Books published by Eakin Press

James Clinton Neill could be the unsung hero of the Alamo and the battle for Texas Independence. It was his failure to obey Sam Houston's command to abandon the Alamo that left Texians in the mission and gave Texans their cradle of liberty.Neill was on leave when the Alamo fell to Santa Anna, William B. Travis and James Bowie having assumed temporary command. Was he away because of illness in the family-as rumor has it-or to investigate the disappearance of $5,000 that Harry Hill of Tennessee had donated to the cause of Texas Independence? Colonel Neill soon joined Sam Houston as commander of the artillery at San Jacinto but was injured. Later he accepted appointment as an Indian commissioner.The commander of the Alamo brought an unusual background to Texas. He had served in the Alabama legislature and had fought in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. Included in this biography are details of Neill's Irish and American heritage, his part in the "Come and Take It" incident at Gonzales, and his work with the Constitutional Convention at San Felipe. Until now, James Clinton Neill has rarely received more than a footnote reference.

Every cowboy who has ever climbed over a bucking chute or backed into a roping box knows of the Christensen Brothers. Both brothers and many of their bucking horses and bulls are Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame inductees. But not many know the fascinating story behind the family. With only the meager start of a couple of workhorses, Hank and Bobby Christensen established one of the biggest Pro Rodeo companies in the history of rodeo. And over an expanded period of time, the callused hands of the Christensen family put together one of the biggest cattle and sheepoperations in the Northwest. Then, in the early 1980s, fate reared its ugly head and wiped out over fifty years of hard work and success achieved by the famous Christensens. This rollicking history bridges four generations of a legendary family with roots planted in the very soil that grew America.