In 1999 Bryan Woolley of the Dallas Morning News set out to record the stories of ordinary people in North Texas, to tell about their lives, especially their past, and how they became who they became. These stories were published in a column entitled "Where I Come From," which ran in the Sunday newspaper from May 1999 to December 2000, to great reader acclaim. Now, for the first time in book form, the best of those stories is gathered herein with photos of each storyteller. Among the people featured-a refugee who traveled a long road to Texas after the fall of Saigon; a ballet teacher who as a teenager joined the French Resistance against the Nazis; a rabbi who was also a country-music disc jockey; and a man who survived Auschwitz. Each story is told in the teller's words, making this collection a valuable resource for oral historians as well as to all those who enjoy a good story. Where I Come From will also stimulate the endeavors of those seeking to record their family history.

A fictionalized account of the assassination of JFK as experienced by the people of Dallas and the world. Through a myriad of characters both real and invented (and some whose names have been changed) journalist and author Bryan Woolley presents one of the best dissections of Dallas life in 1963 in his novel November 22. Covering the twenty-four hours surrounding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Woolley accurately captures the essence of the day’s atmosphere, resulting in a rich cross section of a city more complex and diverse than many observers have been willing to acknowledge. He details the transformation of the world in the twinkling of an eye and peers into the shifting lives of all people affected by this shattering event. Readers will be surprised at how relevant the book is to the Dallas—and America—of right now. Praise for November 22 ‘‘Knowing that Bryan is one of the best writers in Texas, I expected November 22 to be an incisive, insightful look at the Dallas of 1963. It is. What left me thunderstruck was how relevant the book is to the Dallas—and America—of right now. Bryan was a couple of decades ahead of his time. I’m thrilled that this book is once again available for a wide audience.” —Michael Merschel, The Dallas Morning News “Bringing Bryan Woolley’s novel November 22 back into print is a great idea. It’s quite simply one of the best dissections of Big D on that dark day in 1963.” —Don Graham, J. Frank Dobie Regents Professor of American and English Literature, author of State of Minds: Texas Culture and Its Discontents “There is no great Dallas novel, but November 22 is the closest thing to it.” —D Magazine

Texas road trip; stories from across the great state and few personal reflections.

The story of Sam Bass, both outlaw and romantic figure, has become a familiar part of Texas folklore and is well documented in nonfiction. But in this novel, Bryan Woolley creates a compelling story by giving the antihero fictional life. Woolley brings Bass alive through six alternating voices--Maude, the whore who was Bass's lover; Mary Matson, the African American who took him in and tended him as he lay dying; Dad Egan, the lawman who was once a father-figure to young Sam Bass but feels compelled to capture the outlaw; Frank Johnson, who rode with Bass but left the outlaw life to reappear as a small-town doctor; and Jim Murphy, the well-meaning saloonkeeper who makes a bargain with the law and brings down Sam Bass. In shaping the Bass story, Woolley explores the themes of youth and age, impulse and wisdom. An outlaw, for many of us, is not a villain or a criminal but someone who, by choice or circumstance, finds himself at odds with society. We see the outlaw life as one of carefree freedom without responsibilities and full of infinite possibilities. Frank Jackson says it best as he recalls riding with Sam Bass: "I felt like an outlaw but not like a criminal, and the beauty of the day and its freedom filled me."