Important works of many artists from antiquity to the present tell the story of Western civilization in a breathtaking collection of art displayed in this address book.

'The Secret Museum' is a treasure trove of the most intriguing artifacts hidden away in museum archives from all over the world - curated, brought to light, and brought to life by Molly Oldfield in an illustrated collection.

Sergio Mishioki is a Peruvian anthropologist who has escaped with a national treasure and brought it to the United States. The treasure is Romeo y Julieta, a pair of adolescent mummies, and must be found as soon as possible. After the Peruvian consul in Miami hires PI Buck Jaspers to locate the mummies and return them to Peru, he sets out to find Mishioki and the treasure. Using all the operatives at his disposal, Buck narrows the hunt to the Orlando area and shares evidence with an ICE agent on the same trail. After Buck learns that Mishioki loves sports car racing, eating Peruvian food, and chasing young women, he stakes out restaurants and nightclubs, poses as a racecar driver, and investigates reclusive billionaires—the only ones who can afford to keep the mummies in good condition. In order to inspect the estates of possible suspects, Buck employs a swamp rat to take Buck and his crew through the wetlands on an airboat. But just as he gets closer to the mummies and Mishioki, Buck’s operatives reveal a disturbing reality of the person behind the theft. In this exciting mystery, the chase is on for PI Buck Jaspers after an anthropologist steals mummies from Peru and brings them to Florida.

Popular images of women during the American Civil War include self-sacrificing nurses, romantic spies, and brave ladies maintaining hearth and home in the absence of their men. However, as DeAnne Blanton and Lauren M. Cook show in their remarkable new study, that conventional picture does not tell the entire story. Hundreds of women assumed male aliases, disguised themselves in men’s uniforms, and charged into battle as Union and Confederate soldiers—facing down not only the guns of the adversary but also the gender prejudices of society. They Fought Like Demons is the first book to fully explore and explain these women, their experiences as combatants, and the controversial issues surrounding their military service. Relying on more than a decade of research in primary sources, Blanton and Cook document over 240 women in uniform and find that their reasons for fighting mirrored those of men—-patriotism, honor, heritage, and a desire for excitement. Some enlisted to remain with husbands or brothers, while others had dressed as men before the war. Some so enjoyed being freed from traditional women’s roles that they continued their masquerade well after 1865. The authors describe how Yankee and Rebel women soldiers eluded detection, some for many years, and even merited promotion. Their comrades often did not discover the deception until the “young boy” in their company was wounded, killed, or gave birth. In addition to examining the details of everyday military life and the harsh challenges of -warfare for these women—which included injury, capture, and imprisonment—Blanton and Cook discuss the female warrior as an icon in nineteenth-century popular culture and why twentieth-century historians and society ignored women soldiers’ contributions. Shattering the negative assumptions long held about Civil War distaff soldiers, this sophisticated and dynamic work sheds much-needed light on an unusual and overlooked facet of the Civil War experience.

Texas is an art lover's paradise. More than one hundred venues located within the state welcome visitors to experience the visual arts. These include internationally recognized collections such as the Chinati Foundation, the Kimbell Art Museum, the Menil Collection, and the Nasher Sculpture Center; renowned encyclopedic institutions such as the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Dallas Museum of Art, and the San Antonio Museum of Art; and dozens of first-rate art centers, alternative spaces, and university galleries. In addition to delighting the eye with a wide-ranging assortment of exhibitions, many of these museums and galleries are housed within architectural gems. To enhance the reader's visits to familiar destinations and to encourage the exploration of lesser-known venues, Art Guide Texas presents the only in-depth survey devoted exclusively to the state's nonprofit visual arts institutions. Rebecca Cohen organizes the book regionally. Individual entries for museums and galleries give essential contact information, including phone numbers and Web sites, as well as a description of the collection(s) and past exhibitions, a brief history of the institution, significant architectural details about the building, and assorted practical tips. Black-and-white photographs accompany many of the entries, as well as notable quotes on art and architecture. In addition, Cohen's essays on the phenomenal late-twentieth-century growth of the arts in Texas and on arts activity in the different regions of the state provide a helpful context for exploring the arts in Texas.