Texas Primer
February 1, 2001
King Vidor
What Galveston native filmed the black and white scenes in The Wizard of Oz?
293 Articles
Book Review
February 1, 2001
David Searcy
Gardening won’t seem like such an innocent pastime after you read this first novel by Dallasite David Searcy, which gives the term “stalking” a nasty new horticultural slant. An elderly Walter Mitty- esque widower, afret over a gopher invasion that has threatened his pride-and-joy roses, orders some exotic flora guaranteed
Bum Steers
January 1, 2001
Bum Deal
Executive editor Paul Burka and senior editor Anne Dingus tell the story behind January's cover story, "The 2001 Bum Steer Awards".
Book Review
January 1, 2001
Jon Kalb
This is a genre-buster if ever there was one. Austin paleontologist Jon Kalb set out to chronicle his seven years of fossil hunting in Africa in the seventies, but the final product is far more than “science adventurism” (his term). The subtitle, though a bit daunting—The Race to Discover Human
The Culture
December 1, 2000
The Twelve Months of Christmas
Kitschy calendars that say "Feliz Navidad."
Book Review
December 1, 2000
Christopher Cook
In one sense this earthy first novel by Austinite Christopher Cook is a feel-good book: Compared with the title characters, you can’t help but feel good about your own relatively decent self. In Robbers two aimless outlaws, Ray Bob and Eddie, hook up and, in a sort of quien-es-mas-macho contest,
Texas Primer
December 1, 2000
Sam Rayburn
Whose picture did Sam Rayburn always hang in his office?
Art
November 1, 2000
The Searcher
Photographer Kurt Markus spent years tracking down modern working cowboys for his new book, ‘Cowpuncher.’ He corralled the genuine article at several Texas spreads.
Books
November 1, 2000
Whodunit? Who Cares?
Anne Dingus has a few bones to pick with the modern mystery novel, which she says has been decomposing in recent years. Stepping up to defend the genre: none other than Texas’ queen of murder and mayhem, Mary Willis Walker.
Web Exclusive
November 1, 2000
Must-Read Mysteries
Senior editor Anne Dingus lists her ten favorite whodunits.
Texas Primer
November 1, 2000
Old Yeller
What was the real name of the dog that portrayed Old Yeller?
Feature
September 30, 2000
This Place Is A Zoo
Want to get up close and personal with kudus and kangaroos, tigers and toucans, okapi and orangutans? We're especially fauna these zoos, the ten best in the state.
Book Review
September 30, 2000
Joe R. Lansdale
Nacogdoches boy Joe R. Lansdale is a veteran purveyor of horror and crime fiction, much of it pulpy at best. Still, all that writing has paid off in his latest novel, The Bottoms, which lands firmly in the mainstream-fiction category. Relax, phobe-o-philes—he still delivers a full dose of fear, East
Travel & Outdoors
September 30, 2000
Cameron Park Zoo, Waco
If Waco’s zoo were a book of the Bible, it would be Revelation. The famously Baptist town is home to a large and handsome zoo, one that deserves the full name “zoological park.” Covering 52 acres along the Brazos River, the Cameron Park Zoo was relocated and renovated—transformed, really—in 1993,
Travel & Outdoors
September 30, 2000
Texas Zoo, Victoria
Victoria’s zoo includes only critters native to the state, many of them threatened or endangered. But the hundred or so different species represent a surprisingly diverse spectrum of the animal kingdom, and when I visited on a peaceful August weekday, the residents were all out and about, clearly enjoying the
Travel & Outdoors
September 30, 2000
San Antonio Zoo
Since 1929 the San Antonio Zoo has charmed every Texan within a hundred-mile radius. To avoid the Saturday and Sunday throngs, try arriving first thing in the morning during the week before the school groups (and remember, there’s no law saying you have to take your own kids). The lack
Travel & Outdoors
September 30, 2000
Houston Zoo
I nominate the Houston Zoo, the state’s most popular, for a most-improved award. In addition to the vast new children’s-zoo area, which opens this month, many new walkways and viewing platforms make it more appealing than ever. The zoo is 78 years old, and many of its exhibits were designed
Texas Primer
September 30, 2000
Frank Buck
How many monkeys did Frank Buck capture?
Travel & Outdoors
September 30, 2000
El Paso Zoo
Kudus—I mean kudos—to the landscapers and horticulturists at the El Paso Zoo. Their careful plantings, which manage to block sun but not wind, helped make a midsummer visit almost cool. Still, baking visitors gratefully entered the indoor displays: In the nocturnal exhibit, my friend Isela gazed for a long time
Travel & Outdoors
September 30, 2000
Austin Zoo
The fledgling Austin Zoo is basically a big, no-frills barnyard full of exotic jungle beasts as well as miscellaneous domestic breeds. Situated on the city’s southwestern edge, it started out in 1992 as a petting zoo for small fry and has since expanded to include 106 species, from Shetland ponies
Book Review
August 31, 2000
The Devils Tiger
Texas novels come in all stripes, but leave it to veteran writer Robert Flynn of San Antonio to introduce the species of the tiger tale to this neck of the woods. Collaborating with the late Dan Klepper, Flynn has released The Devils Tiger, a wild story about a Russian veterinarian
Feature
August 31, 2000
Scholarship: Jacques Barzun
Man of the centuries.
Texas Primer
August 31, 2000
Charley Pride
Which professional sport did Charley Pride play?
Feature
August 31, 2000
Theater: Roger Horchow
A Tony guy.
Book Review
July 31, 2000
The Eye of Horus
Set largely during the reign of King Tutankhamen, this treasure-filled mystery will have other writers regretfully murmuring, “Tut, tut.” The third novel by Austin’s Carol Thurston, it brims with mummies, gods, and pharaohs, providing a mega-fix for Egyptophiles and a great read for everyone else. The Eye of Horus begins
Texas Primer
July 31, 2000
Herman and George R. Brown
How much money has the Brown Foundation given away since 1951?
Book Review
June 30, 2000
Hot Books
If time, money, or other constraints prevent you from answering the call of the open road this summer, you can still take a long trip—at least vicariously—with Larry McMurtry. Roads, his latest effort, is a look at America’s highways, and in a way, a larger-scale version of In a Narrow
Texas Primer
June 30, 2000
Ginger Rogers
In what movie was Ginger Rogers first paired with Fred Astaire?
The Culture
June 30, 2000
E’er Heads
I think, therefore iamb: My personal tour of the history of bad Texas poetry, from best to versed, prose to cons.
Texas Primer
May 31, 2000
Dennis and Randy Quaid
What is the one movie that Dennis and Randy Quaid appeared in together?
Book Review
May 31, 2000
World of Pies
Some authors dream up bizarre murders and other aberrations to thicken their plots. World of Pies proves that even the simplest of stories can leave readers fully satisfied. The first novel by Austinite Karen Stolz, World of Pies is about coming of age in a small Texas town—specifically
Music
April 30, 2000
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Who was Stevie Ray Vaughan's musical role model?
Book Review
April 1, 2000
A Twist at the End: A Novel of O. Henry
HI, SAYLOR Austin’s grisly past.IN AUSTIN IN 1885 the talk of the town was the series of unsolved ax murders of eight people — most of them maids or young mothers — by unknown fiends who were dubbed the Servant Girl Annihilators. Today Steven Saylor’s fictional take on the crimes
Feature
April 1, 2000
Can Doodle
From the fabulous, furry Gilbert Shelton to the hypercaffeinated Shannon Wheeler, these celebrated Texas cartoonists will surely draw you in.
Texas Primer
March 1, 2000
Santa Anna
What chewable confection did Santa Anna help invent?
Book Review
March 1, 2000
The Runner
books by Christopher Reich and Jay Brandon
Feature
March 1, 2000
Mission Collectible
Cuff links? A commemorative plate? For Alamo hobbyists like me, rule number one is, Never surrender or retreat from the chance to snag a few iconic tchotchkes.
Book Review
February 1, 2000
The House of Gentle Men
In this quaintly addictive tale, the house of the title is a sort of anti-bordello for women, where the male residents provide lovelorn ladies not with sex but with solace, sweetness, and romance. The adroitness with which Kathy Hepinstall carries off this surreal premise is all the more impressive given
Arts & Entertainment
February 1, 2000
Alvin Ailey
Which Oscar-winner did Alvin Ailey act alongside in the play Call Me by My Rightful Name ?
Book Review
January 1, 2000
Gypsy Songman
Gypsy Songman (Woodford Press) is the 57-year odyssey of Ronald Clyde Crosby from Oneonta, New York, to Austin, Texas, with whistle-stops for rowdy intoxication, music-making, and, ultimately, sobriety and happiness. You might know him as Jerry Jeff Walker. Précis: He lived it up, he’s living it down. by Mike Shea
Book Review
January 1, 2000
Art of the Boot
Tyler Beard is Texas’—and thus the world’s—top authority on Western wear, and his latest tome is this kicky compendium on the sole of the American West. The author, who lives on a ranch near Goldthwaite, tracks the history of the cowboy boot, tips his hat to 28 custom bootmakers around
Feature
January 1, 2000
Annie, Get Your Gals!
Various specimens of that celebrated species, the Texas woman, captured on film by photographer Annie Leibovitz, who used to be one herself.
Texas Primer
December 1, 1999
December 1899
How much did baby shoes cost in Texas in December 1899?
Texas Primer
November 1, 1999
Mickey Leland
DURING THE SIXTIES AND SEVENTIES, emotional issues abounded—civil rights, the Vietnam War, women’s liberation. But what outraged social activist Mickey Leland the most was hunger, and the fact that it existed in his own Houston neighborhood. Early on, Leland’s passion for helping the common people catapulted him into the spotlight.
Texana
September 30, 1999
Dead Beat
For an outing that’ll make you go stark graving mad, visit Texas’ peaceful old cemeteries—and experience the esprit de corpse.
Movies
September 30, 1999
The UT Tower
The University of Texas Tower figured in which movies?
Texas Primer
August 31, 1999
Eric Dickerson
Why was Eric Dickerson nicknamed Mr. Benny?
Books
August 31, 1999
Books: Louis Sachar
Children’s writes.
Art
August 31, 1999
Photography: Kate Breakey
Artist of the portrait.
Texas Primer
July 31, 1999
Sharon Tate
On which two sitcoms did Sharon Tate have a guest-starring role?