Books
‘American Hate’ Author on Hate Crimes, Free Speech and Alex Jones
‘A Shout in the Ruins’ Contends with the South’s Violent History
Kevin Powers is intent on making us see that wars don’t so much start and stop as they generate and breed.
Recent years have brought a resurgent round of literary and cinematic attention to the brutality of slavery, drawing on the rich tradition of the slave narrativ...Read More
Chasing Tornadoes and Drama in ‘The Man Who Caught the Storm’
Dallas author Brantley Hargrove’s new biography of storm chaser Tim Samaras is a streamlined primer in tornado science — and a hell of a story.
At least he died doing what he loved. Brantley Hargrove doesn’t write a single sentence so crassly clichéd in The Man Who Caught the Storm. (He also doesn’...Read More
Author Michael Pollan on the Power and Promise of Psychedelics
A rigorous, nerdy, funny and deeply moving book, "How to Change Your Mind" makes a strong case that LSD and mushrooms can do just that.
I admit to feeling an illicit thrill when I opened Michael Pollan’s new book. The third page bears a stern disclaimer, warning that “This book relates the a...Read More
The Encyclopedic ‘Country Music USA’ Tells (Almost) the Whole Story
Laird does a masterful job of showing how, for many performers, the whole question of authenticity has become ridiculous.
Country music historian Bill C. Malone has lived to see the 50th anniversary reissue of his landmark book, Country Music USA. Fellow scholar Tracey E. W. Laird ...Read More
A Masterful New History Explores the Contradictions and Complexities of Ciudad Juárez
Oscar J. Martínez’s new book pushes back against the historical amnesia, toxic politics and stereotyping that have shrouded the city for decades.
A visit to Ciudad Juárez this spring quickly revealed the swirling contradictions in this turbulent city across the Rio Grande from El Paso. I saw crowded rest...Read More
The Ghosts of Abandoned Texas Buildings Rise Up in an Eerie New Photo Book
"Lost, Texas" features starkly beautiful photos of once-thriving rural Texas towns.
The Ghosts of Abandoned Texas Buildings Rise Up in an Eerie New Photo Book “Lost, Texas” features starkly beautiful photos of once-thriving rural Te...Read More
Troubled Waters: New Book Plunges into Texas’ Convoluted Water Law
Seamus McGraw's reporting tour de force goes beyond policy and history by trying to understand the perverse incentives that drive decision-making.
In 2009, the Williams family began an almost decade-long battle over whether the water beneath their land is theirs to do with as they please. Claytie and Jeff ...Read More
How a Texas Author Learned to Love Cockroaches (and Other Tales of Off-Putting Creatures)
Clinton Crockett Peters’ fondness for unpopular species may well temper some of our deepest prejudices.
For Clinton Crockett Peters, the first formative experience with wildlife would strike at a young age. Six years old and living briefly on North Padre Island, h...Read More
Jorge Ramos’ New Book, ‘Stranger,’ is a Journalist’s Manifesto
"We have to be on the opposite side of power, regardless of who is in the White House, a Democrat or a Republican.”
When Mexican-American journalist Jorge Ramos went mano a mano against then-presidential candidate Donald Trump in an Iowa press conference in 2015, he didn’t ...Read More