Description: A moving portrait of Texas-born philosopher Rick Roderick--beloved for his dynamic 1990s lectures--told through memoir, unfinished autobiography, and a lifelong friendship.
Brief description: Thomas Zigal is an award-winning novelist whose work spans fiction, short stories, and essays. His novels have received top honors including the Jesse Jones Award for Best Book of Fiction from the Texas Institute of Letters, the Fiction Award from the Philosophical Society of Texas, and the Violet Crown Award from the Writers' League of Texas. Known for his vivid storytelling and deep sense of place, Zigal captures the landscapes and complexities of Texas life. He lives in Austin, Texas.
Review Quotes: The Seasons of Rick Roderick (TCU Press, 2026) is Zigal's exploration of a lifelong friendship with this complicated man. At once a biography and a memoir, it examines the subject while also reflecting on the author's many years of knowing him. Zigal came to know Roderick as a student at the University of Texas at Austin in 1969 and maintained a close personal friendship with him thereafter. Zigal is a novelist, not an academic philosopher, which means that he does not delve too deeply into Roderick's research or teaching, but he does present a lucid, engaging, and very personal account of their relationship, while also delivering a portrait of the man in full: Rick Roderick, a passionate activist and admired professor who went on to garner posthumous fame online in a medium that barely existed during his own lifetime.
--Robert T. Tally, Jr.