Book Recommendations for Father's Day

We have gift recommendations for books that make great Father's Day gifts, including books for guitar gear heads, taco lovers, shutterbugs, architects, swimming hole aficionados, and more. Shop at your local independent bookstore!

* Top Pick for Father's Day * "'Bang!' went my heart when I opened the photographer Jack Spencer’s powerful This Land: An American Portrait." Dominique Browning, New York Times Book Review

This Land An American Portrait Photographs by Jack Spencer; foreword by Jon Meacham Created across thirteen years, forty-eight states, and eighty thousand miles, this startlingly fresh photographic portrait of the American landscape shares artistic affinities with the works of such American masters as Edward Hopper, Grant Wood, Mark Rothko, and Albert Bierstadt. Hardcover, $45.00 284 pages | 13 x 11 | 142 color photos | ISBN: 978-1-4773-1189-9

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A Perfectly Good Guitar By Chuck Holley Musicians including Rosanne Cash, Guy Clark, JD Souther, Jorma Kaukonen, Bill Frisell, and Kelly Willis pose with and tell stories about the classic Gibsons, Fenders, Martins, and other guitars that have become their most prized instruments. Hardcover, $34.95 208 pages | 7 x 9 | 91 color photos, 4 b&w photos | ISBN: 978-1-4773-1257-5

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Rosanne Cash, JD Souther, and Sonny Landreth's Prized Guitars

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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, $29.95 ISBN: 978-1-4773-1238-4 Order Now The Texanist 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, $24.95 ISBN: 978-1-4773-1297-1 Order Now Rewrite Man The Life and Career of Screenwriter Warren Skaaren By Alison Macor This lively biography of the screenwriter of 1980s hit movies Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop II, Beetlejuice, and Batman illuminates issues of film authorship that have become even more contested in the era of blockbuster filmmaking.  Hardcover, $35.00 ISBN: 978-0-292-75945-9 Order Now T Bone Burnett A Life in Pursuit By Lloyd Sachs This first critical appreciation of T Bone Burnett reveals how the proponent of Americana music and producer of artists ranging from Robert Plant and Alison Krauss to B. B. King and Elvis Costello has profoundly influenced American music and culture. Hardcover, $26.95 ISBN: 978-1-4773-0377-1 Order Now The American Idea of Home: Conversations about Architecture and Design By Bernard Friedman; foreword by Meghan Daum Wide-ranging interviews with leading architectural thinkers, including Thom Mayne, Richard Meier, Robert Venturi, Paul Goldberger, Robert Ivy, Denise Scott Brown, Kenneth Frampton, and Robert A. M. Stern, spotlight some of the most significant issues in architecture today. Hardcover, $27.95 ISBN: 978-1-4773-1286-5  Order Now

The 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, $19.95 ISBN: 978-1-4773-1043-4 Order Now Armadillo World Headquarters A Memoir By Eddie Wilson, with Jesse Sublett, Foreword by Dave Marsh 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, $34.95 ISBN: 978-1-4773-1382-4 Order Now Project 258: Making Dinner at Fish & Game By Zakary Pelaccio and Peter Barrett "Project 258 is a thoughtful celebration of the evolution of ingredients that will make you feel hungry and fulfilled at the same time. It’s more about living as a cook than a mere series of collectible recipes. It’s a way of shopping, cooking, and thriving in joy, love, and life! It is inspiring the way reading Thoreau is inspiring." —Mario Batali, Chef, author, entrepreneur Hardcover,  $16.95 ISBN: 978-1-4773-1225-4 Order 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. Paperback, $19.95 ISBN: 978-1-4773-1294-0 Order Now The Devil's Sinkhole Two Centuries of American Quilts from the Briscoe Center By Bill Wittliff; illustrated by Joe Ciardiello In this engrossing sequel to The Devil’s Backbone, the young man Papa and his cowboy amigo Calley Pearsall confront a legendary killer with a thirst for revenge and a psychopathic boy as the two friends search for the beautiful captive Pela Rosa. Hardcover, $29.95 ISBN: 978-1-4773-0974-2 Order Now

The 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, $24.95 ISBN: 978-1-4773-0371-9 Order Now Eddie Adams Bigger than the Frame By Eddie Adams; foreword by Don Carleton; preface by Alyssa Adams; essay by Anne Wilkes Tucker This career-spanning collection of both iconic and rarely seen images celebrates the work of Pulitzer Prize–winning photojournalist Eddie Adams, whose potent visual storytelling ran the gamut from the horrors of war to the lives of the famous and powerful. Hardcover, $60.00 ISBN: 978-1-4773-1185-1 Order 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, $21.95 ISBN: 978-1-4773-1297-1  Order Now A Pure Solar World Sun Ra and the Birth of Afrofuturism By Paul Youngquist Surveying the range of Sun Ra’s extraordinary creativity, this book explores how the father of Afrofuturism brought “space music” to a planet in need of transformation, supporting the aspirations of black people in an inhospitable white world. Hardcover, $27.95 ISBN: 978-0-292-72636-9 Order Now Two Prospectors The Letters of Sam Shepard and Johnny Dark By Sam Shepard and Johnny Dark Edited by Chad Hammett A compelling portrait of a complex, decades-long friendship, these deeply honest letters and candid family photographs offer the most intimate glimpse we may ever get into the life, personal philosophy, and creative process of America’s leading dramatist. Paberback, $19.95 ISBN: 978-0-292-76196-4 Order Now

Music from A Perfectly Good Guitar

The South by Southwest music conference and festival (SXSW, as it is now known) kicks off this week here in Austin, TX. The reach of SXSW has gone global and quite a bit corporate, which means well-established music acts like the Avett Brothers, Weezer, and the Wu-Tang Clan can steal thunder from the hundreds of relative unknowns who travel from all over the world to Austin hoping for exposure and whatever one calls a "record deal" these days. It's these hardworking musicians and local artists who prop up the massive event SXSW has become. They slug it out to make a name for themselves, hauling their equipment all over town to get as much stage time as possible. That's the game.

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From Willie Nelson to the bassist in a Sixth Street house band, most guitarists have strong feelings about their primary tool, and some are downright passionate about their axes. When photographer and writer Chuck Holley set out to document guitar players talking about their most prized instruments, he thought he was fairly well-versed in professional guitarists. The playlist he has put together for this blog is all about the lesser-known artists he discovered over the eight years he photographed guitarists with their favorite instruments and listened to their stories. A Perfectly Good Guitar is a beautifully illustrated book presenting these stories in revelatory photographs, featuring Rosanne Cash, Guy Clark, JD Souther, Jorma Kaukonen, Kelly Willis, and more.

Enjoy the selection on Spotify here.

Discovering Good Music

By Chuck Holley

In the Fall of 2007 I began a project interviewing and photographing guitarists. I asked each professional to single out one guitar in their arsenal and explain why it was important to them. The result of that eight-year effort is the book, A Perfectly Good Guitar.

I’m an unabashed music fan and, when I began this project, I considered myself well-versed about music from different genres. I knew about the good stuff—or at least I thought I did.

It didn’t take long to realize how many great working musicians are out there I didn’t know about. Reality set in; it became painfully obvious how much I had to learn. 

As the project picked up steam, artists who came to my attention fell into one of three categories: There were the seasoned professionals whose recordings I already owned. Players like Dave Alvin, Joanna Connor, Alejandro Escovedo and Bill Kirchen come to mind. Sure, I had a Blasters record with Alvin and his brother on it and I had one of his early solo albums. My collection of Joanna Connor music consisted of one early release on Blind Pig Records and I owned three or four Escovedo albums. In the case of Kirchen, I knew all about his days with Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen. As for his solo work, I didn’t have a clue. In the ensuing years, my interests turned to other artists.

Sonny Landreth

Then there were the artists with whom I was familiar; I’d heard of them, but didn’t own any of their recordings. I knew the music of Sisters Morales but I didn’t own any solo recordings by Lisa Morales. The same was true of Bill Frisell. From reading album credits I knew at one time Sonny Landreth played in John Hiatt’s band, The Goners, but even though I’d heard of Sonny, I didn’t own any of his music.

Finally, there were the artists who were new to me. They weren’t new to the scene, but I wasn’t familiar with their work. Toronzo Cannon, Johnny Nicholas and Jamie Lin Wilson are three such artists.

I enjoy turning my friends on to good music. I’ve told them about some of the terrific musicians and songwriters I’ve discovered. They listen politely until their eyes glaze over. My friends are creatures of habit, but aren’t we all?

I subscribe to the Duke Ellington school of thought: “There are two kinds of music. Good music and the other kind.” If I like it, I’ll listen to music regardless of labels. At the same time, it’s difficult to write about this without resorting to categorization. The artists profiled in A Perfectly Good Guitar represent a variety of genres.

I’ve never understood the guy who claims to just like only country music or classical or jazz. In my opinion, that’s like saying you only like the color blue.

This blog features ten artists from A Perfectly Good Guitar. These ten artists represent personal discovery. Their genres don’t matter. They’re just labels, but do they mean anything?

“All By Myself” – Dave Alvin
Dave Alvin spent his youth sneaking into blues bars with his older brother, Phil, to see and learn from masters like Big Joe Turner, T-Bone Walker, and Lightning Hopkins. In 1979 he and Phil formed the seminal roots rock band, the Blasters. They released four influential albums before Dave left to join the band, X, and later embark on a solo career that produced several critically acclaimed albums, including the Grammy Award-winning Public Domain. He and Phil reunited in 2014 to record Common Ground, their tribute album to Big Bill Broonzy, and later a blues album, Lost Time.

Dave recalls how he purchased a 1934 National resonator guitar. He used that guitar on the Broonzy song “All By Myself,” the first track on Common Ground.