With his signature Texas flag painted on his helmet, Johnny "J.R." Rutherford captured the hearts of racing fans all over the world during his stellar three-decade-long career. A versatile driver, he is world renowned for his record-breaking successes in the ultra-competitive world of Indy and Sprint cars. In Lone Star J.R., Johnny himself takes us on an exciting drive through his life and gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the racing world. Born in Coffeyville, Kansas in 1938, John Sherman Rutherford III did his duty in the U.S. Marine Corps for six years before beginning his legendary racing career in Texas. After overcoming a serious accident in 1966, in which he suffered two broken arms, he began to achieve his greatest success. J.R. relives his historic Indianapolis 500 wins (in 1974, 1976, and 1980) and explains the allure and excitement of racing in this personal look back at his storied racing career.

“Traverses Texas, finding evidence of the hard boiled, sultry, and disreputable throughout the state . . . Think of the book as a sort of criminal travelogue.” —Booklist If everything is bigger in Texas, then that includes the boldness of the criminals who call the state home. From large urban centers to the Cajun Gulf coast, there is big money to be made running guns, drugs, and catering to the greedy and disillusioned. Each distinctive region can claim its own special brand of outlaw. In Lone Star Noir, you’ll find stories by James Crumley, Joe R. Lansdale, Claudia Smith, Ito Romo, Luis Alberto Urrea, David Corbett, George Wier, Sarah Cortez, Jesse Sublett, Dean James, Tim Tingle, Milton T. Burton, Lisa Sandlin, Jessica Powers, and Bobby Byrd. “This isn’t J.R. Ewing’s Lone Star State. This is the Texas of chicken shit bingo, Enron scamsters, and a feeling that what happens in Mexico stays in Mexico . . . So what defines Texas noir? Who knows, but you better pray that blood doesn’t stain your belt buckle.” —The Austin Chronicle

A biography of Connally's life includes his twenty years of political power, his return to Texas and riches, and then bankruptcy.

From the clash of college to the best married shooting duo in history, the Lone Star State clears every hurdle the sports world offers. A former Texas Christian basketball player became the first tenured African American professor at Harvard Business School. Aggie football legend John Kimbrough's first professional contract required him to act in movies and serve as the stadium's handyman. For every date on the calendar, Ryan Sprayberry provides a play-by-play of 365 memorable days in the state's athletic history, beginning with the birth of the Cotton Bowl on January 1, 1937, and ending with the final snap of the Ice Bowl on December 31, 1967.