A fine writer whose work I have reviewed before (Commonplace Mysteries, reviewed in Texas Books in Review, in 1991 or 2--I can't remember exactly). Home Country (which you have "on order" )is an anthology of Bode's work to date and is a delightful, emminently readable work concerning the human nature of the writer's various subjects (many of whom live, work and die in the Texas Hill Country and the tri-cultural, border area of El Paso, Texas), as well as unpretentious descriptions of the landscape they all live in.

An emminently readable anthology of this writer's work published by the reputable Texas Western Press (and soon to be available from amazon) concerning the the writer's interest in the nature and environment of a broad variety of people and places in the Texas Hill Country and the tri-cultural area known as El Paso, Texas. Bode's writing is delightfully unpretentious and intellectually provocative. Enjoy!

You don't have to be a Texan to be taken over by the feelings from Elroy Bode's book that make you say, "Uh-huh! I KNOW what you mean!" But as a Texan too far away from home, I can almost inhale the scent of cedar trees from the pages of his poignant essays about going back to his old homestead and the people who speak to his heart. It's a slow, leisurely read filled with images of places like Crider's, the "yellow-bulbed oasis in the black desert of night." I can just about feel my boots scooting across the dance floor of the old joint that has long been a Hill Country institution. The essay titled "Beer," about his boyhood anticipation of holding a slender chilled bottle and taking his first burning gulp, is priceless. This book is a must-read for anyone who loves and longs for home.