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$24.99
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On November 13, 1969, ten students at Texas State University were suspended for participating in a peaceful protest against the Vietnam War. They had kept vigil in front of the Huntington Mustangs, bearing signs that read, “Vietnam Is an Edsel” and “44,000 U.S. Dead, For What?” while an increasingly hostile anti-protest crowd chanted, “Love it or leave it!” and “Let’s string ’em up!” It was a day after news of the My Lai massacre broke. Part of a coordinated, nationwide Vietnam Moratorium effort that confounded and infuriated the Nixon White House, the “San Marcos 10” challenged their suspension, taking their case all the way to the United States Supreme Court. Author E.R. Bills offers this fascinating glimpse into the 1960s antiwar movement in Texas, the extraordinary measures to quell it and the broader social activism in which it participated.
The 1913 McKinney Store Collapse
9781467139502
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$21.99
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A powerful vibration, a deafening noise and a swell of thick dust brought residents of McKinney pouring into the public square on the afternoon of January 23, 1913. What they saw was horrifying—an entire building had collapsed, demolishing two popular retailers, the Cheeves Mississippi Store and Tingle Implement Store. Their contents, including many shoppers and clerks, spilled out into the streets, where layer upon layer of debris settled into a massive, ragged pile. In spite of a herculean rescue effort, eight people perished. Carol Wilson sifts through the disaster and its aftermath, dredging up some troubling facts about how the tragedy might have been prevented.
Texas Obscurities
9781626192812
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$23.99
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Some of these quirky true stories might surprise even the most proud Texan. Austin sat the first all-woman state supreme court in the nation in 1925. A utopian colony thrived in Kristenstad during the Great Depression. Bats taken from the Bracken and Ney Caves and Devil's Sinkhole were developed as a secret weapon that vied with the Manhattan Project to shorten World War II. In Slaton in 1922, German priest Joseph M. Keller was kidnapped, tarred and feathered amid anti-German fervor following World War I. Author E.R. Bills offers this collection of trials, tribulations and intrigue that is sure to enrich one's understanding of the biggest state in the Lower Forty-eight.
Lost Texas Treasure
9781467151542
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$21.99
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Track pirate gold and misplaced riches across 168 counties in this comprehensive guide to the lost treasures of Texas.
Countless fortunes have disappeared into the vast expanse of the Lone Star State. The history of the coast is cluttered with shipwrecks like that of the 1554 Spanish fleet. Even when pirates such as Jean Laffite managed to get their ill-gotten gains ashore, their loot vanished just as completely as if it had sunk beneath the waves. Entire mines, including the ventures of Jim Bowie and San Saba Presidio, have been reclaimed by the earth. The unmarked caches of bandits like Jesse James and Pancho Villa still bedevil the dreams of treasure seekers today. W. Craig Gaines reveals what has been lost, what has been found and what remains to be recovered.
Haunted Dallas
9781609492014
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$21.99
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Tales of the strange and supernatural echo through the halls and city streets of the Big D. At the Renaissance-inspired Majestic Theater, it is rumored that the curtains are lowered by ghostly hands, and it is said that there is a sadness that lingers at the Sixth Floor Museum in the room where Oswald aimed at JFK. Travel downtown to the grand Adolphus Hotel, where guests from the turn of the century still dance to the strains of a phantom waltz, but beware of the stretch of road along White Rock Lake where a mysterious force kills the engines of unwary motorists. Join local author Rita Cook as she journeys into the darkest corners of the Texas heartland with this chilling collection of stories.
Texas Entertainers
9781467141512
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$21.99
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In keeping with its reputation for size and spectacle, Texas has produced a staggering number of stars. Although many hailed from towns too small to have a post office, they occupied the spotlight on the largest of stages. Roger Miller’s songs made him the “King of the Road,” and Howard Hughes stretched his vision across the skies of the silver screen. Gene Autry won fame as a singing cowboy and Van Cliburn wore a tuxedo to international piano competitions, but both hailed from the Lone Star State. Texans penned Old Yeller and voiced Daffy Duck. From Buddy Holly to Ginger Rogers and Joan Crawford to Jimmy Dean, Bartee Haile charts the brightest constellations of Texas entertainers.
Lost Restaurants of El Paso
9781467144872
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$21.99
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El Paso was a crossroads long before it was a border town, and its restaurant history represents the same intersection of foodways and culinary traditions. When the Ladies' Auxiliary for the YMCA produced El Paso's first known community cookbook in 1898, a number of its recipes appeared in English for the first time. Many of the eateries that supported that variety are now gone, but places like Jaxson's, Griggs and the Central Café changed the city's tastebuds forever. Walk the colonnade of the Hollywood Café or plop down at Bill Parks Bar-B-Q in this collection of standbys served up by the El Paso County Historical Society.
Texas Bluegrass Legacies
9781467153676
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$23.99
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Enjoy a breakdown of the Lone Star State’s generational bluegrass harmonies.
From the moment they picked up the radio signal of Bill Monroe’s mandolin, Texans have been enamored with this uniquely American style of music. But the high lonesome sound couldn’t have put down roots without a tradition of mentorship that runs through families and spans generations. Meet the Van Cliburn piano prodigy that became a multi-instrumentalist for Taylor Swift. Travel to the summer bluegrass camp where students develop into teachers. Sit in on a back porch jam session with the Rogers, the Brocks, the Vestals and the Whites. From the state’s first Asian-American bluegrass family to its banjo-building Santa Claus, Jeff Campbell and Braeden Paul set the stage for the stewards of Texas bluegrass.
Evolution of the Texas Plains
9781467154017
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$23.99
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Accept an invitation to the boundary-pushing heritage of the Texas Plains, from the first American Thanksgiving feast in the 1500s to Amarillo’s iconic seventy-two-ounce steak challenge five hundred years later. Even the limitless horizons of the Panhandle couldn’t contain the notes of musical pioneers like Mac Davis, Bobby Keys and the Velvets. Take a dip in Lubbock’s oldest swimming hole or share a sip with Pinkie Roden, the benevolent bootlegger of West Texas. Keep an eye out for longballs from Justiceburg’s “Stormin’ Norman” Cash and stray bats in Doodlebug Line’s Clarity Tunnel. Join Chuck Lanehart as he tracks the long-standing traditions and unexpected twists of life on the Texas Plains.
The Yellow Rose of Texas
9781467142571
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$23.99
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The legend of the Yellow Rose of Texas holds an indisputable place in Lone Star culture, tethered to a familiar song that has served as a Civil War marching tune, a pop chart staple and a halftime anthem. Almost two centuries of Texas mythmaking successfully muddled fact with fable in song. The true story of Emily D. West remains mired in dispute and unrecognizable beneath the manipulative tales that grew up around it. The complete truth may never be recovered, but author Lora-Marie Bernard seeks an honest account honoring the grit and determination that brought a free black woman from the abolitionist riots of Connecticut to the thick of a bloody Texas revolution. A Lone Star native who grew up immersed in the Yellow Rose legend, Bernard also traces other stories that legend has obscured, including the connection between Emily D. West and plans for a free black colony in Texas.
Celis Beer
9781467144360
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$21.99
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"
Celebrate the life and libations of Pierre Celis, the Hoegaargarden legend who resurrected witbier and established Austin's first craft brewery.
A former milkman in the small village of Hoegaargarden, Pierre Celis opened a brewery that brought back the extinct witbier style of Belgium and rejuvenated an Old World tradition throughout Europe. Following a devastating fire in his native country, the godfather of witbier set up shop in Austin. Pierre's passion took fresh shape in the form of Celis Beer and influenced an entire generation of hopheads. His daughter Christine revived the brand in 2017, yet another chapter in a story full of fresh starts to venerable institutions. Jeremy Banas raises a glass to a unmatched brewmaster and his belief that beer makes friendships.
"
Black Cowboys and Early Cattle Drives
9781467153645
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$23.99
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Dust and Determination
After the Civil War, emancipated slaves who didn’t want to pick cotton or operate an elevator headed west to find work and a new life. Charles Goodnight and Oliver Loving drove two thousand longhorns across southern Texas blazing a trail to Bosque Redondo in New Mexico. In 1866, the new Goodnight-Loving Trail was crowded with cattle headed for a government market. By the 1870s, twenty-five percent of the over thirty-five thousand cowboys in the West were black. They were part of trail crews that drove more than twenty-seven million cattle on the Goodnight-Loving Trail, Western Trail, Chisholm Trail and Shawnee Trail. They were paid equally, and their skill and ability brought them earned respect and prestige. Author Nancy Williams recounts their lasting legacy.
Dallas Tough
9781467146081
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$21.99
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The history of Dallas is speckled with the lean, the determined and the obstinately opinionated—fighters who brought the city up out of the prairie. Ride with Nicholas Sparks, who christened the soil with his blood, and stand with Henry Ervay, the mayor who challenged one of the most powerful governors Texas has known. Bonnie Parker shot her way to infamy, while Corinne Maddox solved her stalker problem with two pocket guns. Herbert Noble pushed his luck to the breaking point. Jacob Rubenstein avenged his fallen idol. Accompany Josh Foreman and Ryan Starrett into a largely forgotten Dallas, where citizenship was a matter of gumption.
Deadly Dallas
9781467148498
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$21.99
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With dynamite on grocery shelves and livestock rampaging through the streets, Dallas was a dangerous place in its formative years.
Spring 1904. An inexperienced automobile driver jumps the curb and drives into the lobby of the St. George Hotel. The mayor orders a roundup of unlicensed dogs due to a city-wide outbreak of rabies. An elevator crushes the head of a young man as he retrieves a half-dollar he had dropped down the shaft. Embers from a wood burning stove transform a sleeping house into a funeral pyre. A ten-year-old boy in City Park has a spike driven into his temple by a playmate with a fence picket. All this in just a few days.From airships falling from the sky to pestilence floating in on the Trinity, Rusty Williams catalogues the heartbreaking and bizarre forms in which death stalked Dallas at the turn of the twentieth century.
Vanished Houston Landmarks
9781467142816
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$23.99
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Although it is sometimes called a town without a history, Houston actually possesses the kind of sprawling past that includes a frontier port, a moon landing and a supermarket that contributed to the fall of the Soviet Union. In fact, there is so much history that much has been forgotten. Visit the landmarks of that neglected heritage, from the Cotton Exchange to Astroworld. Dropping in on legendary spots like Shamrock and Gilley's Club, Mark Lardas tells the stories of a Houston that has largely disappeared from the public eye.
The Maceos and The Free State of Galveston
9781467143530
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$23.99
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Throughout the long and colorful history of Galveston, no name has embodied the "Spirit of the Island" quite like the name Maceo. Two penniless Sicilian immigrants rose from modest beginnings to lead an entire city to prosperity, yet the nature of their industry and its abrupt and embarrassing end resulted in a legacy cloaked in stereotypes and rumor. For nearly forty years, Sam and Rose Maceo ruled a far-reaching underground economy of illegal booze and gambling but used their influence to infuse the "Free State of Galveston" with glamour, fame and fortune--a vision later used as a template for Las Vegas. The island city responded in kind, and its acceptance of the Maceos insulated their empire for decades. Pairing personal interviews of living descendants with her own meticulous research, Kimber Fountain lifts the veil on the Maceo family's closely guarded heritage.
Wicked San Antonio
9781467137072
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$23.99
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Delve into San Antonio’s wicked past, from the lawless lore of the Spanish settlement through the criminal misdeeds of the modern metropolis.
Residents of the Alamo City tolerated scores of cockfighting pits, gambling joints, opium dens, around-the-clock saloons and other places of ill-repute. Some disturbers of San Antonio’s peace, like Judge Roy Bean, left town to achieve greater notoriety elsewhere. Others, like the thief who stole the McFarlin diamond, seemed to vanish into thin air. But all of them left a page-turning story behind. Mike Cox catalogues San Antonio’s most infamous incidents and miscreants.
Hidden History of Plano
9781467142946
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$21.99
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Did you know that Plano once had a winning semipro baseball team? And its own university, boasting a pagoda imported from Malaysia? Or that the city once proudly proclaimed itself the "Mule Capital of the World'?? Meet the Native American Planoite who walked in space, the African American entrepreneur who prospered in Jim Crow Texas and the man behind the "mystery stone'? uncovered in the Collinwood House. Visit a military tank, a five-hundred-year-old tree and the pioneer cemetery started by a smallpox epidemic. From the town's contributions to World War II to the secrets lurking beneath Collin Creek Mall, unlock the astonishingly large storehouse of Plano's hidden history.
History Lover's Guide to Houston, A
9781467144667
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$21.99
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Houston earned its international reputation as a hub for space flight and the oil industry. But visitors don’t need to search out the secrets of the stars or the depths of the earth to experience the impressive legacy of the nation’s fourth-largest city. Traverse the streets of downtown and find historic treasures from antebellum Texas. Venture to the outskirts to find the world’s “Eighth Wonder,” as well as the globe’s tallest stone monument and one of its largest ports. Discover why the town’s exceptional heritage of innovation, industry and architecture has sparked a movement to uncover and embrace its historic structures. Join Tristan Smith for an in-depth exploration of Houston’s historic wards.
The Inspiring Life of Texan Héctor P. García
9781467119016
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$21.99
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As a Mexican immigrant, Dr. Héctor P. García endured discrimination at every stage of his life. He attended segregated schools and was the only Mexican to graduate from the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, in 1940. García's passion for helping others pushed him to advocate for equal rights. After serving in World War II, the doctor worked to help minorities achieve greater access to healthcare, voting rights and education. He started a private practice in Corpus Christi and in 1948 founded the American GI Forum. Cecilia García Akers shares a daughter's perspective on her father's remarkable achievements and sacrifices as an activist and physician.
The Alton Bus Crash
9781467143615
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$21.99
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A September morning in 1989 changed Alton’s history forever. At 7:34 a.m., a Dr Pepper truck collided with Mission School Bus no. 6. After the bus and its occupants plunged into a water-filled caliche pit, twenty-one students lost their lives. The resulting investigation flooded the small South Texas community with reporters and lawyers. The heavily scrutinized legal battle divided the city, but it did ultimately produce changes in school bus safety that continue to save lives today. Juan Carmona navigates the complicated legacy of the tragic accident and its aftermath.
Caprock Chronicles
9781467150804
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$23.99
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The hardpan layer of the Caprock undergirds the high plains of the Llano Estacado, where it has resisted erosion with the same tenacity that it has collected stories. From Apache hunting grounds to Mennonite settlements, the region is no stranger to the searching gaze of the weary traveler. Follow the career of Texas Tech's Señor Sack, the lure of the Wolfcamp Shale and the bloom of the Tahoka daisy. In this exceptional collection of forty-eight essays from local contributors, David Murrah and John T. "Jack" Becker continue the work of cataloguing the memory of the mesa.
Galveston Burning
9781467144650
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$23.99
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Since 1821, when Jean Lafitte sailed away from a burning Campeche, the history of Galveston has often been wreathed in smoke. Over the next century, one inferno breached the walls of Moro Castle, while another reduced forty-two blocks of the residential district to ash. Recognizing the importance of protecting the city, concerted efforts were made to establish the first paid fire department, create a city waterworks and regulate construction standards. Yet even with all the forethought and planning, rogue fires continued to consume architectural gems like Nicholas Clayton's Electric Pavilion. Author James F. Anderson explores the lessons that Galveston has learned from its fiery past in order to safeguard its future.
Galveston Seawall Chronicles
9781467137898
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$21.99
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Along Galveston's Gulf Coast runs a seventeen-foot-high, ten-mile-long protective barrier—a response to the nation's all-time deadliest natural disaster. The seawall remains a stoic protector more than a century later, shielding the island from much more than physical destruction. As the foundation of Seawall Boulevard, this structure created an entirely new tourism industry that buoyed the city's economy through war, the Great Depression and hurricanes. Adapting to the cultural trends and political movements that defined the past century, the seawall represents the unbreakable spirit of Galveston's resilient population and provides a fascinating glimpse into bygone times.
Texas Ingenuity
9780738503561
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$24.99
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Imagination is bigger in Texas, too. This collection of inspiring and often quirky stories highlights dozens of examples of innovation from Lone Star history. The Hamill brothers devised a better oil well to reach gushers at Spindletop. The first Neiman-Marcus store opened in Dallas in 1907, revolutionizing the retail fashion world. Astroturf emerged at the Astrodome in 1966. Fritos and corn dogs are just two ubiquitous snack foods claimed as Texan originals. Houston native, and civil rights activist, Congresswoman Barbara Jordan rose to national prominence as a voice of unity during the Watergate scandal. Author Alan C. Elliott details these and many more lessons in success in Texas Ingenuity.
Texas Oblivion
9781467147378
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$21.99
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On February 2, 1963, a tanker with thirty-nine men aboard departed Beaumont and never returned. In the mid-spring of 1882, Billy the Kid's friend, foe and equal escaped Huntsville Penitentiary and vanished. On December 9, 1961, a young boy in Wichita Falls disappeared without a trace. On November 18, 1936, a father and son were swallowed by a "Walled Kingdom." On December 23, 1974, three girls went to a Fort Worth mall and were never seen or heard from again. This collection explores twenty baffling disappearances that investigators have studied for decades, to no avail. Homicide, patricide, filicide, genocide, devil worship, the Devil's Triangle, the Devil's River, the assassination of JFK, UFO abductions, legal limbo, literal limbo--oblivion. Award-winning author E.R. Bills drags the facts of these mystifying cases back from the void.
Unforgettable Galveston Characters
9781467140232
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$23.99
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From financiers of the Texas Revolution to contestants in the Pageant of Pulchritude, the shores of Galveston enticed and cultivated a host of memorable men and women. Bishops and bookies, concert pianists and cotton tycoons—all left an indelible print on their remarkable home. Magnolia Willis Sealy and the members of the Women's Health Protective Association reshaped the ravages of the Great Storm into the glories of the Oleander City. The benevolent activism of Norris Wright Cuney transformed the social landscape, while actress Charlotte Walker and painter Boyer Gonzales Sr. extended the island's cultural reach abroad. Jan Johnson keeps company with Galveston's most fascinating characters.
Spanish Missions of Texas
9781467136303
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$24.99
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After the conquest of Mexico by Hernán Cortés in the sixteenth century, conquistadors and explorers poured into the territory of Nueva España. The Franciscans followed in their wake but carved a different path through a harsh and often violent landscape. That heritage can still be found across Texas, behind weathered stone ruins and in the pews of ornate, immaculately maintained naves. From early structures in El Paso to later woodland sanctuaries in East Texas, these missions anchored communities and, in many cases, still serve them today. Author Byron Browne reconnoiters these iconic landmarks and their lasting legacy.
Gunfights & Sites in Texas Ranger History
9781626199712
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$24.99
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Since colonizer Stephen F. Austin proposed hiring ten rangers for the common defense in 1823, the Texas Rangers have protected the Lone Star State from its enemies with dedication and fortitude. All across Texas are places where Rangers made history. From the Alamo to nearly forgotten graves and battle sites, important landmarks in the story of these legendary lawmen lie in every corner of the state. Historian and author Mike Cox reveals history hiding in plain sight and true tall tales of the world-famous Texas Rangers.
Texas True Crime Miscellany
9781467149013
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$21.99
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Outrageous acts of villainy have slowly drifted out of the national limelight and into the dustbin of Texas history. Consider the uproar over the 1879 shooting of actor Maurice Barrymore in Marshall and the 1949 murder of oil field legend Tex Thornton in Amarillo. The 1909 Coryell County Courthouse massacre committed by a sixteen-year-old girl remains just as shocking today. For the long-suffering associates of repeat offenders like Fort Worth's Flapper Bandit or Temple's International Man of Mystery, notoriety couldn't fade quickly enough. From the lawless days of the frontier to the rise of organized crime, Clay Coppedge sifts through eighteen obscure case files to chart the evolution of crime and punishment in the state.
Painting the Town Orange
9781626194397
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$24.99
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Houston's sprawl has come with controversy, but it has created a blank canvas for the public art community. It all started in the Telephone Road Place subdivision, where retired mail carrier Jefferson Davis McKissack built the Orange Show, an extraordinary and eccentric monument to self-reliance, hard work and, yes, the fruit itself. McKissack's installation spawned more of its kind in the Bayou City, like the Beer Can House, the Flower Man's House, Pigdom--one woman's shrine to swine--and a flourishing art scene committed to preserving Houston's art environments. Author Pete Gershon tells the stories of these sites, their creators and the members of Houston's unique art community, all set against the backdrop of the city's quirky history..
Cold War Texas
9781467152471
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$23.99
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From missile launch sites to Soviet espionage, experience the Cold War deep in the heart of Texas.
In an era when miscalculation or a mistake could lead to global annihilation, Texas operated 12 Atlas F intercontinental ballistic missile launch sites near Abilene’s Dyess Air Force Base. Nuclear-capable Nike Hercules surface-to-air antiaircraft missiles protected Austin and the Metroplex from a Soviet bomber attack. An American pilot stationed at Laughlin Air Force Base near Del Rio was the only fatality of the Cuban Missile Crisis. After he was accused of spying for the Soviet Union, former Ranger College professor Maurice Halperin fled the country. Amarillo’s Pantex plant, where three employees died in a 1977 explosion, maintains the security and reliability of the nation’s nuclear weapons arsenal. Landry Brewer explores how the Lone Star State shaped American Cold War policy.
Hidden History of Waco
9781467140874
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$21.99
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Since its establishment in 1849, Waco has grown from a frontier town on the Brazos River to a thriving city of more than 125,000 residents. And in those 171 years, Waco's citizens have seen triumph, tragedy, humor, heartbreak and infamy. Some of those stories garnered widespread attention or became established local lore, but many more have fallen through the cracks. Catch up on the backstory of notorious figures like W.C. Brann, firebrand publisher of the Iconoclast. Discover how one of the longest novels published in the English language was written by a wealthy recluse in a downtown mansion. From the artesian wells of "Geyser City'? to the tombs of Telephus Telemachus Louis Augustus Albartus "Tel'? Johnson, author Eric Ames offers a chance for a deeper appreciation of Waco's unique history.
The Vanished Texas Coast
9781467149853
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$21.99
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People may associate Texas with cattle drives and oil derricks, but the sea has shaped the state’s history as dramatically as it has delineated its coastline. Some of that history has vanished into the Gulf, whether it is an abandoned port town or a gale-tossed treasure fleet. Revisit the shipwreck that put Texas on the map. Add La Salle’s lost colony, the Texas Navy’s forgotten steamship and Galveston’s overlooked 1915 hurricane to the navigational charts. From the submarines of Seawolf Park to the concrete tanker beached off Pelican Island, author Mark Lardas scours the coast to salvage the secrets of its sunken heritage.
Murder Most Texan
9781626197176
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$23.99
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Texas has long boasted its iron fist of the law and strict treatment of its hardest criminals. Nevertheless, scoundrels, fiends and homicidal criminals inevitably slipped through the Lone Star justice system despite the best efforts of even the legendary Texas Rangers. From roadside murder to political assassinations, discover the seedy underbelly of Texas' murderous past. In 1877, Texas saw its first high-profile murder case with the slaying of a woman in Jefferson and the subsequent Diamond Bessie trial. Over a century later, state legislator Price Daniel Jr. was shot in cold blood by his wife at their home in Liberty. Texas true crime writer and historian Bartee Haile unburies this collection of sixteen coldblooded killings from Lone Star history and the dirty details that have shocked and bewildered Texans for decades.
Murder & Mayhem in Houston
9781626195219
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$23.99
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When the Allen brothers sold Houston's first lots, the city became a magnet for enterprising tycoons and opportunistic crooks alike. As the young city grew, a scourge of crime and vice accompanied the success of oil and real estate. The Bayou City's seedy side--flashing Bowie knives, privileged bad boys, hardened prostitutes and unchecked serial killers--established its hold. From a young Clyde Barrow to the Man Who Killed Halloween, Houston's past is filled with bloody tales, heartbreaking loss and despicable deeds. Authors Mike Vance and John Nova Lomax shine a light on these dark days.
Ghosts of Bell County, Texas
9781467139779
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$21.99
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Centuries of violent history have laced Bell County with a potent compound of haunted activity. Spectral conquistadors stand guard over the Treasure of the Golden Bull, hidden in Salado caverns by the Coronado expedition. Countless frontier skirmishes, bank robberies and stage holdups echo along thoroughfares from Stillhouse Hollow to the Maxdale Bridge. Author Chet Southworth lies in wait for the Killeen Watchman, the Fort Hood Phantoms, the Wedermeyer Wraiths and other Bell County spirits.
Remembering Slaton, Texas
9781609492434
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$21.99
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Retrace Slaton's history with local author James Villanueva as he profiles one hundred years of the town's stories and its people. From its founding in 1911, through the Roaring Twenties, the turbulent 1960s and into today, Remembering Slaton, Texas, is a look at the rich history of this charming Texas town. Sometimes haunting and sometimes inspiring—but always entertaining—these are the tales and legends that made Slaton what it is today.
Ross Youngs
9781626191105
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$21.99
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Though Ross Youngs has been enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame since 1972, few have given his remarkable career its due. Born in Shiner and raised in San Antonio, Youngs played his first game as a professional at the age of sixteen, and just three years later, his contract was purchased by the New York Giants, one of baseball's elite teams in the early twentieth century. Tragically, his promising career ended when he died from an illness at age thirty in 1927. Join author David King in a journey to discover the amazing Youngs as he was and the incredible legacy he left behind.
Hill Country Chronicles
9781596299801
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$21.99
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Texas Hill Country is a rugged and hilly area of central Texas known for its food, architecture and unique melting pot of Spanish and European settlers. The area's rich history is filled with quirky and fascinating tales about this landscape and the animals and people who have called it home. Clay Coppedge has been gathering Texas stories for over thirty years. This collection of his favorite columns includes his best Texas-sized stories on Hill Country history. From the legend of Llano's Enchanted Rock and the true story of Jim Bowie's famous knife to one rancher's attempt at bringing reindeer to the hottest area of the country and an oilman's search for Bigfoot, Hill Country Chronicles has them all and more.
Historic Austin Restaurants
9781626191235
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$21.99
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Austin has staked its claim as the seat of innovative culinary movements, and its food culture mirrors the transformations taking place across the city. The evolution of the east side is reflected in joints like Franklin Barbecue, while landmarks like Scholz Garten, the oldest restaurant in the capital, testify to the contributions of the town's college presence and a healthy German influence. Joe's Bakery isn't just one of the town's most beloved Tex-Mex spots; it's the place where the real wheeling and dealing in Texas politics happens. Food writer Melanie Haupt samples Austin's iconic restaurants and the rich heritage that produced them.
Historic Road Trips from Dallas/Fort Worth
9781596290815
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$21.99
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Rick Steed and his driving companion, Wendi Pierce, set off with one goal in mind: to travel Texas's old fort trails and scout today's remnants of the bloody skirmishes and battles of long ago. Historic Road Trips from Dallas/Fort Worth provides not only a road map of day trips throughout Texas but also a narrative history of the tiny towns, historic markers and frontier excitement along the way. After collecting these stories for years, Steed teamed up with Pierce to bring to life this fascinating guidebook for anyone who yearns to venture off the main road and discover old Texas. Each drive begins in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and travels a different route through the state. Travel along and discover the site of Buffalo Hump's revenge raid or Cynthia Ann Parker's harrowing pioneer experiences, as well as other local lore, including the haunting of Jefferson, Texas's Jefferson Hotel, the notorious New London school accident and much, much more.
Texas Singularities
9781467140867
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$21.99
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Texas, that most singular of states, conceals an entire parade of peculiar events and exceptional people in the back pages of its history books. A Lone Star man once (and only once) tried to bulldog a steer from an airplane. One small Texas town was attacked by the Japanese, while another was “liberated” from America during the Cold War. Texan career choices include goat gland doctor, rubbing doctor, striking cowboy and singing cowboy, not to mention swatter, tangler and dunker. From gunslinger Sally Skull to would-be rainmaker R.G. Dyrenforth, Clay Coppedge collects the distinctive odds and ends of Texan lore.
The Coast Guard on the Texas Border
9781467150125
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$21.99
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The Revenue Cutter Service, which later merged with the U.S. Life-Saving Service to form the Coast Guard, patrolled South Texas as early as 1846. In 1852, the first lighthouse was built in Point Isabel, followed by the first lifesaving station in 1881. Salute the heroes who responded to the devastating hurricane of 1919 and stand watch with Chief Pablo Valent, the first Hispanic American to command a rescue station. From Commander Charles R. Wilson's oral history of World War II boot camp to the legacy of station keeper Wallace L. Reed, the longest-serving officer in charge, Dr. Jackie Kyger preserves the heritage of the men and women whose unofficial motto was "Law and Order, on the Border."
Preston Hollow
9781467149389
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$21.99
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Trace the rustic roots and regal rafters of Preston Hollow’s past for a fascinating profile of this distinctive Dallas neighborhood.
It takes only a brief drive past the stately homes that line Preston Hollow’s winding tree-lined streets to understand the neighborhood’s appeal. Glimpse the rich farmland that stunned Ira DeLoache on his fortuitous 1922 flight over the countryside. Revisit the early days of the pre-annexation town, when citizens relied on septic tanks and a volunteer fire department. Stop by institutions like Lobello’s Bar-B-Que or the Northwest Hi-Way Drive-In Theatre and attend Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church’s first service. From the architectural legacy of Charles Dilbeck to the destructive path left by the 2019 tornado, author Jack Walker Drake relates the heritage of a premier Dallas neighborhood.
Hip Hop in Houston
9781609499785
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$21.99
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Rap-A-Lot Records, U.G.K. (Pimp C and Bun B), Paul Wall, Beyonce, Chamillionaire and Scarface are all names synonymous with contemporary hip-hop. And they have one thing in common: Houston. Long before the country came to know the chopped and screwed style of rap from the Bayou City in the late 1990s, hip-hop in Houston grew steadily and produced some of the most prolific independent artists in the industry. With early roots in jazz, blues, R&B and zydeco, Houston hip-hop evolved not only as a musical form but also as a cultural movement. Join Maco L. Faniel as he uncovers the early years of Houston hip-hop from the music to the culture it inspired.
Houston Beer
9781609495374
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$21.99
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From the early days, and long before Americans had ever heard the term craft beer, settlers in the Bayou City excelled in the art of ales, stouts and lagers. In 1913, it was a Houston brewery that claimed the distinction of the world's finest bottled beer after winning an international competition in Belgium. The unfortunate rise of Prohibition put the industry on hold, but recent years have seen a strong resurgence. At the beginning of 2008, Saint Arnold Brewing Company was the only craft brewery in Houston. Just a few years later, there are five and counting within an hour's drive of downtown. Journalist and Beer, TX blogger Ronnie Crocker chronicles Houston's long and surprising history of brewing, tracing everything from the grand legacy of Anheuser-Busch to the up-and-coming craft beer makers and those brewing it right at home.
Hudson Bend and the Birth of Lake Travis
9781626196674
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$21.99
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Along the picturesque shores of the Colorado River lies historic Hudson Bend. Established by Wiley Hudson in the 1850s, the verdant hills and abundant water attracted scores of farming families. Hudson's example was soon followed by still more settlers, who created their own thriving communities in the area. Discover the evolution of this cherished region and the courageous people who shaped it, from the Comanche tribes and Anglo settlers to the developers, cedar choppers and construction workers who forged the lake in 1937. Author and hill country native Carole McIntosh Sikes offers a collection of essays that explores a history forever linked with hill country culture, New Deal-era programs and Texas politics.
Central Texas Tales
9781609497392
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$21.99
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Central Texas is an area as diverse culturally as it is geographically. Bordered by Hill Country in the west, green farmland in the east and Waco and New Braunfels in the north and south, this area has drawn settlers from around the globe for over two centuries, leaving their mark and their stories along the way. From a surprising story of nineteenth-century psych ops at Fort Mason and what really happened to Bevo, the UT longhorn, in 1920 to Mrs. Ross's Croghan Cobbler recipe and rumors of a Lone Star visit by old Abe himself, historian Mike Cox regales readers with over fifty stories about the fascinating people, history and places of middle Texas.
Hidden History of the Llano Estacado
9781625858863
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$24.99
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The Llano Estacado, or Staked Plain, of Texas and eastern New Mexico spreads two hundred miles across what early visitors called an ocean of land. No other place on Earth is quite like it. Humans first inhabited the area more than twelve thousand years ago. Subsequently, settlers came to convert the grassland to ranches and then to sprawling farms. Every new generation performed its duty at this cultural crossroads, from the trade routes established by the comancheros to the fateful meeting between Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley at Lubbock's Cotton Club. Noted West Texas historians Paul H. Carlson and David J. Murrah compiled and edited fifty-six brief stories presenting the Llano Estacado's heritage at its liveliest and most unfamiliar.
Prohibition in Dallas & Fort Worth
9781609499723
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$21.99
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A place with wild men and wilder women, 1920s Dallas boasted one bar for every one hundred people, and a thirsty Texan could find a drink nearly anywhere. Although home to the Texas Anti-Saloon League, drinks never stopped pouring in Dallas and Fort Worth, fueled by the likes of Jack Ruby, Benny Binion, saloons and dance halls. Homegrown moonshine and bathtub gin yielded specialty recipes that today's barkeeps have honed into tasty concoctions for a contemporary palate. Join Rita Cook as she explores prohibition in Dallas and Fort Worth and learn from Jeffrey Yarbrough and his band of local mixologists about their modern takes on classic drinks so readers can step back in time, drink in hand.
Civil War Blockade Running on the Texas Coast
9781626195004
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$21.99
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In the last months of the American Civil War, the upper Texas coast became a hive of blockade running. Though Texas was often considered an isolated backwater in the conflict, the Union's pervasive and systematic seizure of Southern ports left Galveston as one of the only strongholds of foreign imports in the anemic supply chain to embattled Confederate forces. Long, fast steamships ran in and out of the city's port almost every week, bound to and from Cuba. Join author Andrew W. Hall as he explores the story of Texas's Civil War blockade runners--a story of daring, of desperation and, in many cases, of patriotism turning coat to profiteering.
The Streets of Dayton, Texas
9781626194731
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$21.99
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The history of Dayton, Texas, is memorialized at every street corner and intersection. Street signs throughout town bear the names of characters in Dayton's past, the people who helped the city become what it is today. They are war heroes, a governor, business leaders, developers and everyday men and women dedicated to making Dayton a better community. Descend the Old Spanish Trail that cuts through the center of town, and meet those who settled what once was a western wildness. Author Caroline Wadzeck examines and explains the history of many of the town's streets, preserving their contributions and legacy in Dayton history.
Texas Depression-era Desperadoes
9781626192270
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$21.99
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The lives of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow started in Texas, but their stories have become legend across the country. They, along with a band of other ne'er-do-wells from other Texas towns, grew to national infamy during the Great Depression. West Dallas's Ralph Fults smuggled hacksaw blades into jail to break out Raymond Hamilton. In Galveston, the Downtown Gang, Beach Gang, Maceo brothers and others hustled and smuggled liquor for their speakeasy casinos. In 1940, bank robber and Texas Public Enemy Number One Red Goleman led authorities on a wild chase through Texas's Big Thicket. But behind the headlines lived real people and a Texas legacy. Author Bartee Haile weaves the stories of the well-known Barrow Gang, along with other notorious criminals of the day, together with their Texas roots..
Heroes, Scoundrels and Angels:
9781609490331
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$23.99
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Local historian Ron Melugin has roamed this frontier Texas cemetery for over a decade, collecting fascinating stories about the "residents" laid to rest here. Spanning the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, these tales of extraordinary people with ordinary causes of death and ordinary people who died in extraordinary ways illustrate the uncertainties of life on the edge of the Confederacy and next door to Oklahoma Indian Territory. From the former slave who died of old age to the chemistry student who accidentally poisoned his own apple, each account provides a fascinating glimpse into the history of Gainesville. A full map and legend is included to guide readers to each of the sites.
Texas High School Football Dynasties
9781609496128
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$23.99
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Since the first annual state football champion was crowned in 1920, Texas has never been the same. Today, millions of Texans gather in stadiums across the Lone Star State, eagerly awaiting that magical mid- to late-December moment when the season comes to its dramatic conclusion. Of the 391 high schools reaching the championship matchup, only a handful--26--have won the title four times or more, laying claim to the coveted moniker dynasty. From Waco High School's fourth title win in 1927 to Stamford's fourth official win in 2012, writer and lifelong football enthusiast Rick Sherrod traces the best of the best in this pigskin empire across ninety-three action-packed seasons.
Texas Dames
9781609498122
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$21.99
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These are the Texas Dames, women who sallied forth to run sprawling ranches, build towns, helm major banks and shape Lone Star history. These Dames broke gender and racial barriers in every facet of life. Some led the way as heroines, while others slid headlong into notoriety, but nearly all exhibited similar strands of courage and determination to wrest a country, a state and a region from the wilds. From Angelina of the Hasinai, interpreter for the Spanish, and sharpshooter Sally Scull to Dr. Claudia Potter, America's first female anesthesiologist, and Birdie Harwood, first female mayor in the United States, historian Carmen Goldthwaite has been profiling Texas women and their accomplishments in her popular Texas Dames column. Here are their stories, from early Tejas to the twentieth century.
Texas Gulf Coast Stories
9781609490324
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$21.99
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The middle Texas coast, known locally as the Coast Bend, is an area filled with fascinating stories. From as early as the days of de Vaca and La Salle, the Coastal Bend has been a site of early exploration, bloody conflicts, legendary shipwrecks and even a buried treasure or two. However, much of the true history has remained unknown, misunderstood and even hidden. For years, local historian C. Herndon Williams has shared his fascinating discoveries of the area's early stories through his weekly column, Coastal Bend Chronicle. Now he has selected some of his favorites in Texas Gulf Coast Stories. Join Williams as he explores the days of early settlement and European contact, Karankawa and Tonkawa legends and the Coastal Bend's tallest of tall tales.
The Texas Hamburger
9781609490850
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$23.99
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Texans are passionate about this signature sandwich, and photographer/writer Rick Vanderpool has become, in his own right, the Hambassador of Texas. In 2006, Rick undertook a quest to find and photograph the best Texas burgers, traveling over eleven thousand miles and visiting over seven hundred Texas burger joints. Since that time, he has continued his travels, sampling the finest burgers the Lone Star State has to offer. He has also picked up some fellow enthusiasts willing to share their own tasty tales along the way. From Fletcher Davis's 1885 Athens creation (recipe included) and the Cheeseburger Capital of Texas in Friona to Whataburger #2 in Corpus Christi and Herd's in Jacksboro, join Rick and his Hamburger Helpers on their journey celebrating the history of the original Texas hamburger.
Texas Adoption Activist Edna Gladney
9781626193512
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$21.99
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In 1941, Greer Garson earned an Academy Award nomination for her portrayal of Fort Worth's Edna Gladney in Blossoms in the Dust. All eyes turned toward the small yet mighty Gladney and her fight for children's rights and adoption reform. Born in 1886, Edna Gladney was labeled as illegitimate from birth and, as an adult, lobbied for that label's removal from all birth certificates. During World War I, when many women left the home to work, Edna opened an innovative daytime nursery to care for the children of these workingwomen. What became the Gladney Center for Adoption has changed the lives of families and children the world over. Author and Gladney parent Sherrie McLeRoy tells Edna's amazing story alongside the making of the movie that launched Edna and adoption reform beyond Fort Worth's borders to national recognition..
Texas Baseball
9781609495985
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$21.99
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From pioneering superstars like Tris Speaker and Rogers Hornsby and Negro League standouts Smokey Joe Williams and Willie Well to present-day luminaries like Nolan Ryan, Texas has played a crucial role in the evolution of the national pastime. The Lone Star love of baseball stretches back to the Civil War. What began as friendly town games led to the formation of the Texas League in 1888, though it would be almost eight decades before the arrival of the Colt .45s, Texas's first major-league team, and another forty-three years until the Astros played in the World Series. From scrappers on the red dirt diamonds to the big-league stars of the Astros and Rangers, veteran sportswriter Clay Coppedge traces the state's long love affair with the sport in this first-ever comprehensive look at Texas baseball.
Texas Ranch Women
9781626195981
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$21.99
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Texas would not be Texas without the formidable women of its past. Beneath the sunbonnets, Stetsons or high-fashion couture, the women of the Lone Star State carved out ranches, breathed new life into spreads and expanded acreage when husbands, sons and fathers fell. Throughout the centuries, the women of Texas's ranches defended home and hearth with cannon and shot. They rescued hostages. They nurtured livestock through hard winters and long droughts and drove them up the cattle trails. They built communities and saw to it that faith and education prevailed for their children and for those of others. Join author Carmen Goldthwaite in an inspiring survey of fierce Lone Star ladies.
Texas Panhandle Tales
9781609496111
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$21.99
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The Texas Panhandle is like a whole 'nother country. The area stretching from just south of Lubbock all the way north to Oklahoma is filled with ranch land, oil fields, windy plains, and some of the Lone Star State's most unique history. Meet the duck that started a gun battle in Oldham County and find out how Kate Polly's pancake flipping saved her life. Or witness Gene Autry's days as a performer in Childress and a different sort of gold rush in Palo Duro Canyon as historian Mike Cox shares his favorite pieces of the Panhandle's past.
A Day's Ride from Here Volume 2
9781609493943
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$21.99
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Join historian Cliff Caldwell for volume twp of A Day's Ride from Here as he takes you through the hidden history of Texas Hill Country. Follow the San Saba trail the old Spanish route from San Antonio to Menard to the famous Pegleg Crossing, where Rangers brought down Dick Dublin in 1878. Visit frontier posts like Camp Verde and Camp Ives near Bandera Pass and see the sites of the earliest Texas Paleoindians along the Pecos River. Explore early pioneer settlements and once bustling towns in this unforgiving terrain: Albert, near Fredericksburg; London in Kimble County; and Tuff in western Bandera County.
Texas Pistoleers
9781609490003
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$23.99
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The Vaudeville Theater Ambush of 1884 went down in history as one of the most famous gunfights in San Antonio, but the killing that night of Ben Thompson and John King Fisher, two of the most notorious pistoleers of the day, became something of a mystery. The two men entered the theatre just before midnight on March 11, and less than an hour later, both lay dead, shot down in what for all accounts was a true massacre. The responsible gunmen never were prosecuted for their crimes, and Thompson and Fisher--a mere mention of either man's name was enough to put the fear of death in any opponent--have been widely ignored since. Now, historian G.R. Williamson brings to light the mystery and the myths surrounding these men and their infamous deaths in Texas Pistoleers.
A Day's Ride from Here Volume 1
9781609493936
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$21.99
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Travel alongside historian Cliff Caldwell as he uncovers tales of true Texas grit, all within a day's ride of Mountain Home. Rough characters were plentiful in Kerr County after the Civil War. In fact, no fewer than three thousand of these outlaws were reportedly brought to justice in this same area before the end of the nineteenth century. While Native Americans fought for their ground, notorious gunmen like John Wesley Hardin and Frank Eastwood gained ill-deserved riches or met their fates at the hands of legendary rangers like N.O. Reynolds and Thalis T. Cook. Meet the dastardly yet lesser-known individuals like Gip Hardin, a teacher whose drunken night out turned into a gunfight outside Junction City's Turman Hotel, and the Ake brothers, two of the only members of the Eastwood Gang to be set free.
The Texas League Baseball Almanac
9781626190658
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$19.99
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Since forming in 1888, the Texas League has produced some of the most beloved American baseball players and seen more than its fair share of colorful events. In 1931, Houston pitcher Dizzy Dean pitched and won both ends of a double-header in Fort Worth, throwing a three-hit shutout in the second game. In 1906, center fielder Tris Speaker pitched for Cleburne to beat Temple 10-3. In 1998, Arkansas' Tyrone Horne hit for the homer cycle in San Antonio, finishing to a standing ovation. The Texas League Baseball Almanac delivers day by day the record-breaking events, personal triumphs and memorable games that helped to shape baseball in the region. Join authors David King and Tom Kayser on a nine-inning trip down one of minor-league baseball's most historic institutions, both in season and off. .
Haunted Granbury
9781626193109
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$21.99
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Established after the Civil War, the small town of Granbury has had time to stock its streets and historic buildings with ghastly tales and haunting stories. Legend has it that the notorious John Wilkes Booth escaped to Granbury after assassinating President Lincoln and that his spirit now haunts the Opera House, living out his dastardly crime day after day. On Houston Street, passersby may encounter the little faceless girl who met her maker after falling from a window watching a traveling circus. In Granbury's old jailhouse, past inmates haunt their cells and leave messages for unwitting intruders. Author Brandy Herr delves into the devilish history of Granbury's most haunted locations and delivers a healthy dose of a frightening and mysterious past.
The 1910 Slocum Massacre
9781626193529
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$21.99
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In late July 1910, a shocking number of African Americans in Texas were slaughtered by white mobs in the Slocum area of Anderson County and the Percilla-Augusta region of neighboring Houston County. The number of dead surpassed the casualties of the Rosewood Massacre in Florida and rivaled those of the Tulsa Riots in Oklahoma, but the incident--one of the largest mass murders of blacks in American history--is now largely forgotten. Investigate the facts behind this harrowing act of genocide in E.R. Bills's compelling inquiry into the Slocum Massacre.
Brief History of Fort Worth, A
9781609491758
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$21.99
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It began as a true fort on the Old Chisolm Trail, a location that put Fort Worth in the direct path of the cattle drives of the Old West, making it the perfect spot for the growing ranch industry of the day. The city has experienced many changes, from the 1800s, when shootings and muggings in the aptly nicknamed Hell's Half Acre� were everyday occurrences that caught the attention of folks like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, to becoming one of the country's Most Livable Communities, � proud of its strong cultural heritage. Join Rita Cook as she tells the fascinating story of Fort Worth's past and evolution into the urban center it is today.
McKittrick Canyon
9781626198685
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$21.99
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The Guadalupe Mountains hold what some call the most beautiful spot in Texas. Once home to the Mescalero Apaches, McKittrick Canyon is an alluring wonderland of lush and abundant flora and fauna. It is named for Captain Felix McKittrick, who acquired the land for ranching in 1869. Legends of lost Spanish gold mines drew many unsuccessful prospectors before the turn of the century. Later, through the monumental efforts of early landowners J.C. Hunter Sr. and Wallace Pratt, the canyon was preserved as a pristine portion of the Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Each fall, eager visitors witness a vibrant show headlined by bigtooth maple and a variety of oak trees. Join author Donna Blake Birchell in an exploration of McKittrick Canyon's colorful history.
Texas Women First
9781626197145
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$21.99
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American history is teeming with unconventional, trailblazing Lone Star women with big, unprecedented achievements—outstanding, outrageous, outré women who know all about being Texas Big and being first. Texas's own Bessie Coleman was the first black person in the world to earn a pilot's license. Students and typists the world over breathed a sigh of relief when San Antonio–born Bette Nesmith Graham released Mistake Out, now known as Liquid Paper®. Way ahead of the curve, University of Texas graduate Aida Nydia Barrera saw the need for bilingual educational programming and in 1970 started Carrascolendas, the first television show of its kind in the country. In 1981, El Paso's Sandra Day O'Connor became the first female justice of the United States Supreme Court. Join author Sherrie McLeRoy for an introduction to the exceptional women of Lone Star history.
Vegan Survival Guide to Austin
9781626198586
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$19.99
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In the land of barbecue, Austin has become a vegan's paradise. Vegan trailers, restaurants, tacos, ice cream and even barbecue have taken root in Austin in a big way. From queso and cupcakes to macrobiotic feasts and tempting tempeh, the Capital City has elevated cruelty-free cuisine to new heights. With this handy guide, navigate all that Austin's busy vegan scene has to offer. Discover the festivals, blogs, locally made goods and entrepreneurs who have built a community around plant-based living. Sample recipes of local vegan chefs, find the ideal vegan brunch and get hooked on Austin's endless variety of vegan mac and cheese. From Congress to Chavez, North Loop to Lady Bird Lake, authors and vegans Julie Wernersbach and Carolyn Tracy dive into the history, heart and hot spots of Austin's vegan landscape.
1960s Austin Gangsters
9781626198401
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$21.99
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Timmy Overton of Austin and Jerry Ray James of Odessa were football stars who traded athletics for lives of crime. The original rebels without causes, nihilists with Cadillacs and Elvis hair, the Overton gang and their associates formed a ragtag white trash mafia that bedazzled Austin law enforcement for most of the 1960s. Tied into a loose network of crooked lawyers, pimps and used car dealers who became known as the traveling criminals, they burglarized banks and ran smuggling and prostitution rings all over Texas. Author Jesse Sublett presents a detailed account of these Austin miscreants, who rose to folk hero status despite their violent criminal acts.
Haunted History of Old San Antonio
9781609499792
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$19.99
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As the saying goes, dead men tell no tales. Or do they? From its humble beginnings as a Spanish settlement in 1691 to the bloody battle at the Alamo, San Antonio's history is rich in haunting tales. Discover Old San Antonio's most haunted places and uncover the history that lies waiting for those who dare to enter their doorways. Take a peek inside the Menger Hotel, the Most Haunted Hotel in Texas, and just a block away, peer into the Emily Morgan Hotel, one of the city's first hospitals and where many men and women lost their lives. Explore the San Fernando Cathedral, where people are buried within the walls and visitors claim to see faces mysteriously appear. Uncover the legends behind Bexar County Jail. Join authors James and Lauren Swartz and decide for yourself what truly lurks behind the Alamo City's fabled past.
Haunted Seguin
9781609498917
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$21.99
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Founded and built by the brave Texas Rangers who fought for the state's independence, Seguin is a picturesque town with a chilling history. The defensive wall around the city is said to also keep souls from leaving. Locals whisper tales of a headless soldier roaming the streets at night, searching for his remains. The town square, now a hub of activity and commerce, once hosted public hangings and beatings. Lake McQueeny is known for its beauty, but a lost spirit wails along the shores to warn would-be drowning victims. Discover these and other stories from the shadows of Seguin's past with author Erin O. Wallace.
Sonobeat Records
9781626192454
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$21.99
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The music scene in Austin is known the world over, but it can place a considerable portion of its roots in a little-known but prolific indie label: Sonobeat Records. A small, independent label founded by father-and-son duo Bill Josey Sr. and Bill Josey Jr., Sonobeat set the stage for the Capital City's musical legacy. The label's brief but powerful tenure produced an enormous amount of music and directly preceded the progressive country movement and the proliferation of a music scene that would earn Austin the nickname of Live Music Capital of the World. Musician and author Ricky Stein explores the roots of Austin's contemporary music history through the story of one small but essential label..
Austin Breakfast Tacos
9781626190498
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$19.99
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Fresh tortillas, fluffy huevos con bacon and spicy salsa--good morning, Austin. Or good afternoon, evening, night--whenever From taco tailgates to taquerias, there is a taco for every occasion and persuasion. Some say that it was born in the days of cowboys and vaqueros, and others say it was a creation of the Tex-Mex culture, but one thing is certain: the breakfast taco has taken over the Capital City. From South Congress to North Austin, neon and chalkboard signs tempt hungry passersby with their best morning-time handheld bites. With over forty breakfast taco recipes, Mando Rayo and Jarod Neece investigate (and masticate) the history, culture and traditions of that indelible and delectable Austin treat: the breakfast taco..
Austin Beer
9781626190948
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$23.99
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Austin might be known for its live music, but its beer scene is just as vibrant and historic. As early as 1860, German immigrant Johann Schneider started brewing beer out of a saloon on Congress Avenue, later crafting innovative brew vaults, the first of their kind in the city. Proving that Austin taste buds were thirsty for something more dynamic than a Lonestar, the end of the twentieth century and beginning of the twenty-first saw a huge boom in craft beer production by native Austinites and transplants alike, creating a culture of local beer advocates, homebrewing enthusiasts and innovators that could only come out of Austin. Join the ladies behind hilarious and informative beer blog BitchBeer.org as they explore Austin beer history, developments and culture--complete with read-along drinking games and local beer pairings.
Baseball on the Prairie
9781609499358
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$21.99
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At the close of the nineteenth century, railroad expansion in Texas at once shrank the state and expanded opportunities, including that of Texas League Baseball. Previously, the major cities monopolized Texas minor-league ball, but with the rails came small-town teams without which the league may have floundered. Sherman, Denison, Paris, Corsicana, Cleburne, Greenville and Temple teams produced some of the Texas League's greatest players and provided unprecedented statewide interest. The 1902 Corsicana Oil Citys was one of the most successful teams of the time, claiming the second-best winning percentage and baseball's most lopsided victory, 51-3 over Texarkana's Casketmakers. In its only year in the league, Cleburne won the league championship and team owner Doak Roberts discovered the great Tris Speaker. Kris Rutherford pieces together the Texas League's early days and the people and towns that made this centuries-old institution possible.
Austin's First Cookbook
9781626198531
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$23.99
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Tacos and barbecue command appetites today, but early Austinites indulged in peppered mangoes, roast partridge and cucumber catsup. Those are just a few of the fascinating historic recipes in this new edition of the first cookbook published in the city. Written by the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in 1891, Our Home Cookbook aimed to cause frowns to dispel and dimple into ripples of laughter with myriad receipts from the early Austin community. From dandy pudding to home remedies worth knowing, these are hearty helpings featuring local game and diverse heritage, including German, Czech and Mexican. With informative essays and a cookbook bibliography, city archivist Mike Miller and the Austin History Center present this curious collection that's sure to raise eyebrows, if not cravings.
Forgotten Tales of Texas
9781609492687
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$21.99
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From El Chupacabra to the Marx Brothers, Clay Coppedge has a talent for digging into Texas's most unusual history. Strange as they may seem, many of these Texas-sized legends are surprisingly true, like Pancho Villa's film contract and the notorious Crash at Crush, a staged train collision and failed publicity stunt that turned tragic outside of Katy. Whether fact or lore, each tale is irrefutably part of a unique and fascinating heritage that invigorates the spirit like a Texas frontier remedy.
Fort Martin Scott
9781609499617
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$21.99
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Fort Martin Scott still stands guard in the heart of Texas 150 years after its construction, which was prompted by a peace treaty between Germans and the Penateka Comanches. The first frontier fort in Texas, the original complex of twenty-one buildings allowed soldiers to patrol the Upper Immigrant Trail through Comanche and Apache territory. The old fort was a hub for military patrols during the Texas Indian Wars. Famous army units, including the First and Eighth Infantries, as well as the Second Dragoons and Fourth Cavalry, were all stationed at this post at one time or another. Fort Martin Scott was the locality of much partisan conflict during the Civil War. Author and historian Joseph Luther tells the full story of this historic Texas icon.
Galveston and the Civil War
9781609492830
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$21.99
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On the eve of the Civil War, Galveston was a jewel of the Gulf Coast--a booming city with a fine natural harbor and all the commerce, culture and improvements that attended it. Galveston was also home to the largest slave market west of New Orleans and a hotbed of secessionist sentiment. Once the war started, Galveston became the focus of Union efforts to take Texas and Confederate efforts to defend it. Through the voice of its people, this lively book relates the interesting and important role the Island City played during the war, including the story of the Union naval blockade, the dramatic Battle of Galveston, Unionists, dreadful epidemics of yellow fever, the surrender of Galveston as the last major port still in Confederate hands and the bondage and liberation of the island's enslaved African Americans.
The Galveston-Houston Packet
9781609495916
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$21.99
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Many imagine the settlement of the American West as signaled by the dust of the wagon train or the whistle of a locomotive. During the middle decades of the nineteenth century, though, the growth of Texas and points west centered on the seventy-mile water route between Galveston and Houston. This single vital link stood between the agricultural riches of the interior and the mercantile enterprises of the coast, with a round of operations that was as sophisticated and efficient as that of any large transport network today. At the same time, the packets on the overnight Houston-Galveston run earned a reputation as colorful as their Mississippi counterparts, complete with impromptu steamboat races, makeshift naval gunboats during the Civil War, professional gamblers and horrific accidents.
West Texas Tales
9781609493295
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$21.99
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Historian Mike Cox has been writing about Texas history for four decades, sharing tales that have been overlooked or forgotten through the years. Travel to El Paso during the Big Blow of 1895, brave the frontier with Elizabeth Russell Baker, and stare down the infamous killer known as Old Three Toe. From frontier stories and ghost towns to famous folks and accounts of everyday life, this collection of West Texas Tales has it all.
Stake in West Texas, A
9781626193802
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$21.99
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In 1950, Ann was eighteen and Bob D twenty when he asked her to marry him and hit the road for West Texas. They packed their station wagon, left home and began a life of adventure together on Conoco's West Texas survey crew during the 1950s oil boom. Five kids, twenty-one towns and thirteen years on the road--Bob D and Ann's travels along the highways of West Texas are a portrait in a landscape of oilfields, railroads and ranches. Layering local history with family memoir, author Rebecca D. Henderson reveals a glimpse of mid-century West Texas through her grandparents' adventures as a young couple raising children on the road..
African American Bryan, Texas
9781609496982
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$21.99
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Bryan was incorporated in 1872, but it would take more than ten years before its African American population was offered schooling. Nothing would come easy for them, but they persevered through hard work, ingenuity and family support. The success of today's generation is a direct result of determined, hardworking pioneers like Dr. Samuel J. Sealey Sr., Bryan's baby doctor in the 1930s and '40s, and Dr. William A. Hammond Sr., who opened Bryan's first black hospital and employed many blacks through his business ventures. Learn about the inspiration and guidance provided by the likes of Oliver Wayne Sadberry, an outstanding community leader and principal of Fairview and Washington Elementary. Dr. Oswell Person shares the story of this community's achievements, successes and contributions in the face of incredible odds.
Tragedy and Triumph on the Texas Plains
9781467149037
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$21.99
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Out on the Texas Plains, wrangling with history resembles taking in the sunset--a stampede of splendor and shadow all at once. Roam an Ohio-sized patch of prairie and take stock of the heroic tasks and moral dilemmas facing the unforgettable characters who called West Texas home. Ben Hogan sinks a putt with the focus of the Clovis man who hunted mammoth in the same spot thousands of years before. Lubbock's largest lawsuit runs its interminable course. And a starving Roy Rogers makes a quick meal of jackrabbit on the Llano Estacado. Chuck Lanehart gathers statesmen and journalists, outlaws and entertainers, in these profiles of the Texas Plains.
Lost Fort Worth
9781626192355
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From the humble beginnings of a frontier army camp, Fort Worth transformed into a city as cattle drives, railroads, oil and national defense drove its economy. During the tremendous growth, the landscape and cultural imprint of the city changed drastically, and much of Cowtown was lost to history. Witness the birth of western swing music and the death of a cloud dancer. See mansions of the well-heeled and saloons of the well-armed. Meet two gunfighters, one flamboyant preacher, one serial killer and one very short subway carrying passengers back in time to discover more of Fort Worth. Author Mike Nichols presents a colorful history tour from the North Side to the South Side's Battle of Buttermilk Junction.
Harvey Houses of Texas
9781626195240
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$21.99
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On the eve of the twentieth century, small-town Texas was still wild country lacking in the commodities and cultural centers of larger cities. This changed, however, with the arrival of the Santa Fe rail line, followed quickly by the Harvey House. Established in Kansas by English immigrant Fred Harvey, Harvey Houses could be found throughout the Southwest and adjoined local depots in sixteen Texas towns. Found in every corner of the state, Harvey Houses were not just restaurants and hotels for weary, hungry travelers but were also bustling social centers and often the only commercial outlet for the communities that developed around them. Author Rosa Walston Latimer tells the history of hospitality the Fred Harvey way in turn-of-the-century Texas, woven from personal stories of the famous Harvey Girls and other employees of Texas Harvey Houses.
Guy Town by Gaslight
9781626194458
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Crime and vice plagued Austin after the Civil War, and Guy Town was a red-light hub with a most curious legacy. Today's pleasure-seeking visitors to the Warehouse District walk on top of Guy Town--the chic neighborhood of today is built on the most decadent and deadly area of the city's past. With the old county courthouse at its core, the district rose from the Colorado River up to Fifth Street and spanned from Congress Avenue to Shoal Creek, infesting Austin's eclectic First Ward neighborhood. Guy Town was a haven for notorious madams, prostitutes, druggies and drunkards lost to history, as well as names still remembered--Ben Thompson, O. Henry and Johnny Ringo roamed its streets looking for a good time. From murderers to con men, crooked cops and more, meet the cast of characters that gave Guy Town its reputation in author Richard Zelade's lurid account of the Capital City's historic underbelly.
Haunted Austin
9781609490409
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$19.99
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A killer lurks in the dark streets, victimizing servant girls throughout 1885, and Austin becomes the first American city to claim a serial killer. The spirits of convicts wander amidst the manicured grounds of the Texas State Capitol while inside a public servant assassinated in 1903 still haunts the corridors. These are just a few of the strange and frightening tales of Haunted Austin. Within these pages lies evidence that the frontier bravado legendary in so many Texas men and women lives on long after death. Author Jeanine Plumer explores the sinister history of the city and attempts to answer the question: why do so many ghosts linger in Austin?
Party Weird
9781626196520
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In 1839, Texas officials toasted their new capital of Austin, and its citizens never ran out of excuses for revelry. Austinites celebrate their homegrown and vibrant culture, renowned and innovative music, street life and collective quirkiness with pride. While world-class events now call the city home, in a culture that eschews conformity at every turn, Austin's underground social gatherings are what truly earn it bragging rights. Discover the grass-roots origins of the enigmatic eccentricity that has drawn people from all corners of Texas and now from the whole world. Feel the beat of drum circles at Eeyore's Birthday Party in April, sling puns at the annual O. Henry Pun-Off or share a meal with strangers at the monthly Perpetual Potluck Picnic--or Jim O's, as the locals say. Author Howie Richey explores the offbeat, exuberant culture and history of the city that started with a party that just didn't stop.
Haunted Plano, Texas
9781467140386
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$21.99
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From goat men to witch ladies and spooky little girls, dive into the haunted history of Plano, Texas.
Plano's old homes and businesses are rife with haunted history. Explore eerie urban legends like the Goat Man, the Clown Threat, and Ranch 111, where devil worshipers performed their rituals.
The Evaporating Apparition spooked the staff at the Art Centre Theatre, while the grumpy spirit of an old rancher stalks the Masonic Lodge. Some specters are harmless, such as the Giggling Ghost, a little girl in the Cox Building with a penchant for peanut butter and pranks. Other figures own a more sinister reputation. The Witch Lady of Plano was feared by city youth and monitored by the FBI.
Mary Jacobs examines the ghostly fallout of Plano's darkest moments, from the smallpox epidemic to the gruesome Muncey family murders.
Details at Ten
9781609494155
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$21.99
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As broadcast news came of age in the turbulent decades of the 1950s and '60s, North Texas reporter Bert Shipp was on the front lines. While television changed the way Texas and the world witnessed history, Shipp's Dallas/Fort Worth coverage reported stories of both national and local importance. Whether in the media race to cover the Kennedy assassination, on a mission to Laos to help recover a secret list of prisoners of war while on a mission in Laos or highlighting the boy who had no shoes for Christmas, Shipp's accounts of chronicling the news are fascinating and often hilarious. Join this award-winning journalist as he recalls harrowing, humorous and true behind-the-scenes stories of those early days in Texas television news.
North Texas Beer
9781626194328
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$23.99
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Texas is historically a large beer-drinking state. Unlike the brewing heritage of the Central Texas German settlements, the North Texas area--Dallas, Fort Worth and the cities of the surrounding Metroplex--always approached local beers from more of a commercial standpoint. Though local brewing dates back to 1857, early, larger brewers from other states influenced those in Dallas and Fort Worth before and throughout the twentieth century. After the opening of the first craft brewery in the state (and sixth in the nation) in Plano in 1982, North Texas breweries began to flourish in later years and today find a consuming public fiercely devoted to their local brews. Join authors Paul Hightower and Brian L. Brown for a complete yet refreshing look at the history, business and fun of beer in North Texas.
Camp Verde
9781609493868
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$21.99
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The Verde Valley the seemingly easy route to West Texas was in fact a land of peril, adventure, and near mythic heroes. Historic Camp Verde has long been a strategic stronghold guarding the pass, the valley and the many trails converging at this river crossing. As frontiersman and settlers pushed through the pass and Native Americans responded with violent force, the famed Texas Rangers attempted to control the region. Officially established in 1856, the camp would become the testing ground for the Army's Camel Experiment and an outpost for Robert E. Lee's legendary Second U.S. Cavalry. Join local historian Joseph Luther as he narrates the tumultuous and uniquely Texan history of Camp Verde.