The long arm of the law is getting longer every day—and reaching into the Capitol.
Texas football heroes Darrell Royal, Doak Walker, Sammy Baugh, and John David Crow are off the field, but they’re still having a ball.
Texas high school football may be in decline, but filmmakers still want to play.
Rock and Country music met in Austin. That friendship may make the state.
Jan Reid|
January 20, 2013
One year ago tejano star Emilio Navaira was nearly killed in a tour bus accident outside Houston. What are we still learning about the experimental medical procedure that may have saved his life?
Country, jazz, blues, R&B, polka, and conjunto—the late, great Doug Sahm was a walking encyclopedia of Texas music. An exclusive excerpt from a new biography explores how he stirred it all together and found his own sound in his first great song.
It took two decades of shows at honky-tonks filled with frat-boy fans and Aggie admirers, but singer-songwriter Robert Earl Keen has his first major-label record deal.
After he was shot by a Mexico City cab driver—and told that he might be paralyzed—Jan Reid was flown to Houston, where Dr. Red Duke and a team of therapists literally got him back on his feet. In an excerpt from his forthcoming memoir, The Bullet Meant for Me, Reid
Feature|
January 20, 2013
Ten years ago I was shot in Mexico City by a street thug who wanted to kill me. Since then, I’ve endured unbelievable pain and learned how to walk again, and I’m thankful for what I have: a new outlook on life, time with my family, and a chance to
Letter From Houston|
December 1, 2006
When Sam Hassenbusch was diagnosed with a deadly form of brain cancer, the only saving grace was his own history of treating the very same affliction.
She was our governor, but she was my friend.
My Wichita Falls High School reunion inevitably got me thinking about the passage of time but also about memories that endure. And, of course, football.
Richard Garriott wants to experience space travel because it would be cool—and because his dad did.
Feature|
December 1, 2005
All I know for certain about religion is that the one my mother tried so hard to pass on to me just didn’t take.
Can one of the state’s best writers change modern medicine as we know it? Abraham Verghese hopes so—one story at a time.
You probably know that Tom DeLay spearheaded the massive—and massively controversial— congressional redistricting effort that tied Texas legislators in knots for one regular and three special sessions. What you probably don’t know is how he did it. Herein lies a tale.
If you want to understand the shift in political power that has taken place in Texas over the past thirty years—from rural areas to the new suburbs, from Democratic control to Republican dominance—you'll hardly find a better case study than Tom DeLay's Sugar Land.
The Improbable Rise of Redneck Rock rises again.
Cynthia Ann Parker was nine when a Comanche snatched her from her East Texas home in 1836. Yet throughout her life as her captor's wife she remained strong, brave, and devoted to her husband and children. Which is to say, she was the original Texas woman.
Why the mighty Rio Grande isn't so mighty anymore: a twisted tale of international politics, water rights, and environmental reality (with a drought thrown in for good measure).
Growing up in Wichita Falls, I was a skinny kid with buckteeth and a girl's name, so I got into my share of fights. To improve my odd's of winning-and turn my anger and fear into bravery and skill-I learned to box.
The 58-year-old banker and oilman from Laredo is enormously wealthy, has impeccable Texas roots, and–best of all–is Hispanic. Sounds like the Democrats' dream candidate, right? Maybe.
He has moved from pig skin to pork sausage, but he's still trying to score.
Forty years after it was published, Billy Lee Brammer's novel about LBJ-era Austin is still one of the best ever written about American politics. Yet just as interesting is the story of Brammer himself.
In this corner, convicted rapist Tony Ayala of San Antonioonce a rising star of pro boxing, now an ex-convict on the road to redemption. And in this corner, his pastthe toughest opponent he's ever faced.
Meet El Paso novelist James Carlos Blake, who writes critically acclaimed literary westerns with lots of violence but few female characters. Sound familiar?
Music|
September 30, 1998
Twenty years ago, he was inspired by the redneck rock of Steve Fromholz and Guy Clark. On his new album, he says thanks.
He may soon compete for the super featherweight championship of the world, but for now Austin boxer Jesus Chavez is in the fight of his life—with federal immigration officials.
With his resounding voice and striking appearance, Austin’s Malford Milligan stands out in a sea of Texas soul singers.
Willie Nelson may not be a radio staple anymore, but a new tribute album recorded by some of rock’s coolest stars shows that his music is still moving to them.
There’s black gold in the South American rain forest—lots of it. Can the oil companies get it out without ruining the jungle and the way of life of the Indians who live there? The perils of drilling in the heart of darkness.
The Tiny town of Mullin adopted its high school football heroes in more ways than one. These foster children and native sons had the time of their lives playing in the Super Bowl of six-man football.
Macho fiction.
If the literary novel is dead, then why is Baskerville Publishers in Dallas flourishing?
Jimmy LaFave’s great new CD might propel him from Austin to the big time—if that were what he wanted.
The Secret Service lost a good man in the Oklahoma blast—and I lost an old friend.
New York fireman Bill Groneman is disputing a critical piece of Alamo lore—and historians everywhere are burning mad.
Jennifer Harbury’s career as a lawyer in Texas was the prelude to her front-page fight with the U.S. intelligence community.
For twenty seasons Austin City Limits has been the elite soundstage of American popular music. And it keeps getting better.
In heavyweight boxing—and in the glare of media lights—it helps to be larger than life. Ask George Foreman, 1994’s comeback kid.
Riding the rapids of Texas’ last major unpolluted river is dangerous enough. But trample the private property around it and you could really get hurt.
By all rights, Oilers coach Jack Pardee should be the most respected Texan in football. Instead, his days may be numbered.
Bob Eckhardt left an indelible mark on Texas liberalism. At eighty, he looks back on his wins, losses, and wives.
Twenty years later, Jerry Jeff Walker returns to the town his music put on the map.
Tuff Hedeman was born in El Paso and raised on rodeo. Today he’s one the best bull riders in the world.
Five years ago, rabies was rare in South Texas. Now nearly three hundred animals have died and the epidemic is not abating.
For years he renounced his Texas ties. Now Larry McMurty is once again calling Archer City home.
Not long after she made her trek from Texas to New York, Marla Hanson saw her modeling career end at the hands of a razor-wielding thug. Six years later, the cuts on her face have healed, but the emotional wounds remain.
With bulldozers poised to plow through their family’s historic spread, three San Antonio sisters are waging war against the state department.