Reproduction of the original: Brann The Iconoclast by William Cowper Brann

"They wouldn't let him rest—even in his grave." Thus Charles Carver opens his story of the climactic years of a journalist who had poured out such blazing prose that readers from England to Hawaii mourned his murder. The impact of William Cowper Brann's Iconoclast upon the town of Waco, Texas, in the 1890's was like a rocket burst in a quiet sky. Rebelling against Victorian hypocrisy, the newspaperman took aim at organized virtue, exemplified for him by Baylor University and other Baptist organizations. Dr. Roy Bedichek, noted author and naturalist, knew Brann, and after reading this book in manuscript said, "I am at once delighted and disappointed: disappointed to find my teen-age hero reduced to size... delighted with the art of the biographer.... It has genuine literary excellence... is a chapter in the history of the publishing business in Texas that needs to be put into print...."

The story of Waco's modern era starts with a disaster and ends with rebirth. In 1953, a record-setting tornado swept through the city's downtown, killing 114 people and destroying a century's worth of original buildings. From the devastation came an ambitious urban renewal project, an explosion in suburban developments, and several cycles of waning and revitalization in the downtown area. Baylor University's steady growth in academic excellence and national exposure kept the city on the map. The images in this book detail the milestones and memories of a proud city founded in the 1840s, and they highlight achievements both personal and civic.

“A rendering of a deep and lasting friendship . . . Dozens of anecdotes about Sweets and Ivins and their rollicking adventures in cooking and eating.” —Denver Post You probably knew Molly Ivins as an unabashed civil libertarian who used her sharp wit and good ole Texas horse sense to excoriate political figures she deemed unworthy of our trust and respect. But did you also know that Molly was one helluva cook? And we’re not just talking chili and chicken-fried steak, either. Molly Ivins honed her culinary skills on visits to France, often returning with perfected techniques for saumon en papillote or delectable clafouti aux cerises. Friends who had the privilege of sharing Molly’s table got not only a heaping helping of her insights into the political shenanigans of the day, but also a mouth-watering meal, prepared from scratch with the finest ingredients. In Stirring It Up with Molly Ivins, her longtime friend, fellow reporter, and frequent sous-chef Ellen Sweets takes us into the kitchen with Molly and introduces us to the private woman behind the public figure. She serves up her own and others’ favorite stories about Ivins as she recalls the fabulous meals they shared, complete with recipes for thirty-five of Molly’s signature dishes. Friends who ate with Molly knew a cultured woman who was a fluent French speaker, voracious reader, rugged outdoors aficionado, music lover, loyal and loving friend, and surrogate mom to many of her friends’ children, as well as to her super-spoiled poodle. They also came to revere the courageous woman who refused to let cancer stop her from doing what she wanted, when she wanted. This is the Molly you’ll be delighted to meet in Stirring It Up with Molly Ivins. “Ms. Sweets’s anecdotes about the cast of characters who roundtabled Ms. Ivins’s home are as satisfying as the Texas pistol’s concoctions.” ―The Wall Street Journal

For much of the mid-twentieth-century, Amon G. Carter Sr. was the man who invented the cowboy at least the larger-than-life Texas version that captured the imagination of the public, presidents, movie stars, and moguls. Carter donned his cowboy persona to build Fort Worth, from the Star-Telegram up, and much of the rest of West Texas. Jerry Flemmons brings to life the mythic huckster and newspaper giant who ushered the likes of Gary Cooper, Charles Lindbergh, Will Rogers, and Ike through the back door of his Fort Worth mansion and feted them at his Shady Oak Farm with rodeos and parties.

Ministry is a memoir both ugly and captivating, revealing Al Jourgensen as a man who lived a hard life his own way without making compromises. He survived prolonged drug addiction -- twenty-two years of chronic heroin, cocaine, and alcohol abuse, to be more precise -- before cleaning up, straightening out, and finding new reasons to live. During his career, Jourgensen has engaged in all of the rock 'n' roll clich's regarding decadence and debauchery and invented new forms of previously unachieved nihilism. Despite this and his addictions, he created seven seminal albums, including the bonafide, hugely influential classic The Land of Rape and Honey, 1989's The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste, and 1992's blockbuster Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed. Ministry imparts the epic life of Al Jourgensen, a survivor who tempted fate, beat the odds, persevered, and put the pieces back together after unraveling completely.