents a spellbinding preview of the inaugural volume of the Texas Bookshelf—a major new history of Texas by the New York Times best-selling author Stephen Harrigan. Hardcover, $11.97 (40% off) ISBN: 978-1-4773-1294-0 Buy Now

A Love Letter to Texas Women By Sarah Bird The acclaimed author of Above the East China Sea and The Yokota Officers Club celebrates the uniqueness of Texas women in this beautifully designed gift book Hardcover, $10.17 (40% off) ISBN: 978-1-4773-0949-0 Buy Now The Face of Texas Photographs by Michael O'Brien. With stories by Elizabeth O'Brien With twenty-three new portraits, including John Graves, Richard Linklater, Joel Osteen, and Cat Osterman, as well as updated profiles of all of the subjects, here is the face of Texas captured in the faces of noteworthy Texans by one of America’s premier portrait photographers. Paperback, $14.97 (40% off) ISBN: 978-0-292-76313-5 Buy Now Texas Sports Unforgettable Stories for Every Day of the Year By Chad S. Conine With a stirring story for every day of the year, this book celebrates the athletes and teams in more than twenty-five sports that have made Texas a dynamo in the world of sports across more than a century. Paperback, $11.97 (40% off) ISBN: 978-1-4773-1273-5 Buy Now Texas BBQ By Wyatt McSpadden Destined to become a classic like Smokestack Lightning and Legends of Texas Barbecue Cookbook, Wyatt McSpadden's Texas BBQ is the only large format, full-color photographic odyssey into the world of traditional barbecue. Hardcover, $23.97 (40% off) ISBN: 978-0-292-71858-6 Buy Now The Making of Gone With The Wind By Steve Wilson More than 600 rarely seen items from the David O. Selznick archive, this exhibition catalog that celebrates the 75th anniversary of Gone with the Wind offer fans and film historians alike a must-have behind-the-camera view of the production of this classic movie on its seventy-fifth anniversary. Hardcover, $30.00 (40% off) ISBN: 978-0-292-76126-1 Buy Now One More Warbler A Life with Birds By Victor Emanuel, with S. Kirk Walsh With stories of sighting rare birds ranging from an Eskimo Curlew to the cranes of Asia, one of America’s foremost birders recalls a lifetime of birding adventures, including friendships with luminaries Roger Tory Peterson, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton. Hardcover, $17.97 (40% off) ISBN: 978-1-4773-1238-4 Buy Now

Tacos of Texas By Mando Rayo and Jarod Neece With authentic recipes, behind-the-scenes stories, and recommendations of where the locals eat, this is the indispensable guide to Texas’s appetizingly diverse tacos and taco culture by the authors of Austin Breakfast Tacos. Paperback, $11.97 (40% off) ISBN: 978-1-4773-1043-4 Buy Now Thursday Night Lights The Story of Black High School Football in Texas By Michael Hurd Telling an inspiring, largely unknown story, Thursday Night Lights recounts how African American high school football programs produced championship teams and outstanding players during the Jim Crow era. Hardcover, $14.97 (40% off) ISBN: 978-1-4773-1034-2 Buy Now The Swimming Holes of Texas By Julie Wernersbach and Carolyn Tracy; photography by Carolyn Tracy Full of practical information to help plan your visits and enticing color photos of one hundred freshwater swimming holes, here is the first-ever guide to the best places to swim in Texas. Paperback, $13.17 (40% off) ISBN: 978-1-4773-1237-7 Buy Now The Texanist Fine Advice on Living in Texas By David Courtney and Jack Unruh The first collection of acclaimed illustrator Jack Unruh’s work, this book gathers the best of the illustrations he created for The Texanist, Texas Monthly’s back-page column, along with the serious and not-so-serious questions that inspired them. Hardcover, $14.97 (40% off) ISBN: 978-1-4773-1297-1 Buy Now ¡Viva Tequila!  Cocktails, Cooking, and Other Agave Adventures By Lucinda Hutson With a festive blend of inspired recipes for fabulous drinks and dishes, lively personal anecdotes, spicy cultural history, and colorful agave folk art, proverbs, and lore, America’s premier tequila expert shows us how to savor the most Mexican of all libations. Hardcover, $20.97 (40% off) ISBN: 978-0-292-72294-1  Buy Now

Your Last Minute Local Bookstore Shopping List

This time of year can be overwhelming. We're here to help! We've whittled down some of our best-selling books to 13 gift recommendations. We stand by these selections, but if you want to explore more options, we've linked to related titles. Now place your order, check several names off your list at once, and keep your cool! Happy Holidays.


The Salt Lick Cookbook
By Scott Roberts and Jessica Dupuy

No trip to Austin or Central Texas is complete without a visit to the Salt Lick. Both foodies and home chefs alike will enjoy the family recipes and prep techniques from this legendary restaurant.


Barbecue Crossroads: Notes and Recipes from a Southern Odyssey
By Robb Walsh

James Beard Award-winning author Rob Walsh takes us on an extraordinary journey from Texas to the Carolinas and back and to tell the story of Southern BBQ, past, present, and future. Whether a devoted fan of pulled pork or beef brisket, any Southern foodie on your list will enjoy the 70+ finger-licking recipes presented in this engaging book. 

¡Viva Tequila!: Cooking, Cocktails, and Other Agave Adventures
By Lucinda Hutson

America’s premier tequila expert presents a festive blend of lively personal anecdotes, spicy cultural history, and inspired recipes for drinks and dishes – all featuring Mexico’s most notable contribution to the world of distilled spirits. There actually is a whole other world out there beyond lick it, slam it, suck it. 



My Mexico: A Culinary Odyssey with Recipes
By Diana Kennedy

Considered the Julia Child of Mexico and author of the James Beard Award-winning Oaxaca al Gusto (also published by UT Press), Diana Kennedy has the magic touch when it comes to cook books. At 90, she is a master chef with a devoted following around the world. Finally back in print and fully updated, My Mexico is the most personal of Kennedy’s books. 

More in cookbooks »

The Pecan: America’s Native Nut
By James McWilliams

This charming book presents a lively history of the pecan from Southern groves to the Chinese marketplace. Whether you prefer to say “pee-kan” or “pi-khan,” this little nut inspires a sense of nostalgia due to its special place in the American diet and starring role in popular holiday dishes. For fans of the one-food-item-as-cultural-history thing. 

Posadas Navideñas Recipe from ¡Viva Tequila!

Lucinda Hutson, our go-to party expert, has Feliz Navidad down pat. Kick off Las Posadas, the nine-day Mexican celebration leading up to Christmas, with this anecdote from ¡Viva Tequila! and a recipe for a traditional Mexican Christmas punch, the perfect libation for your holiday fiesta. Pro tip from Lucinda: use a real sugar cane as a stir stick, and wreathe the base of the jar with fresh fruits, greenery, Christmas lights, and ornaments. 

Feliz Navidad, Prospero año y felicidad!

Posadas Navideñas

In villages throughout Mexico, locals partake of celebrations called posadas during the nine days before Christmas. They reenact Mary and Joseph’s pilgrim­age, seeking shelter in Bethlehem. Candlelight processions go door to door, singing and praying, and are turned away until they reach the “inn,” a home predestined for the fiesta. There, the pilgrims gather around an ornate nativity scene. Like most Mexican religious observances, the sacred nature of the posadas soon gives way to merriment—tasty food, piñatas, and steaming cups of ponche for the travelers, sipped from earthenware mugs called jarritos and often spiked with tequila or mezcal.

Many North Americans—especially in the Southwest—also embrace the posada tradition. Luminarias (small paper bags, partially filled with sand, holding a glowing candle) light the way to the door. Whether part of the procession of a posada or simply served in a small gathering, ponche is part of a tradition that most Mexican families look forward to during the holidays. Sharing this drink is a way to assure a “Feliz Navidad, Prospero Año y Felicidad.”On Christmas morning, I simmer a big pot of ponche on my stove. Wafts of enticing and comforting aromas fill my house, bringing back memories of my beloved Mexico. Sometimes this punch is hard to duplicate in the United States because of the unavailability of the exotic fruits. However, Latin American markets and pulgas (flea markets) north of the border stock ponche ingredients during the Christmas season just for this revered tradition.

I love visiting these venues at this time of the year, joining others who come to hand-select fruits and spices, long stalks of sugarcane, crimson jamaica flowers, and cones of brown piloncillo sugar for this annual ritual. I often ask them to share their ponche recipes with me, though it’s usually simply una cuchara, un poquito, or una copita of ingredients (“a spoonful of this,” “a little of that,” or “a little cupful”). Once, in my best Spanish, I told a viejita (old Mexican woman) as she frugally picked a handful of fruit for her Christmas punch, “Voy a hechar tecolotes en mi ponche.” The little woman jumped back, wide-eyed and terrified! The other women around us broke out in merry laughter. I had told her I was going to put owls in my punch! She must have thought I’d been sipping tequila before even making the punch...or was planning to conjure up a dark brujas (witches) brew. 

I meant to say tejocotes, the name for the small, hard, black-speckled orangish fruits that are a favorite seasonal ingredient for ponche. These fruits come from various species of Mexican hawthorn trees and taste rather like crabapples, although tejocotes are usually about half the size, with several big, hard seeds. Tart and mealy until cooked, tejocotes produce a pectin that naturally thickens the ponche and are a highly sought-after and expensive ingredient during the holidays. 

Though traditional ponche calls for many ingredients, it’s easy to make. I have allowed for a choice of substitutions in my version. You’ll find that tropical fruit nectars add flavor when the more unusual fresh fruits are not available. Dried apricots, prunes, cherries, and apples may be substituted as needed, and a handful of fresh cranberries adds pleasing tartness (see note following recipe).

Ponche Navideño

Traditional Christmas Punch

Serve Mexico’s beloved Christmas punch from clay jarritos or small mugs and spike with your favorite tequila or mezcal—or a splash of both! Provide a spoon for eating the stewed fruit. It’s delicious for a holiday gathering that might include Mexican Wedding Cookies, crispy buñuelos, polvorones (cinnamon-sprinkled sugar cookies), or pan dulce pastries from your favorite Mexican bakery.

13 Gifts to Charm Every Book Lover

This time of year can be overwhelming. We're here to help! We've whittled down some of our best-selling books to 13 gift recommendations. We stand by these selections, but if you want to explore more options, we've linked to related titles. Now place your order, check several names off your list at once, and keep your cool! Happy Holidays.


The Salt Lick Cookbook
By Scott Roberts and Jessica Dupuy

No trip to Austin or Central Texas is complete without a visit to the Salt Lick. Both foodies and home chefs alike will enjoy the family recipes and prep techniques from this legendary restaurant.


Barbecue Crossroads: Notes and Recipes from a Southern Odyssey
By Robb Walsh

James Beard Award-winning author Rob Walsh takes us on an extraordinary journey from Texas to the Carolinas and back and to tell the story of Southern BBQ, past, present, and future. Whether a devoted fan of pulled pork or beef brisket, any Southern foodie on your list will enjoy the 70+ finger-licking recipes presented in this engaging book. 

¡Viva Tequila!: Cooking, Cocktails, and Other Agave Adventures
By Lucinda Hutson

America’s premier tequila expert presents a festive blend of lively personal anecdotes, spicy cultural history, and inspired recipes for drinks and dishes – all featuring Mexico’s most notable contribution to the world of distilled spirits. There actually is a whole other world out there beyond lick it, slam it, suck it.



My Mexico: A Culinary Odyssey with Recipes
By Diana Kennedy

Considered the Julia Child of Mexico and author of the James Beard Award-winning Oaxaca al Gusto (also published by UT Press), Diana Kennedy has the magic touch when it comes to cook books. At 90, she is a master chef with a devoted following around the world. Finally back in print and fully updated, My Mexico is the most personal of Kennedy’s books. 

More in cookbooks »

The Pecan: America’s Native Nut
By James McWilliams

This charming book presents a lively history of the pecan from Southern groves to the Chinese marketplace. Whether you prefer to say “pee-kan” or “pi-khan,” this little nut inspires a sense of nostalgia due to its special place in the American diet and starring role in popular holiday dishes. For fans of the one-food-item-as-cultural-history thing.

Ring in the Holidays with Tequila!

Terroir meets territory on Wednesday, December 4 as the University of Texas Press partners with the UT Austin Libraries on the second installment in the Libraries’ new cartography series, “You Are Here.” This month, the series will highlight rare maps of Mexico, part of the university’s Benson Latin American Collection and currently on view in the exhibition “Mapping Mexican History: Territories in Dispute, Identities in Question" with a special focus on the crossroads of historic and contemporary culture of Mexico, its traditions…and tequila, of course! The evening’s speaker will be Lucinda Hutson, America’s premier tequila expert and author of ¡Viva Tequila! Cocktails, Cooking, and Other Agave Adventures, published by UT Press this April.

Hutson will talk about the history of the region and the rise of Mexico’s most notable contribution to the world of distilled spirits and share personal anecdotes and recipes gathered from her travels. Guests will also have the opportunity to view historical maps of Mexico, including rare examples of hand-illustrated Relaciones Geográficas from the Benson’s collections, to help place the story of tequila into geographical context.

The program will be followed by book signing of Viva Tequila – books will be available for purchase at the event – and a tequila tasting (limited to adults over 21 with ID) provided by Dulce Vida Tequila. KOOP’s (91.7FM) dj t-kay will provide the evening’s music.

The “You Are Here” cartography series is designed to highlight the university’s renowned collection of maps. Events take place four times annually and feature items curated by specialists from cartography collections across The University of Texas at Austin campus.

“You Are Here: ¡Viva Tequila!”
Wednesday, December 4, 6p.m.
Benson Latin American Collection, Sid Richardson Hall (SRH) 1.108, The University of Texas at Austin

This event is free and open to the public.