JUST VISITIN’: OLD TEXAS JAILS by Joan Upton Hall looks inside more than fifty of the state’s historical jails, from how their architecture reflects each county’s brand of justice, to how the buildings are being used now as museums, libraries, restaurants, hotels and homes. State House Press.

DANCING NAKED: MEMORABLE ENCOUNTERS WITH UNFORGETTABLE TEXANS by Mary Rogers, a Fort Worth Star-Telegram columnist, who shares her tales of meeting a variety of unforgettable Texans, both famous or not. Texas Christian University Press.

ROAD, RIVER AND OL’ BOY POLITICS: A TEXAS COUNTY’S PATH FROM FARM TO SUPERSUBURB by Linda Scarbrough takes a look at Williamson County’s growth in the late 20th Century, as it went from being rural, diverse and Democratic to Republican, homogeneous and one of the fastest-growing counties in the United States. The work won the 2006 National Council on Public History Book Award; Scarbrough is publisher of the Williamson County Sun. Texas State Historical Association Press.

ELECTRONIC TRIBES: THE VIRTUAL WORLDS OF GEEKS, GAMERS, SHAMANS AND SCAMMERS by Tyrone L. Adams and Stephen A. Smith attempts takes readers into the almost- real-but-fake Internet world to explore online cultures and the real-world social consequences of the Internet. University of Texas Press.

SCIENTIFIC ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFECTS OF GLOBAL CHANGE ON THE UNITED STATES by the National Science and Technology Council’s Committee on Environment and Natural Resources. This 271-page report attempts to analyze the effects of global change on natural and human environments, social systems, energy production and use, transportation and human health. That and the 4-page summary are available online at www.climatescience. gov.

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