Waco - Ames

Waco.  By Eric S. Ames.  Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2009.  Paperback, many black and white photos, ISBN: 9780738571317, 128 pages, $21.99. http://www.arcadiapublishing.com Young Mr. Ames has done a remarkable job of collecting the names and "assistance" of noted local and state historians for this photographic compendium.  And he was lucky that the Baylor University Library Texas Collection's Fred Gildersleeve Collection was made available to him.  The volume is divided into simple chapters: Waco Spirit, structural landmarks, scenes, recreation and play, and news headlines. Folks probably know Waco for historic Baylor University, Dr Pepper, the suspension bridge that preceded the Brooklyn Bridge, William Brann and his internationally successful Iconoclast newspaper, and the "Crash at Crush."  But the Alico Building was one of the first Texas skyscrapers and a "red light district" are also remembered. For a town whose existence was keenly dependent on early agricultural success, there are only a few photos of African Texans, but the Paul Quinn College is represented as well as other situations.  More could have been found. Some remarkable shots include Gildersleeve's improvised tower from which he captured photographs, the bird's-eye-view of the Masonic Grand Lodge building, the sweeping panoramas, and the 1953 tornado images.