Scott Pelley takes readers behind the scenes of news stories in Truth Worth Telling<\/em>, plus Max … Attacks<\/em> and Texans on the Brink<\/em>. <\/p>\n

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Scott Pelley <\/span><\/strong>takes readers behind the scenes of news stories: Pelley, who grew up in Lubbock and studied journalism at Texas Tech, has been<\/span> with CBS News for thirty years, as a reporter and then anchor for the CBS Evening News<\/em> and as a correspondent for 60 Minutes<\/em>. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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In his memoir, <\/span>Truth Worth Telling: A Reporter\u2019s Search for Meaning in the Stories of Our Times<\/span><\/em><\/a> <\/em>(Hanover Square Press, $26.99 hardcover), he takes readers behind the scenes of some of the compelling stories he has covered\u2014including 9\/11, the Oklahoma City bombing, war in Iraq and Afghanistan, Sandy Hook, the Unabomber, elections, presidents and other dignitaries he\u2019s interviewed, and a lot of extraordinary ordinary folks he has met along the way.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Pelley\u2019s first job in journalism was as a \u201ccopy boy\u201d for the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal <\/em>at the age of fifteen, instead of sixteen, the minimum age for the newspaper job. \u201cA career in search of truth,\u201d Pelley admits, \u201cbegan with a lie. I fibbed about my age.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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His description of the newsroom brought back fond memories of bygone days in journalism: \u201cthe most exciting place I\u2019d ever seen: an open floor of demanding phones, clattering typewriters and reporters whose cigarettes were as short as their deadlines.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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In college Pelley took to television news, first in Lubbock, then Dallas-Fort Worth, finally to CBS News in 1989 after five years of trying for a position there. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Kathi Appelt: <\/span><\/strong>College Station author Kathi Appelt loves cats and stories, and she puts the two together in her latest picture book, <\/span>Max Attacks<\/span><\/em><\/a> (Atheneum, $17.99 hardcover, illustrated by Penelope Dullaghan).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Appelt, a prolific, prize-winning author of books for young readers and teens as well, features a mischievous cat named Max who likes to attack anything that comes to mind, whether it\u2019s a basket of socks, a shoelace, a bird, or a bowl of goldfish.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Sometimes Max attacks successfully\u2014other times, not so. But there\u2019s never a dull moment when Max is on the prowl.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Read more about the author and her books on her web site, <\/span>www.KathiAppelt.com<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Endangered Animals in Texas: <\/span><\/strong>Texans on the Brink<\/span><\/em><\/a> (Texas A&M University Press, $37 hardcover) edited by Bryan R. Chapman and William I. Lutterschmidt deals with eighty-eight threatened and endangered animal species in Texas.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Chapman states the book\u2019s theme very clearly in his opening chapter on biodiversity: \u201cEvery species is worth saving.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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About forty experts contributed easy-to-read pieces on the various threatened animals, which include the Mexican long-nosed bat, Louisiana black bear, western yellow-billed cuckoo, sea turtles, and Houston toad, to name just a few.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cAll species play a vital role in their biological communities,\u201d the authors contend, \u201cand the removal of just one can have a noticeable and catastrophic ripple effect.\u201d Even mosquitos? So they say. But I don\u2019t think mosquitos are in any danger of becoming  extinct any time soon.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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The book is sponsored by the Texas Research Institute for Environmental Studies at Sam Houston State University.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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