Monday, March 28, 2011

The Oklahoma Experience

I bought these two books by Don Wagner on a whim the other day as I was browsing at Tulsa's wonderful independent Steve's bookstore, and I'm glad I did! Both books consist of primarily photographs, but they contain some accurate expanded captions as well. (I especially love the Oklahoma volume because there's a nearly full page photo of Afton Station in it!) They could be used as guidebooks in the same way that some folks use David Wickline's wonderful Images volumes, but other than a couple of maps, mainly of the larger cities, there are no other specific directions for getting from place to place. But, as picture books go, these two are quite nice. The books can be obtained here: Category :: ECKOHousePublishing.com

I received an envelope of photos from Jerry "McJerry" McClanahan taken when he, Jim Ross, and Shellee Graham were at Afton Station scouting photo ops for a book they're writing. As would be expected from such a creative soul as McJerry, all the photos are taken from interesting angles and with great sensitivity. Here's just one. Thanks, Jerry.
This afternoon I'm recuperating from yesterday's intense day of hosting the film crew at the Station. But I'll be back there tomorrow, and I hope to have more excitement to report.

3 comments:

Susan Yates said...

Thanks for mentioning these books, both new to me. I'm especially interested in seeing the Tulsa Experience/Art Deco book. I know what the old adage warns, but it really does have a great cover. Steve's may appear small to the uninitiated, but it seems to have the magical ability to contain any book I've ever sought there. And the few times they didn't, they've called and placed an order while I was standing right there. No big chain bookstore ever did that for me.

Trevor Hilton said...

The covers are worth the price.

There's a small, used bookstore in Edmond called "Archives" that I like to visit. The shelves are 2x12boards on cinderblocks. But, I found a mint-condition copy of "Blue Highways" there.

Laurel said...

Susan -- Love Steve's! Their order services are great, and as you indicated, there's a lot packed into a small place. It generally costs me quite a lot just to walk through their door!

Trevor - Ah... Blue Highways! Love that book, and I'm so glad you have a little independent bookshop there. Even though my daughter manages a big chain store, my heart still is with the smaller bookstore.