Amasa Clark's Journey: The Road from New York to Texas
In 1847, at the age of 21, Amasa Clark answered the call to arms and joined the United States Army near Troy, New York. Little did he know that he was beginning an odyssey that would take him to fight in the Mexican War and ultimately leave him in Texas to become one of that state's most important pioneers. Amasa Clark became a freighter, a shingle-maker, and a successful farmer. He showed that fruit trees, particularly pear trees, would grow in the Central Texas climate and soil. He worked at the Alamo and hunted with the Indians before trading a yoke of oxen and a six-shooter for a farm near Bandera, Texas. This book chronicles his life in he 1800's including the War in Mexico, an attack by robbers near San Antonio, friendly and unfriendly Indians, working with the camels at Camp Verde, the difficult years of the Civil War, three marriages and nineteen children. This Texana book endeavors to give color and dimension to Amasa Clark's life by weaving his story with the history and culture of early New York and Texas.

While much has been written on alternative paradigm research, there is little concrete advice on how to effectively use the theoretical notions of naturalistic inquiry in practice. Doing Naturalistic Inquiry is the practical guide designed to help beginning researchers apply the constructivist paradigm. Based upon the theoretical work of Lincoln and Guba in developing the naturalistic--or constructivist--paradigm, Erlandson and his colleagues show readers how these ideas shape the practice of conducting alternative paradigm research. The book covers the research process from design through data collection analysis and presentation and examines important issues generally minimized in positivist research texts--ethics, trustworthiness, and authenticity. Cases from a wide variety of disciplines demonstrate the efficacy of the methods described.

Doing Naturalistic Inquiry is a highly useful teaching tool for anyone using a constructivist lens on research.

"This book is as good a practical guide to naturalistic inquiry as one could hope for at this time. It is clear, it is practical, it is stimulating, it leads, it guides, it inspires. The authors provide action-based legitimation for naturalistic inquiry. If the question, 'It all sounds good, but does it work? is a reasonable one to pose, this book demonstrates that naturalistic inquiry works. The authors are to be congratulated for a splendid contribution."

--from the Foreword by Egon G. Guba