Thanks to the classic Dolly Parton film The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and ZZ Top's ode "La Grange," many people think they know the story of the infamous Chicken Ranch. The reality is more complex, lying somewhere between heartbreaking and absurd. For more than a century, dirt farmers and big-cigar politicians alike rubbed shoulders at the Chicken Ranch, operated openly under the sheriff's watchful eye. Madam Edna Milton and her girls ran a tight, discreet ship that the God-fearing people of La Grange tolerated if not outright embraced. That is, until a secret conspiracy enlisted an opportunistic reporter to bring it all crashing down on primetime television. Drawn from exclusive interviews and expanded with newly uncovered information, Jayme Lynn Blaschke's revelatory exposition of the Ranch illuminates the truth and lies surrounding this iconic brothel.

The permanent closure of the Chicken Ranch on August 1, 1973, made international headlines. The legendary brothel--reputed to have maintained continuous business for 144 years--seemed invincible until that fateful day. But if the brothel's opponents had hoped the story would end there, they were surely disappointed. Immortalized by a Tony Award-winning Broadway musical and subsequent motion picture, "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" grew in fame and notoriety even as time and neglect took a toll on the original building. Decades passed, and rumors spread even as memory faded. The Chicken Ranch had moved to Dallas and became a restaurant, some recalled. No, it had burned to the ground, others said. They tore it down long ago, argued another. No matter the story, one thing remained consistent: There was nothing left to see. Now, on the 40th anniversary of the Chicken Ranch's closure, GHOSTS OF THE CHICKEN RANCH takes readers on a photographic tour of the brothel's ruins and shows that "nothing left to see" is not entirely true...

Most all stories relating to legal prostitution are always about the ladies. The men that visit are never the subject. Having driven for the Chicken Ranch for seven years has afforded me insight into that subject. My limo became a confessional. Learn the many reasons why men choose to visit legal brothels. Read what really transpires behind the bedroom doors from both the ladies and the men as they disclose deep dark secrets to only me. A buzzer rings loudly filling the halls of the Chicken Ranch. It's the signal that one of our limousines has arrived with a customer. Twenty beautiful ladies scamper to get to the line-up area. The madam leads them into the parlor with the words "Ladies, You Have Company." The story begins here. Buckle up! Enjoy the ride!

The Last Madam, A Legend of the Texas Chicken Ranch is the scintillating story of one of Texas? most provocative, certainly one of the state?s most colorful characters, of the 20th century. In this fast moving novel, The Last Madam simply has no slow moving parts. It gyrates from the get-go and leaves the reader with more than a mere glimpse into the shady past of the world?s oldest profession.

This book is a portrait of the Petaluma Jewish community from the early years of the century to the present day. Kenneth L. Kann interviewed more than two hundred residents, representing three generations of Jewish Americans. The picture that emerges from their testimony is of a wonderfully animated and fractious community. Its history blends many of the familiar themes of American Jewish life into a richly individual tapestry. In the first few decades of this century, many Jewish immigrants from Russia and Eastern Europe wound up in Petaluma. This first generation of chicken farmers consisted largely of educated, often professional men and women; many were drawn to chicken farming as much by Marxist or Zionist beliefs in the dignity of labor as by economic necessity. They helped establish the particular character of a community, with its combination of arduous work and cultural aspiration.

The road that runs through all our lives, paved with treasured memories of family, food, and fun, is our infinite feast, of holidays and special occasions and all the other days in between. All generations will be glad to see these old and new recipes, such as Tomato Okra Casserole, Nanaimo Bars, Paradise Almond Chicken, and Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes. The book is divided seasonally, from the new year to the harvest moon, with chapters such as "The Winter Feast," "Holiday in Venice," "Patio Party," and "Silver Bells."

Operating just outside of Houston for 130 years, the Chicken Ranch was probably the oldest continually active brothel in America. Now readers can leam all about it: its long and often lurid history, the countless colorful characters who worked there, were its clients, its enemies, or its supporters. The book has all the verve and vivaciousness of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, the hit Broadway play about events at the Chicken Ranch. It is a ribald, rousing, and witty account of thirteen decades of social change as revealed in the unguarded moments and most personal behavior of people of all sorts -- at their best and their worst. From its founding in 1844 to its closing in 1974 after a stormy media battle, the Chicken Ranch assumed an almost legendary reputation in the Southwest. It was in the naughty dreams of every Texas schoolboy, and it was part of the naughtier reality of the many politicians who slept there. Author Jan Hutson provides a close-up view of a gallery of American personalities. There are the madams: Mrs. Swine, Miss Jessie, Edna Milton, and others. There is the sheriff, Jim Flournoy, who fought to keep the Ranch open (and thus keep vice controlled), battling against television reporter Marvin Zindler, who wanted to close it down (while bringing his ratings up). The descriptions of these and other men and women involved with the Chicken Ranch make unforgettable reading. The Chicken Ranch is a fascinating cross section of American life. It is the enormously human, inescapably humorous story of the habits, hangups, hatreds, loves, and lives of real people. It is not only exciting, intriguing, and entertaining -- it is true.