Caleb Bell

At Glasstire, we’re always paying attention to art and cultural books from Texas and beyond. We’re also, occasionally, picking up old books that we haven’t quite gotten around to yet, or may have newly stumbled upon. Here’s a short list of publications, compiled by our staff and a few contributors who often write about books, that stood out in 2025.

From the grittiness of working cowboys to romanticized pastoral views, the American West and its mythos have long been a source of interest, especially to those outside of its everyday realities. That mystique combined with technical precision has landed Richard Avedon’s In the American West a spot among the most iconic bodies of work in 20th century American photography. Commissioned in 1979, Mitchell A.

The South and all its mystique has preoccupied the lens of Beaumont photographer Keith Carter for decades. In his most recent book Ghostlight, published by the University of Texas Press in late 2023, he mined his archives and shot anew with a singular focus: southern wetlands. Bayous, marshes, swamps, and other waterways, alongside their natural flora and fauna, make up the more than 100 images included in the publication.