The myriad of social changes in the world since the 1830s are often best reflected in our schools. When Harris County was formed, support for public education was far from universal. Many of the earliest schools were organized by German immigrants, and it took carpetbaggers and Reconstruction to bring about public schools as we know them today. A Fire to Kindle sheds light on the realities of segregation, school property taxes, bilingual education, and the impact of wartime on our...

116-year old Rube Wingo recounts another half century of his remarkable life, beginning with a personal tragedy that compels him to leave New York City to pick up the pieces in Cincinnati. His friendships, new and rekindled, and his ill-fitting attempts to again find love surround his behind-the-scenes roles with baseball's oldest franchise and one of its newest ones - all amidst a backdrop of seismic changes in the game and in American society.At an age when most people are consid...

Will Ennis rules his sprawling plantation empire on the Texas prairie by holding his petty and capricious fist over a mix of sharecroppers and leased convicts. George Purdy is a tenant looking for a fair shake. Trouble feels inevitable.When murder inserts itself into the already brutal landscape, irascible defense attorney J.B. Duckworth aims to set things right, but the lawyer's mercurial scruples do not always sit well with his peers in the legal community at the start of the 190...

James Brockman rose from shady character to preeminent defense attorney in Houston, Texas representing clients including gang leaders, jilted spouses, wealthy storekeepers and drunken on-duty policemen. These high-profile true crime and murder accounts take place between 1895 and 1910. They cross racial lines, revealing instances of separate and unequal justice in segregated Texas that had a lasting effect on the city and the state. His career gained national recognition, including his inv...

Travel Texas history in the shoes of lesser-known people who illuminate big stories in our Lone Star past. This curated journey through an eclectic collection of Texas history ranges across five centuries. Find captivating stories in Texas politics, arts, labor, literature, agriculture, oil, ranching, sports, and civil rights. There are heartrending struggles and inspiring triumphs of will. Rousing successes and crying shames. From the high school gridiron to armed uprisings, from the stra...

When 116-year old Rube Wingo reflects back on the start of his life, he remembers a dirt-poor Southern boy who lived baseball and dreamed of future diamond greatness. His positivity landed him in the game all right, but not in the role he envisioned. When happenstance then brings Rube to the Polo Grounds in New York City in 1922, he jumps at the chance for a piece of the big leagues. One of his first assignments is the daunting task of keeping the great Babe Ruth on the straight and narrow...

Stand-Up Stories brings you tales that you will not find anywhere else, all told by someone who made a living headlining clubs across the country for 16 years. It is the ultimate insider's look backstage. The glimpses into the world of comedy will have you laughing out loud from cover to cover.The 1980s were the golden age of stand-up comedy, the first time that professional funny people from television came to stages in towns all across America. It was new. The comedy was...

Houston, we have a problem. The largest city in Texas has a wild west past filled with dodgy criminals and murderous madmen.When the Allen brothers sold Houston's first lots, the city became a magnet for enterprising tycoons and opportunistic crooks alike. As the young city grew, a scourge of crime and vice accompanied the success of oil and real estate. The Bayou City's seedy side—flashing Bowie knives, privileged bad boys, hardened prostitutes and unchecked seria...

Houston, we have a problem. The largest city in Texas has a wild west past filled with dodgy criminals and murderous madmen.When the Allen brothers sold Houston's first lots, the city became a magnet for enterprising tycoons and opportunistic crooks alike. As the young city grew, a scourge of crime and vice accompanied the success of oil and real estate. The Bayou City's seedy side—flashing Bowie knives, privileged bad boys, hardened prostitutes, and unchecked seri...

Meditate on the Spiritual Significance of MarriageIn the 20th Anniversary Edition of this Gold Medallion Award winner, Mike Mason goes on a poetic search to understand the wondrous dynamics of committed love. In highly readable, first-person style, Mason’s writing stimulates readers’ thoughts and prayers and propels couples to deeper intimacy. “A marriage is not a joining of two worlds,” says the author, “but an abandoning of two worlds in order that one new one mi...

For those who are weary of Christian cliché and compromise crowding out what was supposed to be good news, The Naked Gospel offers the fresh take on the story of Jesus you've been waiting for.As a university student, Andrew Farley found himself physically and emotionally addicted to street evangelism and Bible study. Yet despite his fervid behavior, he knew something was missing.That something was an understanding of the gospel that is stripped of ...

“Incredibly rich with wisdom and insight that will leave the reader, whether single or married, feeling uplifted.” —The Washington TimesBased on the acclaimed sermon series by New York Times bestselling author Timothy Keller, this book shows everyone—Christians, skeptics, singles, longtime married couples, and those about to be engaged—the vision of what marriage should be according to the Bible.Modern culture would have you believe that e...