Mavericks
A Gallery of Texas Characters
Published on 1. March 2008
Book
Hardback
179 pages
978-0-292-71834-0 (ISBN)
Description
Texas has been home to so many colorful characters, out-of-staters might wonder if any normal people live here. And it's true that the "Texian" desire to act out sometimes overcomes even the most sober citizens-which makes it a real challenge for the genuine eccentrics to distinguish themselves from the rest of us. Fortunately, though, many maverick Texans have risen to the test, and in this book, Gene Fowler introduces us to a gallery of Texas eccentrics from the worlds of oil, ranching, real estate, politics, rodeo, metaphysics, showbiz, art, and folklore. Mavericks rounds up dozens of Fowler's favorite Texas characters, folks like the Trinity River prophet Commodore Basil Muse Hatfield; the colorful poet-politician Cyclone Davis Jr.; Big Bend tourist attraction Bobcat Carter; and the dynamic chief executive of the East Texas Oil Field Governor Willie. Fowler persuasively argues that many of these characters should be viewed as folk performance artists who created "happenings" long before the modern art world took up that practice in the 1960s.
Other featured mavericks run the demographic gamut from inspirational connoisseurs of the region's native quirkiness to creative con artists and carnival oddities. But, artist or poser, all of the eccentrics in Mavericks completely embody the style and spirit that makes Texas so interesting, entertaining, and culturally unique.
Other featured mavericks run the demographic gamut from inspirational connoisseurs of the region's native quirkiness to creative con artists and carnival oddities. But, artist or poser, all of the eccentrics in Mavericks completely embody the style and spirit that makes Texas so interesting, entertaining, and culturally unique.
Reviews / Votes
"I recently picked up a book that is so good that I was tempted to lift several chapters from it for my columns. Instead I decided to write a column about it. It is Mavericks: A Gallery of Texas Characters, by Gene Fowler, published by the University of Texas Press in 2008." -- Lonn Taylor Big Bend NowMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Austin, TX
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
50 halftones
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
426 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-292-71834-0 (9780292718340)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
New editions
Book
03/2008
University of Texas Press
€18.70
Shipment within 10-20 days
Person
Gene Fowler is a freelance writer in Austin, Texas.
Content
Introduction: Sintesi Texana Part One: A Gallery of Performance Folk-Artists 1. Commodore Hatfield: Prophet of the Trinity 2. Cyclone Davis Jr.: "Bewhiskered Dervish" 3. Port Arthur's Popeye, Bet-a-Million, and the Brownie Man 4. Governor Willie 5. Bobcat Carter 6. William F. Drannan: A Hero, or "Nothing but a Damn Liar"? 7. Madam Candelaria: "Most Outstanding Female Character of San Antonio History" 8. Three Rode for Texas 9. Wild Bill's Final Performance 10. Sain-toh-oodie Goombi and Two Braids Tommy 11. Hondo Crouch: "Imagineer" 12. Trek Stars: Hickey, Hoopie, Plennie L. Wingo, and Others 13. Arizona Bill 14. Bicycle Annie 15. Moses Evans: "Wild Man of the Woods" 16. Robert Hall: Sharp-dressed Frontiersman 17. Anthony Banning Norton: "Full-blown Eccentric" 18. O. L. Nelms: The Most Thankful Millionaire 19. Jim "Silver Dollar" West 20. Bozo Texino 21. Ray's Ornamental Gardens 22. O. T. Nodrog, the Outer Dimensional Forces, and the Time Ark Service Modules Part Two: Other Texas Characters 23. A Pair of Snake Kings and One Snake Queen 24. Giants 25. Big Sam 26. Stout Jackson 27. Milt Hinkle: Aerial Bulldogger 28. Booger Red: "Ugliest Man Dead or Alive" 29. Buck Gunter: Raisin' Hair and Ridin' Broncs 30. Samuel E. "Doc" Asbury: Texas Nativist 31. Quinta Mazatlan: Adobe Outpost in the Rio Grande Valley 32. Four Great Ladies 33. Five Aces of Magic 34. Mystics Appendixes Appendix A: The Zeb Crawburg Memorial Appendix B: Astro Turf Ranchette Appendix C: Western Art Appendix D: Break on Through Appendix E: Zaney Blaney and the Beat