An exquisite look at beautiful outdoor sanctuaries throughout the state, this coffee-table book features inspired designs spanning the complete spectrum of styles, from comfortably traditional to strikingly contemporary. Beyond the vivid color photographs, this detailed exploration also includes interesting captions, delightful design anecdotes, and personal introductions to Texas-based design experts--architects, landscape architects, native-plant experts, interior designers, builders, stone and tile experts, pool designers, outdoor-kitchen specialists, and more. Eloquently demonstrating myriad ways in which outdoor living spaces in Texas can be enjoyed year-round, this meticulously curated collection is appropriate for homeowners, home seekers, and anyone else seeking design inspiration, ideas, recommendations, and resources.

- Showcases contemporary residential architecture and design across the state of Texas, by renowned America-based architects and designers - Augments Images Publishing's particularly large range of successful books on contemporary residential architecture and design - Features stunning full-color photography throughout, informative descriptions and detailed floor plans - Contextualizes with an introduction by an acclaimed expert on the profound influences of key architecture and design practitioners and the topic of building in variable environments throughout Texas Forget the Texas you thought you once knew, put aside those cattle ropin' preconceptions and make way for Texas Modern, a close look into the Lone Star State's innovative contemporary architecture and design scenes. Showcasing a stunning range of modern homes, this book will inspire best-design practice and spur on lifestyle dreams. Set out with beautiful full-color photography and laden with intricate plans and drawings, Texas Modern delves into the finer details of trending architectural styles. The exquisite kitchens, glorious living spaces, sumptuous bedrooms, luxurious bathrooms, spectacular outdoor entertaining areas, and other delightful spaces, including a private yoga studio, will have you seriously reconsidering any notion of architectural convention across this larger-than-life and totally unique American state.

Spectacular Modern Homes of Texas is the newest installment in Signature's spectacular book series. Brimming with beautiful photography and dreamy design, this book has something for everyone's taste and style. Showcasing a wide variety of approaches to modern design, readers will get a tour inside private homes designed by Texas' top interior designers and architects. Get a first class tour inside Texas most unique and stunning homes such as a posh Austin penthouse, a vertical glass house in Dallas, and a sprawling Hill Country estate with a historic farmhouse exterior and cutting edge modern interiors. Totally unique, just like the state of Texas, this book will stir the designer in you and be a beautiful decor piece on your coffee table. You've never seen Texas look so good.

In Wild Focus, Earl Nottingham, chief photographer for the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department and its magazine, provides a unique perspective on Texas featuring images of the woods, waters, and wildlife of the Lone Star landscape. Nottingham’s engaging photography—landscape, nature, and wildlife; environmental portraiture of people; photojournalistic coverage of events, including natural disasters—provides a cohesive overview of biodiversity and the state of conservation in Texas. The nearly 200 stunning photographs collected here encompass the expansive mission of TPWD, presenting traditional landscape images from state and national parks as well as from vast private lands. Cultural and historic sites are included along with environmental portraits of the people associated with those sites. From the state’s wildlife, both great and small, to nature shown in not only its beauty but also its fury—wildfires, hurricanes, and floods—Earl Nottingham offers a visual compendium of events, people, places, and things that have shaped the face of natural Texas. The author logged untold miles and wore through many sets of tires to offer timely stories that would “inform, educate, entertain, and empower” readers about the outdoors. These images that capture the richness and diversity of wild Texas inspire a greater appreciation for the state’s beauty and promote a sense of stewardship for its natural treasures.

With its vast diversity of land, people, and wildlife, Alaska is the last true American frontier. For the armchair traveler, those planning and dreaming of a future vacation, or those savoring a past trip of a lifetime, this spectacular volume brings together the majestic splendor of America's largest state--591,104 square miles and twice the size of Texas--as captured by some of the world's top outdoor photographers. Spectacular Alaska celebrates the land--including Mt. McKinley, the highest point in North America at 20,320 feet--the animals--including bald eagles, walruses, moose, whales, wolves, and Alaskan brown bear--and also the people. Much of Alaska is still covered in wilderness, and here lie the giants of America's national parks: Wrangell-St. Elias, almost six times the size of Yellowstone; Denali National Park, which is the size of Massachusetts and known as the Serengeti of the North because of its glorious wildlife; and many other national parks, monuments, and preserves. These parks, as well as the cities, villages, and regions in between are explored in the two hundred photographs and stunning panoramic gatefolds of Spectacular Alaska.

At the end of the twentieth century roughly 265 million people visited the 374 sites in the American National Park System. These places, designated and protected because of their significance to our nation’s historical and natural heritage, contain some of the most beautiful landscapes in the United States—landscapes that naturally lend themselves to outdoor recreation. In this book, veteran parks interpreter Ro Wauer introduces the pleasures of birding in the national parks of the American Southwest. From California to Texas, from hugely popular destinations such as Arizona’s Grand Canyon to the mostly undiscovered shores of Amistad National Recreation Area, Wauer visits seventeen sites and gives us his advice on what birds to expect to see and where and how to find them. Written by a birder for birders, this book introduces readers to some of the best birding north of the Mexican border, as well as some of the most impressive scenery anywhere. Wauer takes readers on a personal tour, pointing out where to go to see a vast array of each park’s bird life: Le Conte’s Thrashers in Death Valley, Clark’s and Western Grebes at Lake Mead, Phainopeplas at Organ Pipe Cactus, Lucy’s Warblers at Saguaro, Peregrine Falcons in Grand Canyon, Cave Swallows at Carlsbad Caverns, Magnificent Hummingbirds at Guadalupe Mountains, and Colima Warblers in Big Bend. Birding the Southwestern National Parks is written for anyone visiting, planning to visit, or dreaming of visiting the Southwestern national parks. The Southwestern Parks: Death Valley National Park, California and Nevada Joshua Tree National Park, California Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada and Arizona Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona Sunset Crater Volcano, Wupatki, and Walnut Canyon National Monuments, Arizona Montezuma Castle National Monument, Arizona Tonto National Monument, Arizona Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona Saguaro National Park, Arizona Chiricahua National Monument, Arizona Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mountains National Parks, New Mexico and Texas White Sands National Monument, New Mexico Big Bend National Park, Texas Amistad National Recreation Area, Texas

Winner, 2020 National Outdoor Book Award, Nature and the Environment Snakes inspire extreme reactions. Love or hate these limbless reptiles, almost everyone is fascinated by them. Although snakes are widespread and frequently encountered, they may be more misunderstood than any other group of animals. From giant rattlesnakes to mating dances, there are dozens of myths and misconceptions about snakes. In Secrets of Snakes: The Science beyond the Myths, wildlife biologist David Steen tackles the most frequently asked questions and clears up prevailing myths. In a conversational style with a bit of humor, Steen presents the relevant biology and natural history of snakes, making the latest scientific research accessible to a general audience. When addressing myths about snakes, he explains how researchers use the scientific method to explain which parts of the myth are biologically plausible and which are not. Steen also takes a close look at conventional wisdom and common advice about snakes. For example, people are told they can distinguish coralsnakes from non-venomous mimics by remembering the rhyme, “red on black, friend of Jack, red on yellow, kill a fellow,” but this tip is only relevant to coralsnakes and two mimics living in the southeastern United States, and it does not always work with other species or in other countries. Enhanced by more than 100 stunning color photographs and three original drawings, Secrets of Snakes: The Science beyond the Myths encourages readers to learn about the snakes around them and introduces them to how scientists use the scientific method and critical thinking to learn about the natural world. Number Sixty-one: W. L. Moody Jr. Natural History Series