Finally, a Texas truth-telling tale about Lone Star State politics by three authors with over 100 combined years of experience as Austin insiders and outsiders. "How Texas Politics Really Works" is an uncommon introduction to a subject that is shrouded in economic and governmental myths, This book exposes exactly how Democratic and Republican party leaders, in the past and the present, have ridden herd over the people of Texas in their desire to do the bidding of the rich and powerful. The authors believe that the massses, who have historically received the short end of the rope from elites, can come together to change the state power dynamic through peaceful political action. Knowledge is where it starts, and this book is a long hard look at the reality of Texas politics.

Bill Hobby has spent most of his life in and around Texas government, including a record eighteen years as the state's lieutenant governor. His candid recollections about his days in office, as well as his take on what state government should and should not do are part of How Things Really Work: Lessons from a Life in Politics, published by the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History. "Nostalgia is not my purpose," Hobby writes in the book's preface. "But I do hope to convey something of my admiration for the people that I had the honor to work with, the spirit of the times, and a sense of how things actually worked--at least in the legislative process." His no-holds-barred opinions about everything from partisan politics to efforts to rewrite the Texas Constitution to government wiretaps and the war on drugs are included, as are his memories of working with Texas politicians Ben Ramsey, Dolph Briscoe, Bill Clements, and Ann Richards. Hobby's years as lieutenant governor coincided with Texas's transition from a state dependent on oil and agriculture to one with a more diversified economy strengthened by the technology and health care industries. Through it all, Hobby emphasized the need for Texas to make education a priority. He enjoyed the nuts and bolts of the legislative process, especially appropriations and redistricting. "To help people, government has to work," he says. "Make the system work."

NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FINALIST • The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Looming Tower—and a Texas native—takes us on a journey through the most controversial state in America. • “Beautifully written…. Essential reading [for] anyone who wants to understand how one state changed the trajectory of the country.” —NPR Texas is a red state, but the cities are blue and among the most diverse in the nation. Oil is still king, but Texas now leads California in technology exports. Low taxes and minimal regulation have produced extraordinary growth, but also striking income disparities. Texas looks a lot like the America that Donald Trump wants to create. Bringing together the historical and the contemporary, the political and the personal, Texas native Lawrence Wright gives us a colorful, wide-ranging portrait of a state that not only reflects our country as it is, but as it may become—and shows how the battle for Texas’s soul encompasses us all.

Finally, a Texas truth-telling tale about Lone Star State politics by three authors with over 100 combined years of experience as Austin insiders and outsiders. "How Texas Politics Really Works" is an uncommon introduction to a subject that is shrouded in economic and governmental myths. This book exposes exactly how Democratic and Republican party leaders, in the past and the present, have ridden herd over the people of Texas in their desire to do the bidding of the rich and powerful. The authors believe that the masses, who have historically received the short end of the rope from elites, can come together to change the state power dynamic through peaceful political action. Knowledge is where it starts, and this book is a long hard look at the reality of Texas politics.

The author brings mature understanding to the socio-economic factors that underlie the bewildering tangle of Texas politics.