Texas: Portrait of a State, Paperback

Texas is unique, not only because it is the only state to enter the Union by way of a treaty, but because a clause in that treaty gives Texas the right, in perpetuity, to divide into as many as five separate states. These "Five States of Texas" reflect the remarkable geographic variety of this vast landscape. From the plains and mountains, beaches and deserts, forests and rugged canyons, Laurence Parent captures the beauty of the Texas landscapes, places, and people that are as diverse as its many-faceted culture.

Laurence Parent is the author of thirty-seven books, including Big Bend National Park, Texas Coast, Texas Mountains (all coauthored by Joe Nick Patoski), and Official Guide to Texas State Parks and Historic Sites. A full-time freelance photographer and writer specializing in landscape, travel, and nature subjects, Parent has been published in Men's Journal, Outside, Backpacker, Sierra, Natural History, National Parks, Newsweek, Arizona Highways, Travel & Leisure, the New York Times, Texas Highways, Texas Monthly, Texas Parks & Wildlife, and New Mexico Magazine.