AUSTIN, Texas—The Texas State Historical Association at The University of Texas at Austin has published the Portable Handbook of Texas,a condensation of the essential information contained in the award-winning six-volume New Handbook of Texas,published in 1996. The Portable Handbookfeatures more than 2,300 articles and 401 illustrations.
All the regular features of the Handbook— 560 biographies of notable individuals, histories of important events and communities, descriptions of significant physical features and thematic articles — are included as well as a 100-page history of Texas, from prehistory to the present.
“The Portable Handbook of Texasis a much-needed, handy volume that distills a huge project,” according to William H. Goetzmann, Jack S. Blanton Professor of History and American Studies at UT Austin. “The brief history of Texas that begins the book is sure to be of use to all teachers of Texas and Western history.”
The 8-1/4 x 11-3/4 inch, 1,072-page Portable Handbookwas edited by Roy Barkley and Mark Odintz, both senior editors with the association. According to Barkley, “We tried to include all of the most essential information. We hope the readers will find that the broad-ranging essays put things into the larger context of Texas history.”
Odintz said the Portable Handbook“continues the association’s efforts to tell the story of all Texans. It features essays on Texas women, African Americans, Mexican Americans and other ethnic groups from Wends to Vietnamese.”
Barkley is senior editor of print and online publications bearing the Handbook of Texaslabel. He earned his Ph.D. at UT Austin and is a former editor of the Middle English Dictionaryat the University of Michigan. Odintz is senior research editor of Handbook of Texaspublications. He earned his Ph.D. in history at the University of Michigan.
The Portable Handbook of Texasis available at bookstores, or it can be ordered directly from the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) by calling 1-800-687-8132. For more information about the association, visit the Web site www.tsha.utexas.edu
