BRYAN, Texas — There’s a small, quaint bookstore located in the heart of Downtown Bryan — Ed’s Bookshop. You can find a library full of Texas and World history selections, including many first and limited editions.
Edwin Davis is a retired history teacher.
“I knew we couldn’t sit at the house,” said Edwin Davis, Owner, Ed’s Bookshop.
“We had to come up with something. I asked myself, ‘What do we like to do?’ — [We] went running around the state looking for books, so I said why don’t we open up a book shop. I asked Melissa and she said let’s do it.”
He and his wife Melissa share a love for literature.
“This is the old way of doing it, a little mom and pop book shop,” Davis said.
“We have some pretty good books in here, and people that really love books, I think they’ll find one in her."
They find their collection of older books from all over the world.
He helped me discover texts on Texas weather, a true passion of mine.
‘Mr. Ed, I love weather. I’m a big fan of Texas weather, now I feel like that can go hand in hand with Texas history right?’
“You’re right,” Davis said.
‘So tell me what kind of books you have on Texas weather. I know you once told me about some hurricanes and tornadoes [books] that you have, let’s see them.’
“Well, you’re right. When I think of weather, I think of extreme weather, and the most extreme weather in Texas is a hurricane, and the most extreme hurricane landed on the Texas coast in 1900,” Davis said.
“It was the worst hurricane in the US History, and that is the hurricane of 1900, and this is a book about that, ‘A Weekend in September.’ Another book about that same hurricane, ‘Death from the Sea,’ and yet another book about the meteorologist that was stationed there in Galveston at the time.”
“He uses diaries,” Davis said.
“He interviewed people to find out what happened that night. It was like 6,000 to 10,000 people died in that one night. You start reading it and you’re just caught up. It’s like you hear the wind, you feel the water coming up.
“They were going for the eye of the hurricane, using different radar stations that they had built along the coast, so it’s the first hurricane to be tracked,” Davis said.
“It’s the first time they had live news coverage. There was this young reporter, Dan Rather, in Houston. When all the people were fleeing the coast, he and his crew were going to the coast.”
You could share the same experience.
Mr. Ed loves to see where the books travel after they are purchased.
He keeps track on a map. They’re all over the world including Canada, Europe, Australia, and South America.