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7ixels b’mate legiskiton, 1923. 1999 CAPITOL WOMEN CATEGORIES AND NARRATI-Vf . I DEr.n .yrrrs THE ‘cRONTtER r ei r7:.* N\( REINFO ,Ak t g , PABLO VILA *14. A NCAVIGLIA SECOND EDIEION teen, Centel SE, Polity Sterne, Complied by Silty Sanger and Cyrut Reed, ALMANAC Capitol Women Texas Female Legislators, 1923-1999 BY NANCY BAKER JONES AND RUTHE WINEGARTEN “This is the kind of readable history that every library, women’s organization, teacher, scholar, and politician should own. Nancy Baker Jones and Ruthe Winegarten, noted historians, have lovingly chronicled the lives and careers of the eighty-six women who served in the Texas Legislature from 1923 to 1999.” Liz Carpenter 344 pp., b&w photos $22.95 paperback, $45.00 hardcover A companion video Getting Where We’ve Got to Be Women in the Texas Legislature Research and Production Coordinated by the Center for the Study of Women and Gender, UTSA 36-minute color videotape $24.95 Crossing Borders, Reinforcing Borders Social Categories, Metaphors, and Narrative Identities on the USMexico Frontier BY PABLO VILA This ethnography charts the social categories, metaphors, and narratives that inhabitants of El Paso and Ciudad Juarez use to define their group identity and distinguish themselves from “others.” It uncovers the regionalism by which many northern Mexicans construct their sense of identity, the nationalism that often divides Mexican Americans from Mexican nationals, and the role of ethnicity in setting boundaries among Anglos, Mexicans, and African Americans. Inter-America Series, Duncan Earle and John Peterson, Editors 304 pp., b&w photos $19.95 paperback, $42.50 hardcover University of Texas Press 800-252-3206 WitillALUTEXAS.EDWUTPRESS The Illusion of Inclusion The Untold Political Story of San Antonio BY RODOLFO ROSALES Rosales offers the first in-depth history of the Chicano community’s struggle for inclusion in the political life of San Antonio during the years 1951 to 1991, drawn from interviews with key participants as well as archival research. He focuses on the political and organizational activities of the Chicano middle class in the . context of postWorld War II municipal reform and on the role of Chicana middle-class women as they gained greater political visibility in the 1980s. Center for Mexican American Studies History, Culture, and Society Series 248 pp., b&w photos $14.95 paperback, $30.00 hardcover The Cast Iron Forest A Natural and Cultural History of the North American Cross Timbers BY RICHARD V. FRANCAVIGLIA This landmark book describes the natural environment of the Cross Timbers and interprets the role that people have played in transforming the region. Francaviglia opens with a natural history that discusses the region’s geography, geology, vegetation, and climate. He then traces the interaction of people and the landscape, from the earliest Native American inhabitants and European explorers to the developers and residents of today’s ever-expanding cities and suburbs. Corrie Herring Hooks Series 296 pp., color and b&w illus., maps $24.95 paperback, $45.00 hardcover Texas Environmental Almanac Second Edition BY THE TEXAS CENTER FOR POLICY STUDIES COMPILED BY MARY SANGER AND CYRUS REED This almanac provides crucial and comprehensive information on Texas’ land, air, water, energy use, and waste generation gathered from a wide range of state and federal agencies, environmental organizations, and historical and scientific reference sources. Extensively updated since the first edition, it addresses such key issues as the quantity and quality of the state’s environmental resources, present rates of consump tion, and future levels of demand. 397 pp., charts, graphs, tables, and maps $29.95 paperback THE TEXAS OBSERVER 7 AUGUST 25, 2000