“Few people realize that in the area of law, Texas began its American journey far ahead of most of the rest of the country, far more enlightened on such subjects as women’s rights and the protection of debtors.” Thus James Haley begins this highly readable account of the Texas Supreme Court. The first book-length history of the Court published since 1917, it tells the story of the Texas Supreme Court from its origins in the Republic of Texas to the political and philosophical upheavals of the mid-1980s. Using a lively narrative style rather than a legalistic approach, Haley describes the twists and turns of an evolving judiciary both empowered and constrained by its dual ties to Spanish civil law and English common law. He focuses on the personalities and judicial philosophies of those who served on the Supreme Court, as well as on the interplay between the Court’s rulings and the state’s unique history in such areas as slavery, women’s rights, land and water rights, the rise of the railroad and oil and gas industries, Prohibition, civil rights, and consumer protection. The book is illustrated with more than fifty historical photos, many from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It concludes with a detailed chronology of milestones in the Supreme Court’s history and a list, with appointment and election dates, of the more than 150 justices who have served on the Court since 1836.

This text explores the natural history of Texas and more than 2900 springs in 183 Texas counties. It also includes an in-depth discussion of the general characteristics of springs - their physical and prehistoric settings, their historical significance, and their associated flora and fauna.

In late 1833 Mexico, fearing its north-eastern territory in Texas would be lost to North American colonists, sent Col. Juan N. Almonte to Texas on an inspection. Upon his return to the Mexican capital in November 1834, Almonte wrote a secret report of the measures necessary to avoid the loss of Texas---a report that has been unknown to scholars or the general public. Here it is presented in English for the first time, along with more than fifty letters that Almonte wrote during his inspection. When Santa Anna marched an army north to crush the Texas rebellion, Almonte was by his side as a special adviser. Almonte's journal appears here with full annotation, and from the examination of his role in the 1836 campaign we gain an overdue appreciation of this man who played an important part in the history of Texas and Mexico. "A highly classified document is leaking its contents like a lawn sprinkler." Kent Biffle, Dallas Morning News "This is a fascinating and highly satisfying book for anyone interested in the real meat of the story of the Texas Revolution---in all its political, military, and diplomatic dimensions. The editors have put Almonte in the center of this story of Texas in the 1830s and 40s, and that's exactly where he belongs. Bravo!" James Crisp, North Carolina State University "Following the reading of this excellent book, no one can doubt the crucial role that Almonte played in the affairs of Mexico and Texas." F. Todd Smith, East Texas Historical Journal "The editors have provided a welcomed, long overdue, and wholly original contribution to the knowledge of a vital period in Texas history. Almonte's Texas deserves an honored place on the bookshelves of every serious student of the Lone Star State." Stephen L. Hardin, Southwestern Historical Quarterly 2003 Kate Broocks Bates Award for Historical Research---Texas State Historical Association 2003 Summerfield G. Roberts Prize--- Sons of the Republic of Texas 2003 Friends of the Dallas Public Library Award for the Book Making the Most Significant Contribution to Knowledge---Texas Institute of Letters Citation, 2004---San Antomo Conservation Society.

Vol. 3: A supplement, edited by Eldon Stephen Branda. Includes bibliographical references.

"The Republican governor of Texas describes the devastating accident that caused his paralysis, his achievements as Texas' longest-serving attorney general and his bold plan to restore America to international prominence through Constitutional improvements and leadership,"--NoveList.

A New York Times bestseller! “Lively and absorbing. . ." — The New York Times Book Review "Engrossing." —Wall Street Journal “Entertaining and well-researched . . . ” —Houston Chronicle Three noted Texan writers combine forces to tell the real story of the Alamo, dispelling the myths, exploring why they had their day for so long, and explaining why the ugly fight about its meaning is now coming to a head. Every nation needs its creation myth, and since Texas was a nation before it was a state, it's no surprise that its myths bite deep. There's no piece of history more important to Texans than the Battle of the Alamo, when Davy Crockett and a band of rebels went down in a blaze of glory fighting for independence from Mexico, losing the battle but setting Texas up to win the war. However, that version of events, as Forget the Alamo definitively shows, owes more to fantasy than reality. Just as the site of the Alamo was left in ruins for decades, its story was forgotten and twisted over time, with the contributions of Tejanos--Texans of Mexican origin, who fought alongside the Anglo rebels--scrubbed from the record, and the origin of the conflict over Mexico's push to abolish slavery papered over. Forget the Alamo provocatively explains the true story of the battle against the backdrop of Texas's struggle for independence, then shows how the sausage of myth got made in the Jim Crow South of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. As uncomfortable as it may be to hear for some, celebrating the Alamo has long had an echo of celebrating whiteness. In the past forty-some years, waves of revisionists have come at this topic, and at times have made real progress toward a more nuanced and inclusive story that doesn't alienate anyone. But we are not living in one of those times; the fight over the Alamo's meaning has become more pitched than ever in the past few years, even violent, as Texas's future begins to look more and more different from its past. It's the perfect time for a wise and generous-spirited book that shines the bright light of the truth into a place that's gotten awfully dark.