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Don Graham

63 Articles

Books|
January 20, 2013

Katherine the Great

Indian Creek native Katherine Anne Porter is the finest author ever to come out of Texas. But only recently has her home state stopped writing her off.

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Books|
January 20, 2013

Writers Bloc

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.

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Books|
January 20, 2013

Pen Pals

Dobie, Bedichek, and Webb were the leading Texas writers and intellectuals of their age. But as ribald raconteurs, they were ahead of their time.

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Books|
January 20, 2013

Expatriate Act

While some Texas-born writers had to leave home to do their best work, for John Graves the reverse was true.

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Books|
January 20, 2013

Catcher in the Raw

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.

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Books|
January 20, 2013

Nation State

Does anyone outside of Texas care about Texas history? H. W. Brands hopes so, and he's not the only one.

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Books|
July 31, 2011

Gunfire and Brimstone

Fort Worth preacher J. Frank Norris paved the way for today’s televangelists. But he’s probably best known as the defendant in a wild 1927 murder trial.

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Books|
May 31, 2011

The Book of Elmer

Texas Christian University Press, long the hub of Elmer Kelton hagiography, has just released its newest paterikon, Elmer Kelton: Essays and Memories ($19.95), a collection of pieces written in honor of the beloved West Texas author, who died nearly two years ago. Among the memories are those of the Reverend

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Books|
November 1, 2004

Accentuate The Negative

To read a Patricia Highsmith novel is to suspend one’s moral judgments. She irresistibly persuades us to side with killers and other amoral characters.

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Don Graham|
July 31, 2004

White Like Me

Growing up in segregated Collin County, I was oblivious to the impact of Jim Crow—until I read John Howard Griffin's American classic.

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Film & TV|
December 1, 2003

Alamo Heights

So much is at stake that we almost—almost—believe the release date of Disney's epic-to-be was delayed from Christmas Day to April for the reasons the studio claims. But given the way historical movies usually turn out, can you blame us for smirking?

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Books|
April 30, 2003

Not Moving On

Fifteen years after Larry McMurtry announced he was through writing novels, he shows no sign of letting up. For this we should be thankful.

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Books|
January 1, 2003

Master Class

No one took the literature of Texas or the Southwest seriously until J. Frank Dobie put it, and us, on the map.

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Politics & Policy|
December 1, 2002

The Secret History

Did Richard King cheat his partner's heirs out of a chunk of the King Ranch nearly 120 years ago? He may have—and if the Texas Supreme Court permits Chapman v. King Ranch, Inc., to go to trial, the past could come back to haunt the state's most storied spread.

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News & Politics|
April 30, 2002

Giant

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.

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The Culture|
February 1, 2002

Mission: Impossible

Rumor has it that director Ron Howard and screenwriter John Sayles are coming to Austin this spring to make a $100 million movie about the Alamo. It may be too much to ask that they get Texas' defining battle right (since no one knows what really happened), but I've got

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Web Exclusive|
January 1, 2002

Now That’s Comedy

What's so funny about an oilman, a rancher, a golfer, and a carnival hobo? Watch the following top ten funniest Texas movies to find out why these main characters (and others) are so hilarious.

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Books|
December 1, 2000

The Sportswriter

Confessions of a Washed-up Sportswriter (Including Various Digressions About Sex, Crime, and Other Hobbies.)

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Books|
September 30, 2000

The Pits

The problem with Mary Karr's latest confessional memoir, Cherry, is that she won't stop confessing.

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Feature|
March 1, 2000

Wayne’s World

A flood, a fire, a car accident, a murder, and of course, a restaging of the battle for Texas’ independence: scenes from the making of The Alamo.

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