Fort Worth Stories is a collection of thirty-two bite-sized chapters of the city’s history. Did you know that the same day Fort Worth was mourning the death of beloved African American “Gooseneck Bill” McDonald, Dallas was experiencing a series of bombings in black neighborhoods? Or that Fort Worth almost got the largest statue to Robert E. Lee ever put up anywhere, sculpted by the same massive talent that created Mount Rushmore? Or that Fort Worth was once the candy-making capital of the Southwest and gave Hershey, Pennsylvania, a good run for its money as the sweet spot of the nation? A remarkable number of national figures have made a splash in Fort Worth, including Theodore Roosevelt while he was President; Vernon Castle, the Dance King; Dr. H.H. Holmes, America’s first serial killer; Harry Houdini, the escape artist; and Texas Guinan, star of the vaudeville stage and the big screen. Fort Worth Stories is illustrated with 50 photographs and drawings, many of them never before published. This collection of stories will appeal to all who appreciate the Cowtown city.

A History of Fort Worth in Black & White fills a long-empty niche on the Fort Worth bookshelf: a scholarly history of the city's black community that starts at the beginning with Ripley Arnold and the early settlers, and comes down to today with our current battles over education, housing, and representation in city affairs. The book's sidebars on some noted and some not-so-noted African Americans make it appealing as a school text as well as a book for the general reader. Using a wealth of primary sources, Richard Selcer dispels several enduring myths, for instance the mistaken belief that Camp Bowie trained only white soldiers, and the spurious claim that Fort Worth managed to avoid the racial violence that plagued other American cities in the twentieth century. Selcer arrives at some surprisingly frank conclusions that will challenge current politically correct notions.

Quijana is a girl in pieces. One-half Guatemalan, one-half American: When Quijana's Guatemalan cousins move to town, her dad seems ashamed that she doesn't know more about her family's heritage. One-half crush, one-half buddy: When Quijana meets Zuri and Jayden, she knows she's found true friends. But she can't help the growing feelings she has for Jayden. One-half kid, one-half grown-up: Quijana spends her nights Skyping with her ailing grandma and trying to figure out what's going on with her increasingly hard-to-reach brother. In the course of this immersive and beautifully written novel, Quijana must figure out which parts of herself are most important, and which pieces come together to make her whole. This lyrical debut from Rebecca Balcárcel is a heartfelt poetic portrayal of a girl growing up, fitting in, and learning what it means to belong.

In 1848 the York and Gilmore families stopped their covered wagons north of the Trinity River near present-day Fort Worth. A century and a half later, the settlement they founded is North Fort Worth, with a colorful history centered around livestock, tourism, and family life. After the Civil War, life often revolved around massive cattle drives passing through North Fort Worth. Later, stockyards were built and the meat packing industry boomed, attracting thousands of people from around the world - Austria, Greece, Russia, Mexico, and Poland. North Fort Worth is now incorporated within the city of Fort Worth and continues to contribute a unique history and atmosphere essential to one of Texas' most diverse and fascinating cities.

Aware that some may see the title of this volume as an oxymoron, James Ward Lee argues in his "Argumentative Introduction" that for more than a century Fort Worth writers have written well about a city too often dismissed as a semi-rural cow town. Writers have celebrated its world of cattle and oil, to be sure, but many have seen other sides of Fort Worth--the country club set, the literati, the artists and artisans, the musicians, the intellectuals, and the whole minority sub-culture that has given a cosmopolitan tone to the Queen City of the Prairies. Fort Worth is in many ways the most typical of Texas cities--proud of its slogan of "Cowtown and Culture." People mingle as easily at the new Bass Hall, with its world-class visiting entertainers and the Van Cliburn Piano Competition, as they do at the White Elephant Saloon or the Cowtown Coliseum. They visit a museum complex unrivalled anywhere in the world for a city Fort Worth's size, and they attend the Southwest Exposition and Livestock Show. Lee and Judy Alter, both Fort Worth residents and well-known writers themselves, found passages in novels, short stories, and poetry that caught the city's atmosphere and odd bits of its history. And they found that some of the best writing done about Cowtown is journalistic rather than what is usually considered literary. There are articles by current and former members of the staff of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and one particularly poignant piece about the last day of the old Fort Worth Press. Literary Fort Worth is a literary smorgasbord, with something to appeal to almost any reader's taste. And literary? You bet!

Fort Worth history is far more than the handful of familiar names that every true-blue Fort Worther hears growing up: leaders such as Amon Carter, B. B. Paddock, J. Frank Norris, and William McDonald. Their names are indexed in the history books for ready reference. But the drama that is Fort Worth history contains other, less famous characters who played important roles, like Judge James Swayne, Madam Mary Porter, and Marshal Sam Farmer: well known enough in their day but since forgotten. Others, like Al Hayne, lived their lives in the shadows until one, spectacular moment of heroism. Then there are the lawmen, Jim Courtright, Jeff Daggett, and Thomas Finch. They wore badges, but did not always represent the best of law and order. These seven plus five others are gathered together between the covers of this book. Each has a story that deserves to be told. If they did not all make history, they certainly lived in historic times. The jury is still out on whether they shaped their times or merely reflected those times. Either way, their stories add new perspectives to the familiar Fort Worth story, revealing how the law worked in the old days and what life was like for persons of color and for women living in a man's world. As the old TV show used to say, "There are a million stories in the 'Naked City.'" There may not be quite as many stories in Cowtown, but there are plenty waiting to be told--enough for future volumes of Fort Worth Characters. But this is a good starting point.

“Brimming with scandal and an equal amount of heart…a sweeping yet intimate look at the lives of some of history’s most notorious figures from Vanderbilts to the Prince of Wales… A must-read.”—Chanel Cleeton, New York Times bestselling author of When We Left Cuba and Next Year in Havana “Bryn Turnbull takes a story we think we know and turns it on its head, with captivating results… A beautifully written, meticulously researched and altogether memorable debut.”—Jennifer Robson, USA TODAY bestselling author of The Gown For fans of The Paris Wife and The Crown, this stunning novel tells the true story of the American divorcée who captured Prince Edward’s heart before he abdicated his throne for Wallis Simpson. In the summer of 1926, when Thelma Morgan marries Viscount Duke Furness after a whirlwind romance, she’s immersed in a gilded world of extraordinary wealth and privilege. For Thelma, the daughter of an American diplomat, her new life as a member of the British aristocracy is like a fairy tale—even more so when her husband introduces her to Edward, Prince of Wales. In a twist of fate, her marriage to Duke leads her to fall headlong into a love affair with Edward. But happiness is fleeting, and their love is threatened when Thelma’s sister, Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt, becomes embroiled in a scandal with far-reaching implications. As Thelma sails to New York to support Gloria, she leaves Edward in the hands of her trusted friend Wallis, never imagining the consequences that will follow. Bryn Turnbull takes readers from the raucous glamour of the Paris Ritz and the French Riviera to the quiet, private corners of St. James’s Palace in this sweeping story of love, loyalty and betrayal. Looking for more sweeping historical fiction? Don't miss Bryn Turnbull's new novel. The Last Grand Duchess takes readers behind palace walls to see the end of Imperial Russia through the eyes of Olga Romanov, the first daughter of the last Tsar.

This work offers a new look at the history of Fort Worth. The history of this people includes the stories of early Mexicanos, escaping the hardships of the Mexican revolution, to the attempts of second generation Mexican-Americans to assimilate to their political voice and freedoms.

With breathtaking color photography and absorbing historical detail, Carolyn Brown and J'Nell Pate tell the story of the Fort Worth Stockyards, the place that earned the city the nickname "Cowtown." From the rise of the stockyards as a vital railhead for the ranching industry through the postwar decline and rebirth as a National Historic District, first-time visitors and long-time acquaintances will find this chronicle engaging and enjoyable. Brown and Pate accompany readers through the early days of settlement, the cattle drives that saw thousands of head of livestock going up the trail through what was then little more than a frontier outpost, and the rising tide of industry that accompanied the arrival of the railroads. Continuing after World War II when the changes in the livestock industry led to decline of their importance, the stockyards, once a bustling, vital part of the regional culture and economy, fell into slow decay. In 1976, citizens banded together to create a National Historic District. Today, the Fort Worth Stockyards attract thousands of visitors from all over the world with restaurants, entertainment venues, and the world's only twice-daily longhorn cattle drive along East Exchange Avenue. Brown's lens captures the vibrancy of today's stockyards while Pate's research depicts the drama of the area's rise, fall, and rebirth. The Historic Fort Worth Stockyards provides a visual and factual tour of an unforgettable place where heritage is celebrated and preserved.

Although the details fade with time, our memory of the location doesn't change substantially - the way the place looked, our sense of how people used it or the feelings it evoked. In reality, though, things do change whether the alterations involve only minor details or major changes to the landscape and buildings.".