Photograph by Dan Winters. Styling by Lauren Smith Ford. Grooming for Jack Black by Alyssa Garcia. Grooming for Matthew McConaughey by Jean Black.
May 2012
Table of Contents
Features
Truth or ConsequencesIn 2004 Dan Rather tarnished his career forever with a much-criticized report on George W. Bush’s National Guard service. Eight years later, the story behind the story can finally be told: what CBS’s top-ranking newsman did, what the president of the United States didn’t do, and how some feuding Texas pols got the whole ball rolling. Lights, Camera, Carthage!Nearly fifteen years after Richard Linklater and I started talking about turning a TEXAS MONTHLY story into a major motion picture, it’s finally hitting the big screen, with a little help from Jack Black, Matthew McConaughey, Shirley MacLaine—and a seventy-year-old retired hairdresser from Rusk named Kay Baby Epperson. Downward DogOver the past fifteen years, John Friend turned his Woodlands–based Anusara style of yoga into an internationally popular brand. Then, in the space of a few weeks, it became hopelessly twisted amid a wild series of accusations of sexual and financial improprieties. The Writes of SpringRobert Caro on LBJ. Marcus Luttrell on war. Douglas Brinkley on Walter Cronkite. James Donovan on the Alamo. Steve Coll on ExxonMobil. Ben Fountain on a surreal Dallas Cowboys halftime show. Dan Rather and Sissy Spacek on themselves. For some reason, May has turned out to be a month like no other for Texas-related books. Here’s our handy guide. Hog Hunting With Marcus LuttrellThe author of Lone Survivor still has his gun at the ready. Ben Fountain Undoes DallasThe acclaimed author is publishing his first novel, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk. And some of his neighbors may not be happy. |
In Praise of Sissy SpacekWhy doesn’t Texas’s greatest movie actress get the respect she deserves? Reading Along With James DonovanThe latest Alamo chronicler offers a glimpse of his reference library. The One-Question Interview With Douglas BrinkleyThe author of Cronkite answers the question: What’s the most surprising thing you learned about Walter Cronkite? Dan Rather Pop Quiz!Six interesting facts about the retired CBS news anchorman found in his new book, Rather Outspoken. Debating Robert CaroThe fourth volume of an epic LBJ biography stirs more controversy. The One-Question Interview With Steve CollThe author of Private Empire: ExxonMobile and American Power answers the question: In terms of difficulty, how would you compare reporting on Exxon with the reporting you did for your previous book, The Bin Ladens? |
Columns
Behind the LinesBuyer BewareDear Jim Crane, new owner of the Houston Astros: Please don’t screw things up as badly as the last guy did. The TexanistOffering Fine Advice Since 2007Boot-scooting in the right direction, leaving New York, wondering about the yardman, and trying out the cowgirl look when you’re no longer 25. |
Prudence MackintoshDear JaneMy mother-in-law knew how to sew, keep an immaculate house, and dress stylishly. In short, she was nothing like the unpolished young woman who married her son. Perhaps that’s why we loved each other so much. AcademiaThe Most Trusted Freshman in AmericaLong before Walter Cronkite was the voice of the news, he was just a kid from Houston at the University of Texas, chasing girls, acting in school plays, and drinking cheap beer. Yet Douglas Brinkley, whose new biography of Cronkite will be released this month, argues that it was in Austin that the seeds of one of the greatest careers in American journalism were sown. |
Reporter
State of the ArtTejano Monument, Austin |
Street SmartsGrapevine |
The Filter
Pat’s PickOxheart |
Miscellany
ContributorsJoe Hagan, Mimi Swartz, and Paul Knight. |
Roar of the Crowd“I commend Paul Burka for bravely identifying who is ultimately responsible for the sorry state of Texas public school financing: the Texas electorate.” Editor’s LetterPrimal Screen |
Web Exclusives
An Extended Interview With Steve CollThe New Yorker writer talks about his latest book, Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power. Friedrichsburg RevisitedThe German novel, penned in 1867 and set in the just-settled Hill Country hamlet, gets a modern translation. Like a WriterBizarre similes pour forth from debut novelist Jonathan Woods’s fingers like wine from a bottomless bottle that is also missing its cork. The Ron Paul EffectIn the forthcoming Ron Paul’s rEVOLution, journalist Brian Doherty takes an up-close look at the libertarian Texas congressman. A Q&A With Skip HollandsworthThe executive editor on what it was like to work with Richard Linklater on Bernie, the star-studded film based on an East Texas murder story. A Q&A With Mimi SwartzThe executive editor on witnessing the rise and fall of John Friend, creator of Anusara yoga. The Drop Everything ListRoasting an Entire Steer, Fiddlers' Frolics, and the Moontower Comedy and Oddity Fest . . . Dallas’s Design DistrictThis once-industrial enclave has been reborn as the city's trendiest new spot. Here's a guide to the area's acclaimed restaurants, chic stores, and daring art galleries. |
Finding Peace and Joy in AustinHow a rare statue in an unassuming temple made the capital city a place to seriously study Buddhism. The Drop Everything ListThe Chicken Fried Steak Festival, George Clooney, and a Tribute to Roy Rogers . . . The Drop Everything ListThe Lone Star Jam, meeting Phil Collins, and the Houston Art Car Parade . . . From Blogging to Book DealHouston Chronicle blogger Jenny Lawson (aka The Bloggess) found herself at the center of a two-day auction among twelve publishing houses for the rights to her debut memoir, Let's Pretend This Never Happened. How did she rise from unpaid blogger to New York Times bestseller? The Drop Everything ListMiranda Lambert, the Future Music Summit, Texas Crab Festival, and a songwriting retreat in Marfa . . . Like Father, Like SonAndy Langer talks with Willie Nelson and his youngest son, Lukas, about "The Family," Willie's new album (Heroes), and passing the torch. The Drop Everything ListThe Round Dance Halls of Texas, Kristin Chenoweth, and the Bathing Beauties Contest . . . Texas Gets Prehistoric With Two New Fossil HallsAfter years of exporting prized dinosaur fossils to some of the world’s best museums, the state will be getting two huge exhibit halls, in Dallas and Houston. |
Multimedia
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Recipes
Okame Spinach Salad With Miso AioliFrom Justin Yu of Oxheart, in Houston. |
Machi Cure (Japanese Nachos)From Uchi, The Cookbook, by Tyson Cole and Jessica Dupuy. |
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