COLLEGE STATIONComplimentary copies of Petra 's Legacy: The South Texas Ranching Empire of Petra Vela and Muffin Kenedy, by Jane Clements Monday and Frances Brannen Vick will soon arrive in 176 libraries, courtesy of a generous contribution from the Vick Family Foundation Inc.

The donation reached high school, public, community and college libraries in counties along the Rio Grande, from Cameron and Kenedy counties in South Texas to El Paso County on the far west edge of the state.

Published by Texas A&M University Press in 2007, Petra 's Legacy chronicles the life of Petra Vela Kenedy, matriarch of one of the most important families in Texas history. Utilizing previously unpublished letters, journals, photographs and other primary materials, Monday and Vick reveal the intimate stories of the families who for years dominated governments, land acquisition, commerce and border politics along the Rio Grande and across the Wild Horse desert.

"This revealing work on the life and times of Petra Vela Kenedy stands as a much needed study to broaden our understanding of the women of this era and of their family's survival and success in the Wild Horse Desert," said Mary Margaret McAllen Amberson, author of I Would Rather Sleep in Texas.

Carolina Castillo Crimm said Petra 's Legacy is a "must-read for everyone who is enthralled by the histories of the families of South Texas."

Petra's Legacy is winner of the Coral Horton Tullis Award for the 2007 Best Book on Texas History, sponsored by the Texas State Historical Association; the Jim Parish Award for Documentation and Publication of Local and Regional History, sponsored by the Webb County Heritage Foundation; and the San Antonio Conservation Society Publication Award, sponsored by the Conservation Society.

"During a time when library budgets are dwindling, gifts from charitable organizations such as the Vick Family Foundation have become increasingly important," Texas A&M University Press Director Charles Backus said. "The press is pleased to work with the Vick Family Foundation to bolster local library collections during such difficult times."

Each of the designated libraries also received a complimentary copy of the Texas Almanac through this arrangement.