About the Author

Mark Lardas is the author of numerous books on maritime and Texas history. A resident of the Houston area, he has maintained a longtime interest in the USS Texas. With generous assistance from and in cooperation with the Battleship Texas State Historic Site, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and other individuals equally enthralled by the battleship, Lardas has pulled together a fascinating collection of images to illustrate the history of the Texas, from the laying of its keel in 1911 through the present--and into the future.