Coinciding with the 75th anniversary of the Texas State Park System, Baylor University Press is pleased to announce the publication of a significant study of Mother Neff State Park. In Guided With a Steady Hand we see how the small events of local history fit within the context of regional and national politics. This is a local story, told large. Come explore the history of the creation of the park and the Civilian Conservation Corps's monumental contribution to the building of this Central Texas jewel.

Originally intending to produce the first comprehensive scholarly reference guide to the antecedents, practices, and theory of oral history, the editors have gone even further, creating a highly readable and useful tool for scholars, students, and the general public. Covering the vast scope of this increasingly popular field, the eminent contributors discuss almost every aspect of a field that once was the province of historians but now has become increasingly democratized and available across numerous disciplines.

A companion to History of Oral History, Thinking about Oral History presents parts III and IV of Handbook of Oral History, an essential resource for scholars and students. Guided by Charlton, Myers, and Sharpless, the prominent authors capture the current state-of-the-art in oral history and predict key directions for future growth in theory and application.

Gathered here are parts I and II of the Handbook of Oral History, which set the benchmark for knowledge of the field. The eminent contributors discuss the history and methodologies of a field that once was the domain of history scholars who were responding to trends within the academy, but which has increasingly become democratized and widely used outside the realm of historical research. This handbook will be both a traveling guide and essential touchstone for anyone fascinated by this dynamic and expanding discipline.

For more than forty years the Institute for Oral History at Baylor University has dutifully gathered the flesh-and-blood memories of the World War II generation in the state of Texas. Tattooed on My Soul brings together seventeen of the most compelling narratives from Baylor's extensive collection of more than five thousand interviews. Taken together, these selections provide an authentic and powerful mosaic of those critical years and offer intimate glimpses into the reality and meaning of the war for those who fought it. For them, World War II is more than history. And when they tell their stories, it becomes more than facts and dates, victories and defeats for those who listen. Representing a cross-section of Texas' population and a wide range of wartime assignments, these recollections reveal the personal perspectives on many events and figures of World War II. On land, in air, and by sea, in the Pacific and in Europe, they fought for America's future. With the clear ring of authenticity and a surprising immediacy, even after all these years, their stories make a global war personal.

Gathered here are parts I and II of the Handbook of Oral History, which set the benchmark for knowledge of the field. The eminent contributors discuss the history and methodologies of a field that once was the domain of history scholars who were responding to trends within the academy, but which has increasingly become democratized and widely used outside the realm of historical research. This handbook will be both a traveling guide and essential touchstone for anyone fascinated by this dynamic and expanding discipline.