Book Reception for ‘Commerce and Conflict’ Friday at TAMIU

John A. Adams Jr., historian and long-time former economic development leader in Laredo, provides the first-ever panoramic business and economic history of Laredo in “Conflict and Commerce on the Rio Grande: Laredo, 1755-1955” (Texas A&M University Press).

Adams will visit the Texas A&M International University campus on Friday, Dec. 5, for a reception and book signing from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the Student Center Rotunda (main floor). The public is invited to attend.

In Commerce and Conflict on the Rio Grande, Adams demonstrates how the increasingly diversified economy of the region fed the fortunes of the city. His narrative, buttressed throughout by tables and statistics, paints a vivid mural of both the economic forces and the farsighted and ambitious individuals that combined to bring prosperity to this unique American city.

The 356-page book’s epilogue and up-to-date tables and statistics take readers to 2005, where Adams examines the ongoing impact of the NAFTA accords.

Conflict and Commerce on the Rio Grande is number 12 in the Canseco-Keck History Series — the result of an endowment launched by Laredo couple John H. Keck and Ceci Canseco Keck in 1998. Jerry Thompson, TAMIU College of Arts and Sciences Regents Professor of History, edits the series. The Series focuses on South Texas, the border region and Civil War history.

For information on the book and the Texas A&M University Press, visit http://www.tamu.edu/upress or call toll-free 1-800--826-8911

For additional information, contact the TAMIU Office for Institutional Advancement at 326.2175, visit offices in the Sue and Radcliffe Killam Library, room 260 or click on http://www.tamiu.edu/adminis/vpia/?id=1

Journalists who need additional information or help with media requests and interviews should contact the Office of Public Relations, Marketing and Information Services at prmis@tamiu.edu