Books
Written by Margie Crisp
Foreword by Andrew Sansom
In fall 2016, lifelong birdwatcher, naturalist, and esteemed Texas artist Margie Crisp decided to take up a shotgun and start hunting ducks.
As a nature enthusiast, Crisp thought she understood conservation. Yet with many bird species in a precipitous decline, duck and geese populations continue to rise steadily year after year. Why? Who was responsible for the conservation of wildlands and wetlands essential to waterfowl, shorebirds, wading birds and raptors?
Here, Crisp goes beyond birdwatching to challenge her notions about hunting. Could duck hunters be considered conservationists? Could she overcome a life-long aversion to guns and learn to shoot birds? And could doing so help conservation of habitats for ducks and other migratory bird species? In writing her experiences, Crisp explores these questions and illustrates to both communities—hunters and naturalists—that one woman can be a birdwatcher, a bird hunter, and above all, a conservationist devoted to preserving habitat for birds and other wildlife.
Readers journey with the author as she learns to hunt—to experience the emotional impacts of killing, cleaning, cooking and eating birds. First-hand accounts are seamlessly integrated with information about conservation history as well as interviews with hunters, biologists, and birdwatchers. Along the Central Flyway from the Texas coast to Canada, this revealing personal narrative traces hunting and birdwatching trips, and even a solo road trip following the birds’ migration, all through the eye of an artist whose words and drawings bring her journey to life.
Texas A&M University Press
River Books, sponsored by The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment,
Texas State University
Wildlife – Conservation – Natural History
6 x 9, 272 pp. Hardcover/cloth
49 drawings. 3 maps. Appendix. Bib. Index.
Pub Date: 12/26/2022
Kathie and Ed Cox Jr. Books on Conservation Leadership, sponsored by The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, Texas State University
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$33.00 (plus sales tax, free shipping)
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Written and illustrated by Margie Crisp
Foreword by Andrew Sansom
The Colorado River is one of the most utilized and important rivers in Texas yet it is also one of the most underappreciated. River of Contrasts: The Texas Colorado interweaves the complex stories of the River's past with the present and future using personal narrative and interviews with land owners and river people to link local history and lore, natural history, geology and current issues.
Each of the six chapters centers on a section or area of the river which roughly correlates to a Texas ecoregion. In each of these regions, the river develops a unique character that is reflected in the natural history and ecology, cultural importance, geology, historical importance, environmental issues, and current conflicts or concerns. The book entertains, informs, and educates readers about the natural beauty of the existing river, its transformative power, the multitude of ways the river is used, and potential threats to the river's existence.
Over fifty hand colored linocuts, lithographs, silkscreen prints and photographs by the author illustrate the changing character of the river and its diverse inhabitants. Detailed maps of each section encourage the reader to travel down the river with the author as she hikes, wades, kayaks, floats, canoes, and boats the Colorado River from the headwaters at the edge of the Caprock Escarpment down to Matagorda Bay.
Texas A&M University Press
River Books, sponsored by The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment,
Texas State University
Art - Wildlife - Natural History
9 x 10, 256 pp. Flexbound
16 color photos. 61 color illus. 8 maps. Bib. Index.
Pub Date: 03/29/2012
River Books, Sponsored by The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, Texas State University
Ordering Details
OUT OF PRINT. Texas A&M Press plans to reprint but it may be a year or more before books are available.
Written by Margie Crisp
Artwork by William B. Montgomery
Foreword by Andrew Sansom
First appearing on early Spanish maps as the Río Escondido, or hidden river, and later named Río de las Nueces after the abundant pecan trees along its banks, the Nueces today is a stream of seeming contradictions: a river that runs above and below ground; a geographic reminder of a history both noble and egregious; and a spring-fed stream transformed into a salty steep-sided channel.
From its fresh, clear headwaters on the Edwards Plateau, Margie Crisp and William B. Montgomery follow the river through the mesquite and prickly pear of the South Texas Plains, to the river's end in Nueces and Corpus Christi Bays on the Gulf of Mexico. Through vivid prose and paintings, they record their travels as they explore the length of the river on foot, in kayaks, and fishing boat, ultimately weaving a portrait of today's Nueces. Capturing the river's subtle beauty, abundant wildlife, diverse culture, and unique history of exploration, conflict and settlement, they reveal the untold story of this enigmatic river with passion, humor, and reverence.
Texas A&M University Press
River Books, sponsored by The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment,
Texas State University
Art - Wildlife - Natural History
9 x 10, 284 pp. Flexbound
37 color. 25 color art. 5 b&w art. 8 maps. Bib. Index.
Pub Date: 03/20/2017
River Books, Sponsored by The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, Texas State University
Ordering Details
$29.95 (plus sales tax, free shipping)
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Edited by Andrew Sansom and William E. Reaves Jr.
In Of Texas Rivers and Texas Art, Andrew Sansom, a leading Texas conservationist, and William E. Reaves, an influential Texas art collector and historian, have teamed up to showcase some of the finest contemporary river art detailing the gorgeous traits of Texas landscapes. The featured artwork comes from Randy Bacon, Mary Baxter, David Caton, Margie Crisp, Keith Davis, Fidencio Duran, Jon Flaming, Charles Ford, Pat Gabriel, Hunter George, Billy Hassell, Lee Jamison, Robb Kendrick, Laura Lewis, William Montgomery, Noe Perez, Jeri Salter, Erik Sprohge, Debbie Stevens, and William Young.
Art in service of conservation is nothing new, as Sansom and Reaves note in their introductions. And rivers have figured prominently in the artistic imagination for all of recorded history and probably before that, as evidenced by flood stories and myths preserved in almost all the religious and folk traditions of the world. The collection of work included in this book is exemplary of the strong inspiration that rivers have provided for a vast current of literature, music, and art, in turn shaping their place in life and culture and bringing about a greater appreciation of the stunning beauty of our natural world.
Texas A&M University Press
River Books, sponsored by The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, Texas State University
Art - Natural History - Texana
9 x 10, 168 pp. Hardcover/cloth
69 color art. Index of rivers.
Pub Date: 02/13/2017
River Books, Sponsored by The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, Texas State University
Includes artwork by Contemporary Texas Regionalists Margie Crisp & William B. Montgomery
Ordering Details
$35.00 (plus sales tax, free shipping)
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By Andrew Sansom and Linda J. Reaves
Contributions by William E. Reaves Jr. and Kevin Good
In 2023, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department marks the 100th anniversary of the state park system. From its inception in 1923, the Texas park system has grown to 95 sites, covering more than 627,000 acres and comprising 74 state parks, 13 historic sites, and 8 natural areas. This vast collection of natural lands and public places now accommodates almost 9 million visitors each year.
The Art of Texas State Parks celebrates this rich tradition, offering an engaging visual arts survey of Texas state parks as seen through the eyes of leading artists from across the state.
Editors Andrew Sansom and Linda J. Reaves have collected original works from thirty of the state's most influential artists. These stunning visual works are accompanied by a thoughtful essay by William E. Reaves on the time-honored legacy of landscape painting in Texas and by Sansom's reflections on the vital place of landscape art in Texas conservation. Rounding out the collection, assistant state park director Kevin Good offers an informative profile of Texas state parks, and the work concludes with profiles of the artists whose pieces appear in this special centennial collection.
The centennial of the state parks system offers the perfect occasion to create a lasting visual record of Texas parks in art while memorializing the past and ongoing development of the distinctive collection of Lone Star parks and natural areas. The Art of Texas State Parks offers readers increased awareness of Texas parklands and heightens their popular appeal through the elegant and inspired works of some of Texas' finest contemporary artists.
Includes the work of these artists:
Randy Bacon, Abilene Mary Baxter, Marfa David Caton, Utopia Charles Criner, Houston Margie Crisp, Elgin Ric Dentinger, San Antonio Fidencio Duran, Austin Janet Eager Krueger, Encinal Joel R. Edwards, Waco Malou Flato, Austin Gordon Fowler, Austin Pat Gabriel, Fort Worth David R. Griffin, Dallas Brian Grimm, Fredericksburg Clemente F. Guzman III, San Antonio Karl E. Hall, Houston John Austin Hanna, Fredericksburg Billy Hassell, Fort Worth Hailey E. Herrera, Bryan Lee Jamison, Huntsville Denise LaRue Mahlke, Whitehouse Talmage Minter, Waco William B. Montgomery, Elgin Kermit Oliver, Waco Noe Perez, Corpus Christi Jeri Salter, Hutto Jim Stoker, San Antonio Bob Stuth-Wade, Dublin Terri M. Wells, Austin
All author proceeds from the sale of this book will benefit the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation.
Texas A&M University Press
Kathie and Ed Cox Jr. Books on Conservation Leadership, sponsored by The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment,
Texas State University
Andrew Sansom and Linda J. Reaves
Art – Texana – Natural History
11 x 10.5, 264 pp. Hardcover/cloth
4 b&w, 158 color art. Map. Appendix. Index.
Pub Date: 09/20/2022
Kathie and Ed Cox Jr. Books on Conservation Leadership, sponsored by The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, Texas State University
Includes artwork by Margie Crisp & William B. Montgomery
Ordering Details
$40.00 (plus sales tax, free shipping)
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Release SPRING 2027
University of Texas Press
Grace Olive Wiley believed that any snake, if treated with kindness, would become tame. She made pets of everything from Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnakes to Gila Monsters to massive king cobras, handling all her creatures, venomous or not, with bare hands and impunity.
Wiley burst onto the national stage in 1923 when the Minneapolis Journal newspaper splashed the title “The Girl Who Hunts Snakes for Fun” over a full-page article. In the center of the page, surrounded by the gigantic coils of a crudely drawn rattlesnake, a modestly dressed, slightly plain woman stands smiling wistfully. Captions dance around her proclaiming that she has magic power over snakes and that she laughs when capturing deadly moccasins and rattlesnakes. The girl was in fact a forty-year-old divorcee who, with no formal training, had just landed the job of Museum Curator for the Academy of Science at the Minneapolis Public Library. Grace promised to shake up the staid Museum and promptly ordered a baker’s dozen of live rattlesnakes from Texas. Together Grace and her rattlesnakes would change history, and, in the process, she would become internationally famous for her venomous pets.
By Margie Crisp