Book excerpt: Formerly a part of the popular Lone Star Guide to the Texas Hill Country, Central Texas now gets its own treatment in this up-to-date guide that includes history, folklore, and geography; detailed listings of lodgings, restaurants, and entertainment; major attractions, including state parks, museums, and historic places; directions, days and hours of operation, addresses, and phone numbers; and maps and calendar of events. Five tours take you from the Balcones Escarpment to "Central Texas Stew," a region of the state largely settled by Czechs and Germans in the early twentieth century.