Books
Master Class
At the University of Texas at Austin, I teach a course on Southwestern literature—a genre that didn't exist until J. Frank Dobie put it on the map.
Book Stories
Ranch Undressing [December 2002]
Writer-at-large Don Graham discusses this month's cover story "The Secret History," and his forthcoming book on the King Ranch, King of Texas.
Entrevista con Mario Vargas Llosa [November 2002]
Days of Their Lives [October 2002]
Novels about college classmates reconnecting and rekindling at reunion time are nothing new, but Tim O'Brien's July, July succeeds with honors.
The Buzz [August 2002]
Kathy Hepinstall is one of four underappreciated Texas writers you should be reading this summer.
Giant [May 2002]
Master of the Senate, Robert Caro's third volume on the life of Lyndon Johnson, is an exhaustive study of power, persuasion, and private parts.
Hooked [March 2002]
When Matt Clark succumbed to cancer in 1998, the young writer left behind an inventive unpublished novel called Hook Man Speaks. Then his friends stepped in-and brought the book back from the dead.
Catcher in the Raw [December 2001]
Forty years after its publication, Horseman, Pass By is still one of Larry McMurtry's finest novels—and as groundbreaking as J. D. Salinger's masterpiece.
The Plot Sickens [November 2001]
Sandra Brown's latest novel-and her umpteenth best-seller-is called Envy. Funny, that's the last feeling I get when I read her work.
The Write Brothers [August 2001]
A memoir conjures up Donald Barthelme—and sheds light on his talented siblings.
West Meets East [June 2001]
In Sarah Bird's finest novel to date, she goes halfway around the world for down-home inspiration.
Writers Bloc [May 2001]
What did Graham Greene observe about crossing the border into Mexico in 1938? Would you believe Molly Ivins was born in California? Here are my picks for the fifty greatest literary moments in Texas, plus a roster of leading lights who are from here—and some who aren't.
Knightmare [April 2001]
Aaron Latham's new novel about a cowboy Camelot gets lost in the bull.
Grist for Mills [March 2001]
A collection of the letters of influential sociologist C. Wright Mills shows that his radical ideas were grounded in his Texas upbringing.
Cooper's Town [November 2000]
Waco is memorialized in Madison Cooper's Sironia, Texas, the longest novel ever published in the U.S.—and one of the oddest.
The Pits [October 2000]
The problem with Mary Karr's latest confessional memoir, Cherry, is that she won't stop confessing.
Live and Learn [February 2000]
East Texas native George Dawson couldn't read until he was 98. Now, at 102, he's written a memoir. Next up: a high school equivalency diploma — but no driving.
My Library
