The book provides a background-both historical and biological-for visitors to the Big Thicket. "Once a refuge for bandits, the jungly groves and swamps of the Big Thicket . . . now are an ecological treasure. In this book, the Big Thicket's human and natural history unfold with anecdotal intimacy and many good stories about crusty backwoodsman. A hefty section on hiking makes this the premier book on an area famed for orchids and alligators, turkeys and bears."-Books of the Southwest.