The Establishment in Texas Politics


Book Description

Texas has a history of producing nationally prominent leaders. It is also important for its burgeoning population and its natural resources. Few can argue that its politics are not fascinating. The years from 1938 to 1957 were the most primitive period of rule by the Texas Establishment, a loosely knit plutocracy of the Anglo upper classes answering only to the vested interests in banking, oil, land development, law, the merchant houses, and the press. Establishment rule was reflected in numerous and harsh antilabor laws, the suppression of academic freedom, a segregationist philosophy, elections marred by demagoguery and corruption, the devolution of the daily press, and a state government that offered its citizens, especially minorities, very few services. Important elements in the contemporary political scene originated between 1938 and 1957.




Texas Politics


Book Description

Approaching the politics of the Lone Star State from historical, developmental, and analytical perspectives, Cal Jillson's text avoids partisanship, ideology, and gimmicks to provide the most comprehensive, readable, and accurate brief description of Texas politics available today. Throughout the book students are encouraged to connect the origins and development of government and politics in Texas—from the Texas Constitution, to party competition, to the role and powers of the Governor—to its current day practice and the alternatives possible through change and reform. This text will allow teachers to share with their students the evolution of Texas politics, where we stand today, and where we are headed. Texas Politics is one of the briefest and most affordable texts on the market, yet it offers instructors and students an unmatched range of pedagogical aids and tools. Each chapter opens with a number of focus questions to orient readers to the learning objectives and concludes with a Chapter Summary, a list of Key Terms, Suggested Readings, and Web Resources. Key Terms are bolded in the text, listed at the end of the chapter, and included in a Glossary at the end of the book. Each chapter presents several photos and numerous tables and figures to highlight the major ideas, issues, individuals, and institutions discussed. Each chapter also contains a Let’s Compare feature, comparing selected states to Texas on various dimensions.







Journeys of a Field Biologist


Book Description

Dr. Neil Ford, a world renowned herpetologist, shares the joys and challenges of fieldwork in remote places with exotic snakes, diverse colleagues and colorful local characters.







The State of Texas


Book Description

"The State of Texas: Government, Politics, and Policy, 5e, combines concise content with effective digital tools that provide a personalized learning experience for every student. Built to align directly with state learning outcomes and core objectives, this highly readable program provides students with the content and tools to make Texas government relevant in their lives. It includes ample material for a full semester course on Texas government"--




Lone Star Politics


Book Description

In Texas, myth often clashes with the reality of everyday government. Explore the state′s rich political tradition with Lone Star Politics as the author team explains who gets what and how. Utilizing a comparative approach, the authors set Texas in context with other states′ constitutions, policymaking, electoral practices, and institutions as they delve into the evolution of its politics. Critical thinking questions and unvarnished "Winners and Losers" discussions guide students toward understanding Texas government and assessing the state′s political landscape. The highly anticipated Seventh Edition includes coverage of the state′s response to the COVID pandemic, brand new chapter-level learning objectives, updated demographic and immigration statistics, and new Discussion Starter questions to help in-class discussion on critical policy debates. Digital Option / Courseware SAGE Vantage is an intuitive digital platform that delivers this text’s content and course materials in a learning experience that offers auto-graded assignments and interactive multimedia tools, all carefully designed to ignite student engagement and drive critical thinking. Built with you and your students in mind, it offers simple course set-up and enables students to better prepare for class. Assignable Video with Assessment Assignable video (available with SAGE Vantage) is tied to learning objectives and curated exclusively for this text to bring concepts to life. LMS Cartridge: Import this title’s instructor resources into your school’s learning management system (LMS) and save time. Don’t use an LMS? You can still access all of the same online resources for this title via the password-protected Instructor Resource Site. CQ Press Lecture Spark: Designed to save you time and ignite student engagement, these free weekly lecture launchers focus on current event topics tied to key concepts in American Government.




Inside Texas Politics


Book Description

"Inside Texas Politics provides students with an exciting insider's perspective on the world of Texas government. Its focus on how power struggles have shaped Texas institutions and political processes offers students a fresh perspective that differentiates itself from all other texts on the market. Rottinghaus' anecdotes make Inside Texas Politics fun and relevant for today's students, and his visual representations of data foster the skills students need in order to understand and think critically about the political world around them"--




How Texas Politics Really Works


Book Description

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.




God Save Texas


Book Description

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.