The Oil Revolution

So long, OPEC. So long, $27 oil. The Merc is king now.

by Paul Burka

The Quest That Fizzled

Everyone agreed it was time for greatness at UT. But after a nationwide search for a new president, the only man the regents could agree on was a campus insider who professed no great vision at all.

by Peter Elkind

UT Versus A&M

They’re the oldest foes and the biggest rivals. Now the contest has moved into the arena that really counts—the classroom.

by Peter Elkind

UT Versus the Superstars

Texas universities take their knocks and learn their lessons from the best in the country.

by Peter Elkind

Confessions of an Aging Pothead

I smoked marijuana all day every day for several years. It took me almost a year to quit—and now I wonder if I’ll ever get straight.

by Richard X

Texas Primer: The Stock Tank

Without these funky watering holes, where would we—much less our cattle and sheep—be today?

by William Booth

The Greatest Fashion Show On Earth

Chanel boaters! Street bras! Step right up for a peek at this summer’s French-inspired fashions.

How Bad Were They?

Larry Buchanan made movies that were so cheap, so incredibly flawed, and so dumb, they’re lovingly celebrated as the worst movies ever made. And he made them all in Dallas.

by Douglass St. Clair Smith

Summer’s First Stand

Yesterday those onions and carrots were in the ground. Today they’re on your table, thanks to Texas’ bountiful roadside fruit and vegetable stands.

by Susan Kennard

Western Art: Bluebonnet Belle

by Margaret Kasahara Cheatham

Politics

Marching Off to War

In 1969 a young man from Baytown decided, after a struggle, to fight in Vietnam.

by William Broyles, Jr

Behind the Lines

by Gregory Curtis

Art

The Anxious Witness

Photographer Robert Frank held up a mirror to America. Now Houston’s Museum of Fine Arts turns the mirror on him.

by Michael Ennis

Movies

Pokey Romance

A Room With a View takes in edifying sights; Gung Ho settles for schmaltz; Just Between Friends makes glib chat.

by James Wolcott

Books

Southern Discomfort

Bobby Jack Nelson—roughneck, cowhand, prospector, and Australian talk show host—is also a fine novelist; Larry L. King writes about writing.

by Jan Reid

Reporter

Texas Monthly Reporter

Somervell County suffers an identity crisis; an Alamo freak takes twenty years to build a diorama; Merlin Tuttle is batty.

by Stephen Harrigan

Shopping

True tales from the world of junking.

by Mimi Swartz

Post-Modern Times

At the Crescent’s opening, old, excessive Texas came face to face with new, designer Texas.

by Michael Ennis

Downtown

The Dallas movie board is antiquated and eccentric, like a wacky uncle.

by Jim Atkinson

Touts

Here are some pin pals you’ll want to get to know.

by Patricia Sharpe

Roar of the Crowd

Puzzle

State Secrets

A boondoggle for coal means more trouble for natural gas; the Houston Chronicle doesn’t rate with HL&P; defense lawyers judge a judge.

Edited by Paul Burka