FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Hillingdon Ranch: Four Seasons, Six Generations
Co-Authored by David K. Langford and Lorie Woodward Cantu
256 Pages. 206 Color photos. Map.
College Station: University Press
$35, Hardbound
Publication Date: Scheduled for October 2013
Contact: Holli Koster
BUY NOW: 1 (800) 826-8911
Phone (979) 458-3982, Fax (979) 847-8752
Email: holli.koster@tamu.edu
Ranching Operation Models Sustainability and Stewardship
Book Chronicles Six Generations on Historic Texas Ranch
COLLEGE STATION— Hillingdon Ranch: Four Seasons, Six Generations chronicles how one family has worked together over many years to keep their ranch intact. It is also a beautifully photographed portrait of a ranching family and their life in the Texas Hill Country, where work is guided by the seasons, increasingly influenced by technology, and inevitably affected by drought. In learning about the family’s successes and challenges, readers will gain a greater appreciation of what the Giles family’s efforts mean to the rest of us: food, fiber, clean air, wildlife, healthy land, peace and quiet and, perhaps most important of all, clean and plentiful water.
“The health of our natural resources depends on stewardship. And stewardship needs stewards. As our population shifts toward almost complete urbanization, keeping open spaces open and productive will become increasingly difficult. As citizens, we must recognize the contributions of places like Hillingdon Ranch and people like the Giles family to the well-being of everyone,” said David K. Langford, co-author of Hillingdon Ranch, former Texas Wildlife Association executive vice president, and award-winning photographer. “In modern Texas, ranching is a balancing act that requires landowners to be resourceful entrepreneurs and committed stewards.”
Langford is the owner of Western Photography Company. His award-winning photographs have appeared in Smithsonian, Outdoor Life, Field and Stream, Texas Highways, The Cattleman, American West, Texas Monthly and other publications, worldwide. He lives on the Laurels Ranch, his piece of the Hillingdon family land.
Cantu is president of Woodward Communications, a research, writing and public relations company specializing in agriculture and natural resource issues. Before starting her own business, Cantu was the assistant commissioner for communications at the Texas Department of Agriculture.
Hillingdon Ranch is part of the Conservation Leadership Series, a book series sponsored by The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University.
Praise for Hillingdon Ranch:
- “In Texas, 94 percent of the land is privately owned, so the future of the Lone Star State depends on the care of individual land owners. Hillingdon Ranch: Four Seasons, Six Generations tells the story of how one family’s passionate stewardship translates into environmental benefits for our entire state. The Giles family’s commitment to conservation is a model for all Texans as we work together to protect our state’s clean air, clean water, wildlife habitats and magnificent natural landscapes.” Mrs. Laura Bush, Former First Lady of Texas and the United States
- “Hillingdon Ranch: Four Seasons, Six Generations tells a story that is important to all Texans. Within its pages, you’ll discover how one family’s passionate stewardship of their land translates into environmental benefits for society as a whole. It is a story that plays out on ranch after ranch, and in family after family. While land stewards bear the direct responsibility, we can all work together to keep our legendary open spaces, open and environmentally productive.” Nolan Ryan, Baseball Hall of Fame, Rancher, Former Texas Parks and Wildlife Commissioner
- “As tough and as hard as it looks, our ecological system is fragile. It depends on us to take care of it. Hillingdon Ranch: Four Seasons, Six Generations tells the story of just that. They have been environmental caretakers on the frontline for 128 years. Successive generations of the Giles family have had the joy and responsibility of being land stewards. It is through their passion and commitment, along with others like them, that Texas, despite its amazing growth, still has clean water, clean air, great wildlife habitat not to mention our legendary wide open spaces.” George Strait, Country Music Hall of Famer, Rancher
Contact: David K. Langford: dkl@westernphotographycompany.com and (830) 995-2147 or (210) 827-0306 (Leave message on both if no answers.) www.hillingdonranchbook.com
Speak Your Mind