Austin: Lone Star Rising

"But still, in the mind's eye of those who love her, there is an enduring vision of Austin at first light, the Southwestern pastels of pink and white set against the green contours of the hills, that lingers pleasantly in the collective imagination. Everyone who lives in Austin, or even tarries for a visit, takes away a vision."

Truly, Austin, Texas, is a city like no other. Eternally restless and turbulent, with gusto and trepidation forever existing in the same moment, it's where two American cultures collide-a place where the West bleeds almost imperceptibly into Dixie's final vanguard. In the best and truest sense of the phrase, Austin stands apart.

With the aid of over 250 colorful images by the area's finest photographers, Austin journalist John T. Davis brings to life the unique character and wonderful sights, sounds, and smells that emanate from this capital city deep in the heart of Texas. And he traces the area's transformation from a place "where the University was a credit to its football team, and the State Legislature thought high tech was a new form of modern art, "into a home of progressive ideas, creative thinking, and an unsurpassed quality of life.

A fourth-generation Texan, Davis leads us beyond the State Capital and the University Tower, the city's two abiding symbols, to reveal a community of artists, politicians, executives; college students-you name it-an eclectic blend of freethinkers who couldn't imagine living anywhere else. The city's future, these citizens will tell you, still holds out promise. And the promise beckons.

Open these pages and experience for yourself Austin, Texas-it's seldom that the heart's landscape assumes such a pleasing perspective.