I’ve got a publication date for my Bamberger book!

I’ve got a publication date for my Bamberger book!

This page in the TAMU Press catalog mentions my upcoming book, which has been delayed due to the coronavirus.

I’ve got a new book publication date. Let’s hope it sticks.

“My Stories, All True,” my upcoming book about land conservationist J. David Bamberger, should be in my hands in four months. The official release date, according to my editors at Texas A&M University Press, is Sept. 22.

I should have been cradling my first copies by now, but, you know, coronavirus. The book is being printed in China.

Maybe I’m lucky. If the book had arrived in April as planned, I’d be stuck with a bunch of cartons of books and shuttered bookstores. I couldn’t hold a book signing or make the rounds with Bamberger, 92, to share some of his slightly tall tales.

I’m hoping that by September, bookstores will reopen, and it’ll be safe for Bamberger and me to hold a few book readings. We’ll see.

Bamberger grew up poor, became a door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman, went on to make a fortune as one of the founders of Church’s Fried Chicken, then tackled his life’s work – land conservation. He bought what he perceived to be the most worn-out, used-up piece of land in Blanco County and set to work removing invasive species and nurturing the land.

Today Selah, his more than 5,000-acre ranch south of Johnson City, serves as a lab for people who want to learn how to revive their own land. He holds seminars and gives tours, and students and scientists conduct research out of a new education center there.

I started working on the book about three years ago, when Bamberger would invite me to the ranch and recount stories from his life.

It’s been a long haul. I can’t wait to hold it in my hands.

About Pam

I’m Pam LeBlanc. Follow my blog to keep up with the best in outdoor travel and adventure. Thanks for visiting my site.

Where is Pam?

Click to open a larger map

Follow Pam

I’ve almost finished my book about J. David Bamberger

I’ve almost finished my book about J. David Bamberger

J. David Bamberger spends time every morning reading the New York Times, and spreading the pages out around his favorite armchair as he finishes. Pam LeBlanc photo

I spent a few hours this weekend at Selah, hashing over book titles with J. David Bamberger.

I’ve filled spare weekends and days off for the last few years holed up at the ranch, listening to the 91-year-old conservationist tell me stories about his childhood, his days as a door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman, co-founder of Church’s Fried Chicken and, most importantly, his life’s work pumping life back into an overgrazed, worn out patch of land in the Texas Hill Country.

Now I’ve compiled those stories, along with a little bit about my friendship with Bamberger, into a book being produced by Texas A&M University Press. We’re hoping for a spring 2020 publication date.

J. David Bamberger shows off an old family photo of him and his brothers. Pam LeBlanc photo

Bamberger didn’t want his name in the title of the book. “It sounds egotistical,” he told me.

I reminded him that the book is about him, a collection of his stories, and that it’s important to let readers know what’s on its pages. Besides, I told him, his name will only appear in the subtitle, not in the main words splashed across the front cover.

J. David Bamberger, his girlfriend Joanna, and Chris LeBlanc shoot the shit at Selah, Bamberger Ranch on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2019. Pam LeBlanc photo

We’ve still got lots of work to do – designing that cover, copy editing the text, blurbs for the back cover, and planning a marketing strategy. Thanks to Shannon Davies for shepherding me through the process.

It’s taken me so long to get to this point that sometimes I felt like I’d never finish. It’s an amazing feeling, knowing now that this project is really going to happen.

 

About Pam

I’m Pam LeBlanc. Follow my blog to keep up with the best in outdoor travel and adventure. Thanks for visiting my site.

Where is Pam?

Click to open a larger map

Follow Pam