Riding the wind & other tales

the long version

This collection of tales represents James Hoggard's nearly thirty-year contribution to Texas literature. "Riding the Wind" connects dangerous Texas weather and life on the inhospitable plains with the need to tell stories. "Sandstone and Ice: Memory and Sight" revives a childhood memory of a rattlesnake-ridden sandstone hill and the frozen pond at its base and uses the image as a metaphor for the narrative powers of memory. Many of the stories, such as "Back There, Passing Through," are poignant meditations on time and place set in familiar Texas towns. This collection is not limited to regional topics, however - as is evident in "Letter from Nineveh," a powerful account set in the Middle East, where Hoggard was a visiting scholar just before the start of the Gulf War.