It’s an aerial shot of the Lakeway resort development west of Austin, on the shores of Lake Travis, as it looked when under construction. Taken around 1971, the photo shows paths that have been bulldozed through the cedars, paths that would become streets.
I thought—think—it a wonderful photograph that fits with the overall tone of the book, especially the Hemingway epigraph, “Long time ago good. Now no good.”
The publisher didn’t think so. “Nobody will know what that is,” he said.
I pointed out that it also sort of looked like a computer chip. That’s pretty cool, right?
The publisher still didn’t like it.
So I went to cover photo number two, which came from the same series of Texas photos. Showing an unfortunate armadillo under attack by a dog, it also visually depicts the theme of the book.
I cropped the photo down to make the cover, of course. Here’s the original shot:
Coming soon: the forgotten photographer who made these images…..