From 1869 to 1918 more than 1,200 women lived as prostitutes in Waco, Texas. When the city legalized its red-light district, floozies flocked to Waco where saloons and bordellos boomed. The Oldest Profession in Texas: Waco’s Legal Red-Light District examines the city’s complex stance on prostitution, debunks myths, and unveils (for the first time) the true identities of several early day madams.

In his forty-three years as a practising lawyer, Kevin O'Donnell encountered a wide and sometimes weird mixture of characters lawyers, clients, police officers, and others. When it came time to tell the story of his career, he knew that he didn't want to write a book only about the law; he wanted to write a book about the people with whom and for whom he worked. Some of these stories may come off as improbable or even impossible, but they're all true. He shares tales of the more notable people he had the privilege of dealing with and the unusual situations those associations created. He received the occasional threat of violence, but fortunately, none of them came to pass. He also survived the aggression of his peers, in and out of court. During his experience as a law student, articled clerk, employee lawyer, senior associate for substantial law fi rms, and partner in a fi rm in regional Victoria, he saw it all- and some of the best anecdotes from those years await within. Many of the people he writes about are still his friends (and some never were), while some of them are now deceased. They've all provided him with amusement over the years, as well as wry smiles as he brought their shared adventures to life in his memoir.

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.

Thanks to the classic Dolly Parton film The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and ZZ Top's ode "La Grange," many people think they know the story of the infamous Chicken Ranch. The reality is more complex, lying somewhere between heartbreaking and absurd. For more than a century, dirt farmers and big-cigar politicians alike rubbed shoulders at the Chicken Ranch, operated openly under the sheriff's watchful eye. Madam Edna Milton and her girls ran a tight, discreet ship that the God-fearing people of La Grange tolerated if not outright embraced. That is, until a secret conspiracy enlisted an opportunistic reporter to bring it all crashing down on primetime television. Drawn from exclusive interviews and expanded with newly uncovered information, Jayme Lynn Blaschke's revelatory exposition of the Ranch illuminates the truth and lies surrounding this iconic brothel.

Texas Off the Beaten Path features the things travelers and locals want to see and experience––if only they knew about them. From the best in local dining to quirky cultural tidbits to hidden attractions, unique finds, and unusual locales, Texas Off the Beaten Path takes the reader down the road less traveled and reveals a side of Texas that other guidebooks just don't offer.

The fourth edition of this popular text is now expanded to better fit the needs of a standalone Texas Politics course. Jillson continues to approach the politics of the Lone Star State from historical, developmental, and analytical perspectives, while giving students the most even-handed, readable, and engaging description of Texas politics available today. Throughout the book students are encouraged to connect the origins and development of government and politics in Texas--from the Texas Constitution, to party competition, to the role and powers of the Governor--to its current day practice and the alternatives possible through change and reform. This text helps instructors prepare their students to master the origin and development of the Texas Constitution, the structure and powers of state and local government in Texas, how Texas fits into the U.S. federal system, as well as political participation, the electoral process, and public policy in Texas. Texas Politics offers instructors and students an unmatched range of pedagogical aids and tools. Each chapter opens with an engaging vignette and a series of focus questions to orient readers to the learning objectives at hand and concludes with a chapter summary, a list of key terms, review questions, suggested readings, and web resources. Key terms are bolded in the text, listed at the end of the chapter, and included in a glossary at the end of the book. Each chapter includes "Let's Compare" boxes to help students see how Texas sits alongside other states, and "Pro & Con" boxes to bring conflicting political views into sharper focus. Tables, figures, and photos throughout highlight the major ideas, issues, individuals, and institutions discussed.

Lone Star Politics delves into the state's rich political tradition by exploring how myth often clashes with the reality of everyday governance. Explaining who gets what and how within the state, this Nacogdoches author team provides an engaging narrative on the evolution of Texas politics, utilizing the comparative method to set Texas in context with other states' constitutions, policymaking, electoral practices, and institutions. Responding to user demand, Ken Collier, Steven Galatas, and Julie Harrelson-Stephens have split or added chapters to provide more in-depth coverage of much-desired topics, including the legislature and legislative process, the governor and bureaucracy, parties and organized interests, as well as fiscal, criminal justice, and social policy. In addition, new chapter objectives and critical thinking questions reinforce learning and encourage analysis. Beyond more depth and breadth, the new third edition now features a full-color design. Lone Star Politics delivers well-crafted and colorful content without breaking the bank.

The fifth edition of this popular text is now expanded and updated to better fit the needs of a stand-alone Texas Politics course. Jillson continues to approach the politics of the Lone Star State from historical, developmental, and analytical perspectives, while giving students the most even-handed, readable, and engaging description of Texas politics available today. Throughout the book students are encouraged to connect the origins and development of government and politics in Texas--from the Texas Constitution, to party competition, to the role and powers of the Governor--to its current day.

In 1925 Texans were stunned when a young man’s severed head was found in an abandoned farmhouse near the town of Stephenville. An investigation led to ex-convict F. M. Snow and the mysterious disappearances of his wife and mother-in-law. But this shocking, bloody saga began 50 years earlier . . . Beautiful, vivacious Samantha Jones had a penchant for dangerous men. Her teenage marriage to gambler Amos Smith ended when he was gunned down in a hit orchestrated by his wife’s alleged lover, who was lynched. The widow then married the abusive Bill Olds, who was later arrested for theft, forgery and murder. Violence stalked the next generation when Samantha’s daughter, Maggie Olds, was twice widowed with the brutal murders of her second and fourth husbands. Yet Maggie’s unfortunate choice for a fifth husband, F. M. Snow, led to a gruesome, triple tragedy. In Blood Legacy: The True Story of the Snow Axe Murders, James Pylant delves into family history and sheds new light on a tale of twenty shocking deaths fueled by greed, insanity and revenge. "From hits to lynchings to black widows, this chronicle proves endlessly intriguing." —The Midwest Book Review "Set in the seemingly quiet isolation of small-town Texas, Blood Legacy is a well-written, well-researched true tale with Gothic overtones and more than a hint of Stephen King-style horror." —Carlton Stowers, best-selling and award-winning author