For the first half of the twentieth century, Texas literature, culture, and folklore were dominated by J. Frank Dobie, the man Lon Tinkle called “Mr. Texas.” Dobie’s Texas was a land of exuberance and romance, a time when Texas was proud of itself and not loath to let the world know it. But the culture of the state changed in the 1960s, and the figure who replaced Dobie as the dominant Texas writer and literary icon was Larry McMurtry. The Texas of Larry McMurtry is a far different landscape. The old certainties were replaced by irony and cultural revolution. The high, wide, and handsome posture of Texans was muted by politics, student unrest, and war. In the first two essays in this volume—“The Age of Dobie” and “The Age of McMurtry”—James Ward Lee places the writers, the politicians, and the cultural leaders in the context of each age. Subsequent chapters discuss writers and trends in Texas literature. Lee discusses long-standing arguments about Texas literature and surveys bodies of work that have had an impact on it. Another part of the book looks at Texas folklore and culture. “The Uses of Folklore,” “The Folkways of the Arklatex,” “Texas: Land of Legends and Myths,” and “The Texas Sidekick” all study the way Texans live and work and see the world. The final section of the book is made up of some personal essays by a man whose ideas and attitudes are sometimes odd but always humorous. Lee writes of the life he has led in Texas as a college professor and takes a backward look at his life from boyhood to service in the U.S. Navy.

Adventures with a Texas Humanist

Biographies & Memoirs

Lee, James Ward

Community & Culture

TCU Press

Texas Country Singers contains brief biographies of twenty-seven Texas singers. The artists chosen are traditional country singers like Ernest Tubb, Lefty Frizzell, Hank Thompson, Willie Nelson, and Ray Price. The authors have not included rockabilly artists, modern country-pop singers, singers of local or regional reputation, or singers of purely western songs. The twenty-seven singers are Texas born, admittedly an artificial discrimination, but one made necessary by the size of these small books. The authors include some almost forgotten names like Vernon Dalhart, the earliest Texas country singer to make a national name, and Moon Mullican, a singer/pianist who influenced Jerry Lee Lewis and other piano playing singers. Fans with long memories won’t forget Adolph Hofner, Tommy Duncan, Milton Brown, and Stuart Hamblen (who once came in fourth in a race for president of the United States). And everyone still remembers Gene Autry, Jim Reeves, Tex Ritter, Buck Owens, Waylon Jennings, Tanya Tucker, Lee Ann Womack, and the contemporary king of Texas country, George Strait. Each sketch includes the best-known songs, as well as the awards and honors each earned.

Texas Country Singers (Texas Small Books)

Fry, Phil

Arts & Literature

Set primarily during the early 1940s, A Texas Jubilee is a collection of short stories about life in fictional Bodark Springs, Texas. Through these stories, author Jim Lee paints a humorous picture of the politics, friendships, and secrets that are part of day-to-day life in this eccentric little Texas town. Stories like “Rock-ola” and “Pink-Petticoat” reveal secrets and raise questions about many of the town’s more colorful characters. Will Grady Dell reunite with his lost love, Eva? Is there a connection between Edna Earle Morris’s murder and her mysterious visit from Jesus? Other stories like “Navy, Blue, and Gold” highlight the ways that World War II is causing life to change for everyone in the town. Young Tommy Earl Dell and Fred Hallmark now spend their afternoons staring at the pictures of boys from Eastis County on the Gold Star shelf in the power company's window, dreaming of the day when they will be old enough to join the army. Townspeople now hold their breaths any time John Ed Hallmark, the town’s official messenger, drives his “Chariot of Death” up the street to deliver the news to one of his neighbors that a brother, son, or husband is not coming home from war. Although the pace of life in this small town is slow, there is never a dull moment in A Texas Jubilee. From the first to last page, readers will be constantly entertained by the exotic and unexpected in this imaginative collection of tales. A Texas Jubilee includes a preface by Jeff Guinn.

A Texas Jubilee: Thirteen Stories from the Lone Star State

Literature & Fiction

Humor & Satire

The Girls of the Golden West

The Girls of the Golden West tells the tale of ninety-five-year-old John Quincy Adams the Second (no relation to the famous historic figure), who meets a graduate student named Annie Baxter and agrees to help her write a history of the culture of the South by sharing his experiences through the decades. The redheaded Annie looks just like Liz Denney, one of John Q.’s old lovers, which immediately endears her to him. After welcoming Annie to the small, fictional town of Bodark Springs, he shares hours of stories on Annie’s tape recorder, with little prompting along the way. John Q.’s memories follow histories of love and jealousy, misunderstanding and murder, giving a picture not only of Bodark Springs, but also of Texas. Meanwhile, John Q.’s inner dialogue reveals secrets of his own, including the long months he disappeared in order to protect his family from a deadly threat. Author James Ward Lee easily carries readers through this humorous cultural pilgrimage of the West. While John Q.’s pace of life is slow, his mind is razor sharp and keeps readers on their toes, waiting for his next harmlessly bawdy joke or flare of seriousness. The Girls of the Golden West is ultimately a story of finding love for other people and for one’s homeland. From the first moment John Q. bemoans opening his door for nosy townsfolk, readers come face-to-face with a blend of wisdom and fun that will keep them coming back for more.

Literary

Texas Christian University Press

Soft cover; Fine; Signed by Author; No Dust Jacket; 102 pp. In absolute pristine condition! This is the limited slipcase edition, SIGNED AND NUMBERED BY THE AUTHOR, this being #61 of 135 copies. It also comes with a laid in, tissue protected, newspaper article about the book and its author. The author is a former president of the Texas Folklore Society and is well known around the state for his humorous speeches and articles, many of which are included in this book. This limited edition volume is from the library of Texas State Historian Al Lowman.

Texas My Texas

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Diets & Weight Loss

Univ of North Texas Pr

Classics of Texas Fiction

United States

E Heart Pr

9293--Author of Adventures with a Texas Humanist and Texas, My Texas

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Lee, James Ward. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Lee, James Ward

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Lee, James Ward. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Adventures with a Texas Humanist

Texas Country Singers (Texas Small Books)

A Texas Jubilee: Thirteen Stories from the Lone Star State

The Girls of the Golden West

The Girls of the Golden West

Texas My Texas

Classics of Texas Fiction

Classics of Texas Fiction