Whether it shows the sweep of sunrise over the sea at Padre Island, a summer thunderstorm rolling across the plains of the Llano Estacado, or a full moon rising on a clear winter night in the Big Bend, the sky is the most commanding presence in the Texas landscape. Over one hundred breathtaking color pages in this book reveal the beauty, drama, unpredictability and sheer expanse of Texas' sky. Meinzer observes the sky from first light to the star trails in a night exposure. He watches storms blow in across the plains with all the fierce splendor of their lightning and the gentle aftermath of rainbows. He presents the full palette of sunrise and sunset hues, the endless variety of cloud formations, and the cobalt blue of the sky after a winter norther. Most of all, he captures the feelings of freedom and power that so many people experience under the Texas sky. John Graves connects Meinzer's photos to the land and the people of Texas. He accounts for both our ingrained habit of skywatching and our perpetual longing for rain. In the preface, Meinzer describes the careful planning and lucky chances that yielded many of these photographs, while interspersed among them are quotes from Texas skywatchers past and present.