Land of Bears and Honey: A Natural History of East Texas

by Joe C. Truett, Daniel W. Lay

Winner, Ottis Lock Endowment Award for the best book on East Texas, East Texas Historical Association, 1985
Texas Literary Festival Award for Nonfiction (Southwestern Booksellers Association & Dallas Times Herald), 1985
Annual Publication Award, Texas Chapter of the Wildlife Society, 1984 The story of the land, wildlife, and ecology of East Texas.

Genres: History, Nature

198 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

Reviews

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

a short review: since this book was published there has been a massive resurgence in wildlife in east Texas, and Texas in general. animals and habitats face lots of threats, but there are many areas of respite and there are more conscientious people, including hunters, than there were in my grand fathers generation. The primeval nature of the bottom lands and forests in east Texas are not wholly gone. There are still lonely places along the Sabine, Nechez and Angelina Rivers. i really enjoyed this book. but am happy to report improvement in many respects.

[Phylwil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of this book is dated, in that a few of the wildlife spoken of have recovered a little. it is a really interesting history of land use in southeast Texas, and the spoiling of the once extensive verdant forests. as I read it, I thought of the many experiences I have had prowling in the deep woods around me and saying to myself "It's not that bad--i have enjoyed hours in the lush woods, and then realizing that I was visiting small set-asides of what had once been enormous forests. It out me in mind of Joni Mitchell's song lyric: "They took all the trees and put them in a tree museum, charged the people a dollar and a half just to see 'em."

[David Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very moving and creative telling of the natural history of East Texas. Helps you learn about how the history of the region without bogging you down in bleak academic history writing. The prose sections are very well written to ensure that. I highly recommend tho this book to everyone even if you aren’t from East Texas.

[Larame Cummings · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well written and engaging history of East Texas. This is a mix of facts, figures, historical entries and narrative to tell the history of this region. Each chapter focuses in on a topic from trees to animal species to hunting and conservation.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was told this was the Sand County Almanac of East Texas. While I'm not sure it lives up to that claim, I did enjoy reading it. the last couple of chapters really tied it all together and made the book.