Sea shells of the Texas coast (The Elma Dill Russell Spencer Foundation series)

One of the most valuable portions of this work is the beautiful set of 369 mollusk photographs and the 65 line drawings that go with the text. Miss Andrews is not only a skillful writer but also a professional artist and an accomplished photographer, as the illustrations attest. One of the major problems with identifying Texas coastal sea shells has long been the lack of adequate illustrations. No single text can be used to identify all the shallow-water shells of Texas. The systematic portion of this book, however, does bring together all the information on coastal species, so that most amateur shell collectors will be able to identify their finds. Perhaps the greatest surprise to the reader of this book will be the tremendous range of subject matter relating to the Texas coast. Where else can one find a recipe for Coquina Chiwder and a scientific analysis of tides, or how to clean and carry home dead sea shells and the detailed history of barrier-island settlement, in the same book? The many subjects covered here-from beachcombing to classifying shells-are held together by a common thread-the author's great love for the barrier islands of the western Gulf of Mexico. Although not educated primarily as a biologist, Miss Andrews has devoted much of her postgraduate study to science. What counted in the compilation of material and ideas in this book was not, however, Miss Andrew's courses in biology, but her strong determination to find out about things not normally taught in formal courses and to get the necessary "words of wisdom" directly from authoritative sources. She has consulted the experts and utilized her information in a systematic way. Miss Andrews is a resident of Corpus Christi, where she teaches at W. B Ray High School.