Lone Star Splash: From the Past In the Lone Star State, during the era of segregation, competitive swimming and diving for both boys and girls were introduced in four black high schools. These four black high schools competed in the first district swimming meet at Central High School in Galveston, Texas, in the spring of 1955. Over a thirteen-year period, performances in every event improved significantly. In 1966, the last season prior to integration, seven teams competed for district and state honors. Phillis Wheatley of Houston claimed the first three district championships, followed by Jack Yates, who won five consecutive championships. Booker T. Washington High School of Houston claimed the last five district championships and three state championships. Both boys and girls competed for the city/district championships in the four competitive strokes plus fancy diving. Many individuals who competed in the high school programs earned collegiate swimming scholarships at HBCU all over America.

Prior to 1922, one of Santa Fe, New Mexico's, most colorful and famous residents was Charles Angelo Siringo (1855-1928), popularly known as "the cowboy detective." Siringo's experiences as the quintessential cowboy and determined detective helped romanticize the West and its myth of the American cowboy.

“The cement slabs and decaying fountains obscured by vegetation at the site of Camp Hearne echo a time forgotten of a bustling city of nearly 5,000 men brought together by world conflict.” The oral histories, archival research, and archaeological data compiled by author Michael Waters and his team of researchers tells the story of 5,000 German soldiers held as prisoners of war in rural Texas during World War II. Camp Hearne, located on the outskirts of Hearne, Texas, was one of the first and largest POW camps in the United States. Between 1943 and 1945 nearly 50,000 German prisoners, mostly from the German Afrika Korps lived and worked at seventy POW camps across Texas. The story of Camp Hearne told here offers the first in-depth look at one of these camps and includes an archaeological study of the treatment and conditions of the German prisoners. Drawing on newspaper accounts and official records from the time, and the recollections of surviving POWs, guards, and local residents, Waters and his team have constructed a detailed description of life in the camp: educational opportunities, recreation, mail call, religious practices, work details, and the food provided. Also revealed are the more serious issues that faced the Americans inside the POW compounds: illegal alcohol distillation, suicides, escapes, hidden secret shortwave radios, and the subversion of postal services. Fascinating artifacts recovered from the site and from the collections of local residents add concrete details. Waters also discusses the national policies and motivations for the treatment of prisoners that prescribed the particulars of camp life. The shadow world of Nazism in the camp is revealed, adding darkness to a story that is otherwise optimistic and in places humorous. The most sinister and brutal example of Nazi activity was the murder of Corporal Hugo Krauss, a German-born New York–raised volunteer in the German army. Captured in North Africa after service in Russia, Krause was attacked seven months later by six to ten fellow prisoners and beaten with clubs, nail–studded boards and a lead pipe. The dramatic recounting of the murder and the ensuing investigation illustrate much about the underlying political tensions of camp existence. This book makes a unique and notable contribution to Texas history. The narrative is enriched by numerous photographs and drawings. It will engage those interested in Texas history and World War II and hold particular interest for avocational and professional historical archaeologists.

Two classic novels of the frontier, by Zane Grey, one of America's most celebrated Western storytellers The Lone Star Ranger Buck Duane, gunfighter, was offered a pardon by Captain Mac Kelly of the Texas Rangers, on one condition: Take down the local Chelsedine gang. Many had died trying, but it was Duane's only shot at freedom. When Duane teamed up with the Rangers for a final showdown against the ruthless rustlers, he discovered a secret that could destroy them all. The Mysterious Rider His name is Hell Bent Wade, a wandering gunfighter and a good man, though one with a violent temper. But it isn't until he arrives at the Bellhounds Ranch, where Bill Bellhounds is about to marry off his foster daughter Columbine to Jack, a cowardly drunkard, gambler, and thief, that Wade reveals the full range of his righteous fury. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Electric blues guitarist Sonny Blaine was the hottest player in Texas, a cool-cat bad boy who seemed to have it all. His kid brother, Walker, shy and plain, wasn’t someone you’d look at twice—until he, too, took up blues guitar. The two driven brothers face off in their music and their women with all their souls, bringing the music of Texas to life.

This riveting debut from poet Faylita Hicks is a reclamation of power for black women and nonbinary people whose bodies have become the very weapons used against them. HoodWitch tells the story of a young person who discovers that they are "something that can & will survive / a whole century of hunt." Through a series of poems based on childhood photographs, Hicks invokes the spirits of mothers and daughters, sex workers and widows, to conjure an alternative to their own early deaths and the deaths of those whom they have already lost. In this collection about resilience, Hicks speaks about giving her child up for adoption, mourning the death of her fianc , and embracing the nonbinary femme body--persevering in the face of medical malpractice, domestic abuse, and police violence. The poems find people transformed, "remade out of smoke & iron" into cyborgs and wolves, machines and witches--beings capable of seeking justice in a world that refuses them the option. ​Exploring the intersections of Christianity, modern mysticism, and Afrofuturism in a sometimes urban, sometimes natural setting, Hicks finds a place where "everyone everywhere is hands in the air," where "you know they gonna push & pull it together. / Just like they learned to." It is a place of natural magick--where someone like Hicks can have more than one name: where they can be both dead and alive, both a mortal and a god.

Jessica Miller's life could be ripped from the headlines:Gorgeous New York Model Flees from Stalker. But as hertwisted admirer becomes more fixated—and dangerous—shehas only one choice. To pack her bags and retreat to heronly remaining refuge—Red Rock, Texas, and Clyde Fortune'sranch…the last place on earth she expects to find love.When Clyde opens the door to his home, the brooding lonermust eventually admit he's opened up his heart for the firsttime in years. Still, he can't shake the feeling Jessica is hidingsomething more than her feelings for him. And if there'sanything he's learned from the past, it's that secrets have thepower to destroy any chance for a future built on hope.