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Robert Draper

Robert Draper was a staff writer at Texas Monthly from 1991 until 1997, and he still writes occasionally for the magazine. He is also a contributing writer at the New York Times Magazine and National Geographic. Draper is the author of several works of fiction and nonfiction, including the New York Times best-sellers Dead Certain: The Presidency of George W. Bush and Do Not Ask What Good We Do: Inside the U.S. House of Representatives. A native Houstonian, he now resides in Washington, D.C.

84 Articles

Local newspaper coverage of the Wilbur Grayson school shooting.
True Crime|
March 18, 2020

The Aftermath

In 1978, an eighth grader killed his teacher. After 20 months in a psychiatric facility, he was freed. His classmates still wonder: What really happened?

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Politics & Policy|
October 2, 2013

What It Takes

After months of anticipation, the most interesting Texas gubernatorial contest in decades will (probably) start Thursday. Does Wendy Davis have a chance?

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Border & Immigration|
January 20, 2013

Soldiers of Misfortune

For as long as the U.S. military has patrolled the border in search of drug smugglers, there has been the possibility that an innocent civilian would be killed. The government insists the chance is worth taking. Tell that to the family of Ezequiel Hernandez, Jr.

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News & Politics|
January 20, 2013

The Evolver

“All you’ve got is a famous name,” a Republican operative told George W. Bush. But six years later he was governor, and six years after that he was president. And six years after that, his place in history—not to mention the fate of the world—is a little uncertain.

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News & Politics|
April 30, 2007

Made in America

A generation after he crossed the border to work for my family, Vicente Martinez is the foreman of a ranch in the Hill Country, not far from his kids and grandkids. And yes, they all have their papers. This is an immigration story with a happy ending.

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Feature|
September 30, 2005

Wheel in the Sky

For the residents of a tiny Panhandle town, a horrific accident at the State Fair fifty years ago reverberates still—and will haunt them forever.

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Business|
September 30, 1997

Clifford’s Blues

Up on federal drug charges for the second time in fifteen years, the impresario of Antone’s nightclub in Austin may finally have to face the music.

By

Being Texan|
June 30, 1997

Happy Doomsday

In the wake of Heaven’s Gate, the media marched en masse to Abilene, the home base of the House of Yahweh, whose charismatic leader, Yisrayl Hawkins, was supposed to be the next David Koresh. Not even close.

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Business|
April 30, 1997

Big Fish

In the eighties Tilman Fertitta’s seafood restaurants earned him millions while his hard-nosed business tactics earned him enemies. But these days the Galveston native is winning new respect in his hometown by standing up to the most powerful family on the Island.

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Border & Immigration|
April 1, 1997

The Crossing

If U.S. officials put an end to illegal trips across the Rio Grande at Boquillas, the enchanting border town will find itself caught between countries and cultures. Of course, that’s where it has always been.

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Business|
September 30, 1996

A Shrimp Tale

After nearly fifty years of working Matagorda Bay, Vernon Bates could soon watch his business shut down for good—and so could the thousands of other shrimpers who make their living on the Gulf Coast.

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Being Texan|
May 31, 1996

The Last Refuge

For years the dusty outpost of Terlingua has been a magnet for renegades and loners looking for a haven from the modern world. No wonder the brother of the suspected Unabomber holed up there.

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Sports|
January 1, 1996

Spoils Sports

Oilers owner Bud Adams is hightailing it to Nashville; Drayton McLane may move the Astros too—or sell. In Houston and across the country, rooting for the home team is quickly becoming a thing of the past.

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True Crime|
December 1, 1995

Carrillo’s Crossing

In the billion-dollar business of drug trafficking, Amado Carrillo Fuentes is king. He's the elusive ringleader of a smuggling operation that police are powerless to stop.

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Reporter|
June 30, 1995

Tiger’s Beat

An Austin attorney tears into the government’s case against a suspect in the Oklahoma City bombing.

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Business|
April 30, 1995

Open Season

Are gun sellers responsible for gun deaths? Gun store owners and gun show promoters each say no, but that may be all they agree on.

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Business|
April 30, 1995

Are Texans Gun Crazy?

During the first week of April, as the Legislature considered the case for concealed weapons, Texas mourned the consequences of two gun-related tragedies in Corpus Christi: the murder of Tejano superstar Selena Quintanilla Perez and the shooting of five workers at a refinery inspection company by a disgruntled

By Gary Cartwright, Robert Draper and David McCormick

Sports|
March 1, 1995

Rudy Awakening

As Houston Rockets head coach Rudy Tomjanovich is discovering, it's one thing to win the MBA title—and quite another to play like champions.

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News & Politics|
December 1, 1994

The Sheriff Who Went to Pot

Brig Marmolejo may have been convicted of bribery, but he is more than just another crooked cop in South Texas. His is the story of borders easily crossed—the ageless parable of the Rio Grande Valley.

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Books|
September 30, 1994

Hot and Heavy

A saga of lust and revenge with a corpulent heroine establishes Carol Dawson as Texas' most promising new writer.

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