{"id":725,"date":"2018-12-31T13:39:54","date_gmt":"2018-12-31T13:39:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/?p=725"},"modified":"2018-12-31T13:39:54","modified_gmt":"2018-12-31T13:39:54","slug":"lone-star-reviewsmichelle-newby-nbcc-46","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/?p=725","title":{"rendered":"Lone Star ReviewsMichelle Newby, NBCC,"},"content":{"rendered":"
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<\/span><\/span>Lone Star Reviews<\/span>Michelle Newby, NBCC,<\/span><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n

Contributing Editor<\/span><\/h1>\n
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<\/span><\/span>POLITICAL BIOGRAPHY<\/p>\n

Joan Mellen<\/span><\/p>\n

Faustian Bargains: Lyndon Johnson and Mac Wallace in the Robber Baron Culture of Texas<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Bloomsbury USA<\/p>\n

Hardcover (ebook), 978-1-62040-806-3, 384 pages, $28.00; September 13, 2016<\/p>\n

A \u201cFaustian bargain\u201d is a deal with the Devil.<\/span> You give your soul to Beelzebub in return for a chance to satisfy your greed for power, love, or knowledge.<\/p>\n

In Joan Mellen\u2019s controversial new book, Lyndon Baines Johnson, America\u2019s thirty-sixth president, sometimes comes across as virtually the Devil himself \u2014 a \u201cpowerful and profoundly amoral public figure\u201d\u2014who ruthlessly strikes backroom deals with several Fausts while advancing his own personal and political agendas.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a chronicle of the dark side of Lyndon Johnson and of the collateral damage wrought by his actions,\u201d Mellen writes. Noting that other books have focused on LBJ, she expresses concern over a \u201csurprising absence\u201d of information about two Texans who could be found within \u201cthe hidden nooks and crannies of Lyndon Johnson\u2019s life in the shadows.\u201d >>READ MORE<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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<\/span><\/span>POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT<\/p>\n

Robert Brescia<\/span><\/p>\n

with foreword by Jeanine Pirro<\/span><\/p>\n

Destination Greatness: Creating a New Americanism<\/span><\/p>\n

Infinity Publishing<\/p>\n

Politics and Social Sciences\/Civics and Citizenship<\/p>\n

978-1495812385 paperback, $15.95; also available as Kindle ebook, 248 pages; October 11, 2016<\/p>\n

It is too late to drag the 2016 election<\/span> out of its deep, dispiriting mud pit. But Robert Brescia\u2019s<\/span> Destination Greatness: Creating a New Americanism<\/span><\/a><\/span> likely will rank high on many reading lists once citizens and leaders begin searching again for ways to bring civility and sanity back to the national political scene. >>READ MORE<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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POLITICAL BIOGRAPHY<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Jean Edward Smith<\/span><\/p>\n

Simon & Schuster<\/p>\n

Hardcover, 978-1-4767-4119-2, 832 pages,<\/p>\n

(ebook and audio book also available), July 5, 2016<\/p>\n

Noted historian and biographer Jean Edward Smith tackles two politically charged questions<\/span>\u2014and much more\u2014in this important, heavily researched life story of Texas\u2019s forty-sixth governor and America\u2019s forty-third president, George W. Bush.<\/p>\n

The questions are: Was Bush \u201cthe worst president in American history,\u201d as many partisans and pundits have charged? And, was Bush\u2019s 2003 \u201cdecision to invade Iraq\u2026the worst foreign policy decision ever made by an American president\u201d?<\/p>\n

In any presidency, it can be argued, good, bad, and sometimes very bad decisions are made in the Oval Office. Many Bush detractors have labeled the forty-third president a \u201cyes man\u201d for Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and others. Smith, however, makes a strong case that President George W. Bush actually was, in most cases, \u201cthe Decider\u201d he claimed to be. <\/a><\/span>>>READ MORE<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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<\/span><\/span><\/span>Texas Reads<\/span>Glenn Dromgoole<\/span><\/h1>\n

>> archive<\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n

Two of the hottest Texas books of the year<\/h1>\n

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Two of the most talked-about Texas books this fall<\/span> are Paulette Jiles\u2019s<\/span> novel News of the World,<\/span><\/a><\/span> and the story of the popular couple on HGTV, Chip and Joanna Gaines<\/span> from Waco. Both books were featured prominently in the October issue of Texas Monthly.<\/span><\/p>\n

The \u201cFixer Upper\u201d TV stars have written The Magnolia Story<\/span><\/a><\/span> (Thomas Nelson, $26.99 hardcover) about how they met, their early years struggling to remodel and flip houses, their business successes and challenges, and of course their new life in the spotlight \u2014 all while trying to keep up with their four kids.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve seen Chip and Joanna on TV, they write pretty much like they talk (with the help of co-author Mark Dagostino<\/span>).<\/p>\n

The book is like sitting in on a long conversation with them. First, Joanna starts telling a story (in one font), and then Chip chips in his thoughts (in a different font), or vice versa, and so the story flows seamlessly back and forth throughout the 190 or so pages.<\/p>\n

The Magnolia Story <\/span>is a nice, easy, fun, insightful and inspiring read, and one that will no doubt be gift-wrapped under quite a few Christmas trees.<\/p>\n

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News of the World<\/span> by Paulette Jiles of Utopia (William Morrow, $22.99 hardcover) has been named a finalist for the National Book Award.<\/p>\n

The 200-page historical novel is set in Texas in 1870 and involves a seventy-year-old veteran of two wars who makes his living traveling around the country and reading news accounts from various newspapers. Of course, the news isn\u2019t exactly new, but folks out west have a hunger to hear about what\u2019s going on in the world.<\/p>\n

After a reading performance in Wichita Falls, Capt. Jefferson Kyle Kidd is asked by Britt Johnson (a legendary frontier character featured in another of Jiles\u2019s novels, The Color of Lightning<\/span>) to take a ten-year-old girl, who was kidnapped by the Kiowa four years ago, back to her aunt and uncle\u2019s home near San Antonio.<\/p>\n

A big problem is the girl, having lived with the Kiowa for four years, has forgotten almost everything from her first six years, including the English language and what passes for civilized behavior in her new surroundings. Kidd is reluctant but feels it is the right thing to do, so he and Joanna set off on the journey, quite against her will. Along the way, they forge a relationship as they confront life-and-death situations.<\/p>\n

Glenn Dromgoole\u2019s<\/span> latest book is West Texas Stories<\/span><\/a><\/span>Contact him at g.dromgoole@suddenlink.net.<\/p>\n

>> <\/span>Check out his previous Texas Reads columns in Lone Star Lit<\/a><\/span>erary Life<\/span><\/h1>\n
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Laura Bush, Jenna Bush Hager open 2016 Texas Book Festival to enthusiastic crowds<\/h1>\n

CLICK TO VIEW MORE TEXAS BOOK FESTIVAL \u201916 MOMENTS<\/p>\n

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Jenna Hager Bush (below, left) and her mother, former first lady Laura Bush (center), read from their children\u2019s book, <\/span>Our Great Big Backyard,<\/span> and answered questions posed by moderator Dorothy Guerrero. The coauthors signed books for Friends of the Texas Book Festival afterward. <\/span>Photo by Bob Daemmrich, courtesy of the Texas Book Festival.<\/span><\/p>\n

Saturday morning, thousands of bookfans<\/span> defied the drizzle in downtown Austin to listen to and visit with their favorite authors and snag prized signed copies of books. More than 290 authors are featured at dozens of venues in and around the state capitol the weekend of Nov. 5 and 6, 2016, and events continue through 5:00 pm Sunday. >>READ MORE<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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LONE STAR LISTENS interviews\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>>> archive<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n

Kay Ellington, Editor and Publisher<\/span><\/h1>\n

11.6.2016\u00a0 National Book Award finalist Paulette Jiles shares news of her world<\/h1>\n

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Paulette Jiles is a novelist, poet, and memoirist.<\/span> Her most recent book, <\/span>News of the World,<\/span> is a finalist for the National Book Award. The week before the Texas Book Festival, she took time out of her busy schedule to be interviewed by LSLL by email.<\/span><\/p>\n

LONE STAR LITERARY LIFE:<\/span> Paulette, your new book is so full of details about Texas history that everyone assumes you are a Texan. But you’re a \u201ccome-here,\u201d not a \u201cfrom here.\u201d Where did you grow up, and how did you come to Texas?<\/span><\/p>\n

PAULETTE JILES: <\/span>I’m from the Missouri Ozarks \u2014 all my people are country\/farm\/hills people, and I came to Texas because I married a Texan.<\/p>\n

True Texas history and fiction aficionados will savor News of the World, but can you tell our readers in your own words, what your book is about?<\/p>\n

News of the World is about an elderly gentleman who travels North Texas giving readings from newspapers to audiences in small towns. He reads from journals from distant places and along with ‘news’ he imparts a sense of the far world, things which seems almost imaginary. He is asked by a black frontiersman, Britt Johnson, to return a little captive girl who has been rescued to her people four hundred miles to the south. Captain Kidd says yes, and the two have many improbably and even dangerous adventures on the way south.\u00a0 >>READ MORE<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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Texas’s only statewide, weekly calendar of book events<\/h1>\n

Bookish Texas<\/span> event highlights\u00a0 11.6.2016
<\/span>>><\/span><\/a><\/span> GO this week\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Michelle Newby, Contributing Editor<\/span><\/h1>\n
FESTIVALS AND SPECIAL EVENTS IN TEXAS THIS WEEK: Austin, Houston, George West, Lubbock, San Antonio, McAllen<\/span><\/span><\/span>HOUSTON\u00a0 Tues., Mon. 7\u00a0 Brazos Bookstore, Kelly Luce reads and signs PULL ME UNDER, 7PM<\/span><\/span><\/span>AUSTIN\u00a0\u00a0 Tues., Nov. 8\u00a0 Austin History Center, Meet the Author: Ross Tomlin discusses and signs Homer Thornberry: Congressman, Judge, and Advocate for Equal Rights, 6:30PM<\/span><\/span><\/span>DENTON\u00a0 Wed., Nov. 9, Denton South Branch Library, Professor’s Corner with Dr. Stephen Souris: The Poetry of Texas Poet Laureate Karla K. Morton, 7PM<\/span><\/span><\/span>HOUSTON\u00a0 Wed., Nov. 9, First Congregational Church of Houston, Jon Meacham will discuss and sign DESTINY AND POWER, his biography of President George H.W. Bush, 7PM<\/span><\/span><\/span>HOUSTON\u00a0 Thurs., Nov. 10, Aaron Family Jewish Community Center, Stranger than Fiction: True Stories of the Holocaust panel discussions with authors Susan Ronald, Nancy Sprowell Geise, and Liliane Richman, 7PM<\/span><\/span><\/span>AUSTIN\u00a0 Fri., Nov. 11\u00a0 Malvern Books, An Evening with poets George Drew, Wendy Barker, and Barbara Ras, 7PM<\/span><\/span><\/span>SALADO\u00a0 Sat. Nov. 12, Salado Public Library, Writers’ League of Texas presents a Texas Writes Workshop featuring Elizabeth Crook and Stephen Harrigan, 1PM<\/span><\/span><\/span>SAN ANTONIO\u00a0 Sun., Nov. 13, The Twig Book Shop, Mike Monroe discusses and signs 100 Things Spurs Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die, 2PM<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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News Briefs 11.6.16<\/h1>\n

Texas State Library and Archive hosts Author Summit, presents first annual literacy award to Midland Need to Read<\/h1>\n

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Above: Texas State Library and Archive director Mark Smith<\/span> (center) and Center for the Book coordinator Rebekah Manley<\/span> (left) present a $1,000 award to the Midland Need to Read adult literacy program. Accepting the award was Jessica Smith<\/span> (right).<\/p>\n

AUSTIN \u2014 The Texas Center for the Book moved from its longtime home<\/span> in Dallas to the Texas State Library and Archives last year, and TSLAC has wasted no time creating new programs highlighting its role in supporting literacy and libraries statewide, and providing a rich resource for working authors in addition to its missions of document and artifact preservation for scholarship and posterity.<\/p>\n

As a kickoff event for Texas Book Festival week, TSLAC hosted a Texas Authors Summit on the evening of Nov. 3.\u00a0 >>READ MORE<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Art House Dallas, Deep Vellum Team Up for Writers\u2019 Workshop Nov. 12<\/h1>\n

<\/span><\/span>DALLAS \u2014 Art House Dallas will host a Writer\u2019s Workshop <\/span>Sat., Nov. 12 at Deep Vellum Bookstore to provide an encouraging environment in a small group setting to explore strengths and potential areas of growth for writers. Speakers Andi Ashworth<\/span> and Allison Fallon<\/span> will be providing guidance, knowledge and encouragement during the workshop.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span>Andi Ashworth and her husband, Charlie Peacock, are co-founders\/directors emeriti of Art House America. >>READ MORE<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

McAllen Book Festival slated for Nov. 12<\/h1>\n

McALLEN \u2014 The third annual McAllen Book Festival,<\/span> a celebration of culture and imagination linking readers of all ages with authors, performers, and publishers, will be held at the main branch of the McAllen Public Library, 4001 N. 23rd Street Sat., Nov. 12, from 10 am to 5 pm. >>READ MORE<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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Lone Star Lit editor’s favorite bookish destinations featured in Texas Highways November issue<\/h1>\n

Follow LSLL editor and publisher Kay Ellington’s literary journey<\/span> across Texas, with images by Texas Highways photographers: read the article at texashighways.com\/travel\/item\/8316-texas-bookish-destinations<\/span><\/a><\/span>. And then email us at info@LoneStarLiterary.com<\/span><\/a><\/span> to tell us about your best picks and hidden treasures!<\/p>\n

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<\/span><\/span><\/span>WHERE IN TEXAS?<\/span><\/h1>\n

Don’t miss a reading or a good read! Sign up for our FREE weekly
e-newsletter<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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NOW ON TOUR: FOR KIDS<\/h1>\n

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THE ISLAND OF LOST CHILDREN
by Kim Batchelor<\/h1>\n

Visit with Kim November 7\u201316<\/p>\n

11\/7 Excerpt 1 Hall Ways Blog<\/p>\n

11\/8 Review Syd Savvy<\/p>\n

11\/9 Author Interview #1 It’s a Jenn World<\/p>\n

11\/10 Guest Post Country Girl Bookaholic<\/p>\n

11\/11 Review Missus Gonzo<\/p>\n

11\/12 Excerpt 2 Kara The Redhead<\/p>\n

11\/13 Review The Page Unbound<\/p>\n

11\/14 Author Interview 2 Margie’s Must Reads<\/p>\n

11\/15 Excerpt 3 Forgotten Winds<\/p>\n

11\/16 Review Blogging for the Love of Authors and Their Books<\/p>\n

COMING UP ON TOUR: NONFICTION<\/h1>\n

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Champion of the Barrio: The Legacy of Coach Buryl Baty by R. Gaines Baty<\/h1>\n

Visit with Gaines November 10\u201319<\/p>\n

11\/10 Scrapbook StoreyBook Reviews<\/p>\n

11\/11 Author Interview Forgotten Winds<\/p>\n

11\/12 Review Margie’s Must Reads<\/p>\n

11\/13 promo Blogging for the Love of Authors and Their Books<\/p>\n

11\/14 Review It’s a Jenn World<\/p>\n

11\/15 Audio Interview Syd Savvy<\/p>\n

11\/16 Excerpt The Page Unbound<\/p>\n

11\/17 Review Momma On The Rocks<\/p>\n

11\/18 Author Interview Reading By Moonlight<\/p>\n

11\/19 Review Hall Ways Blog<\/p>\n

CONTINUING ON TOUR: FICTION<\/h1>\n

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The Fisher King: A Jack McBride Mystery
by Melissa Lenhardt<\/h1>\n

Visit with Melissa through November 10<\/p>\n

11\/6 Guest Post 2 The Page Unbound<\/p>\n

11\/7 Scrapbook Forgotten Winds<\/p>\n

11\/8 Review Country Girl Bookaholic<\/p>\n

11\/9 Promo The Crazy Booksellers<\/p>\n

11\/10 Review Reading By Moonlight<\/p>\n

CONTINUING ON TOUR: FICTION<\/h1>\n

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Where Two Hearts Meet by Liz Johnson<\/h1>\n

Visit with the authors through November 10<\/p>\n

11\/6 Author Interview 2 Reading By Moonlight<\/p>\n

11\/7 Review Kara The Redhead<\/p>\n

11\/8 Guest Post A Novel Reality<\/p>\n

11\/9 Author Interview 3 Margie’s Must Reads<\/p>\n

11\/10 Review The Page Unbound<\/p>\n

RECENTLY ON TOUR: FICTION<\/h1>\n

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Legend of the Forest Beast: Sir Kaye the Boy Knight, Book 3 by Don M. Winn<\/h1>\n

RECENTLY ON TOUR: NONFICTION<\/h1>\n

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Pigskin Rapture by Mac Engel with photography by Dan Jenkins<\/h1>\n

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Lone Star Literary Life Facts and FAQs<\/span><\/h1>\n

\u2022 Editorial policies<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Review policies<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Advertising policies<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Event and resource list policies<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Lone Star Literary Archives<\/span><\/h1>\n

\u2022 Weekly issues<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Lone Star Listens Interviews<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Lone Star Book Reviews<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Texas Reads<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Events<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Announcement: LSLL Launches<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lone Star ReviewsMichelle Newby, NBCC, Contributing Editor POLITICAL BIOGRAPHY Joan Mellen Faustian Bargains: Lyndon Johnson and Mac Wallace in the Robber Baron Culture of Texas Bloomsbury USA Hardcover (ebook), 978-1-62040-806-3, 384 pages, $28.00; September 13, 2016 A \u201cFaustian bargain\u201d is a deal with the Devil. You give your soul to Beelzebub in return for a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=725"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/725\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}