The nine stories comprising The Crystal Frontier, a brilliant work of fiction from Carlos Fuentes, all concern people who in one way or another have had something to do with, or still are part of, the family of one Leonardo Barroso, a powerful oligarch of northern Mexico with manifold connections to the United States.

_______________________ A DRAMATIC FICTIONAL PORTRAIT OF THE US-MEXICO BORDER, MIGRATION, AND ITS IMPACT ON PEOPLE'S LIVES _______________________ Through this network of nine personal stories, Carlos Fuentes sets out to explain Mexico and America to each other – and to the rest of the world. He presents a dramatic fictional portrait of the relationship between the United States and Mexico, as played out in a Mexican dynasty led by a powerful Mexican oligarch with complex ties north of the border. It is the story of Mexican families who send their sons north to provide for whole villages with dollars and of Mexican tycoons who exploit their own people. Young Jose Francisco grows up in Texas, determined to write about the border world – the immigrants and illegals, Mexican poverty and Yankee prosperity – stories to break the stand-off silence with a victory shout, to shatter at last the crystal frontier.

When Eve and Oscar are exploring an old curio shop, Eve finds a small crystal figurine of a tiger. Before she realises what it is, she touches it and finds herself hurtling down a fast-flowing river towards a steep waterfall. Its happening again! Oscar and Eve have entered the dense jungle of Griffid, where tigers rule and every step seems treacherous. However, the jungle is shrinking and the tigers world is in grave danger. How can Eve and Oscar solve the riddle and save the jungle and its precious inhabitants?

Elliott West’s careful analysis of the role and development of the saloon as an institution on the mining frontier provides unique insights into the social and economic history of the American West. Drawing on contemporaneous newspapers and many unpublished firsthand accounts, West shows that the physical evolution of the saloon, from crude tents and shanties into elegant establishments for drinking and gaming, reflected the growth and maturity of the surrounding community.

Crystal Eaters is an ambitious family saga, love story, and watershed in the career of this acclaimed fabulist.

Eve is staying with her grandmother and her only choice in playmate is Oscar, the boy from next door. The lure of the forbidden attic in her Nan's house proves too much for Eve and Oscar and they sneak upstairs to explore. When Eve finds a small crystal figurine of a unicorn it acts as a portal into another world. Eve and Oscar find themselves in the desert of Panthor where unicorns are now enslaved, land turned to desert and people forced to become desert nomads. How can Eve and Oscar survive in a land where panthers and people communicate and where an evil king has complete control of every living being? More importantly, how will they ever get home again?

The prequel to the New York Times bestseller The Texan Sprawling 1840s Texas comes alive in the hands of Joan Johnston, New York Times bestselling author of The Cowboy and The Texan. Introducing the unforgettable Creed dynasty, transporting us back to a wild, lawless frontier, Johnston brings us a stirring, passionate story of Texas Ranger Jarrett Creed and the free-spirited beauty who captures his heart—a woman sworn to love no man. FRONTIER WOMAN Captured by Comanches as a boy, Jarrett Creed grew to manhood torn between two worlds. But with the young republic under siege from ravaging Mexican armies and marauding Indian tribes alike, he made his choice. Now, as a secret government mission brings the Texas Ranger to lovely Cricket Stewart’s door, he must choose again. The youngest daughter of a wealthy gentleman planter, Cricket lives life as she pleases and vows never to be a wife to any man. Until the day Jarrett Creed saves her from avenging Comanches . . . by claiming her as his bride. The last thing either expects is to fall in love. But as a traitorous conspiracy and a secret tragedy test their newfound union, a wild-spirited beauty and a Texas lawman will discover just how far they will go for their precious homeland—and for a love that could free them from the sorrows of the past.