First Down Houston

First Down Houston
Author: Anne Tucker
Publisher: Museum of Fine Arts (Houston)
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2003
Genre:
ISBN: 9780890901229

With more than 200 duotone images, this book captures the first season of the Houston Texans, from the NFL players' draft to the final game of the team's inaugural year.

Houston, Space City USA

Houston, Space City USA
Author: Ray Viator
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
Total Pages: 226
Release: 2019-02-13
Genre: Photography
ISBN: 1623497728

On July 20, 1969, humanity paused with attention locked to television and radio broadcasts as the astronauts of the Apollo 11 mission dramatically touched down on the dusty face of the moon. The first word from the lunar surface: Houston. Houston, Space City USA is a visual celebration of the city’s historic ties to the US human space program. When President Kennedy declared, “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard,” he did so from the campus of Rice University. More than half a century later, Houston continues to serve as the nerve center of the American human space program. Author and photographer Ray Viator, a longtime Houstonian, has lovingly captured the spirit of a city’s devotion to space exploration from then to now. Using striking photographs of the full moon as a visual motif of Houston’s connection to spaceflight, Viator also weaves together historic images to show how former cow pastures transformed into mission control. Some connections are obvious—the Houston Astros or the Houston Rockets. Others are hidden in plain sight, like the arm patches on the uniform of every Houston police officer that read, “Space City U.S.A.” Viator’s lens captures this and more. Houston, Space City USA not only marks the important milestone of the first lunar landing, but it also helps readers discover and rediscover a city’s constellation of connections to one of humankind’s greatest achievements. The author's proceeds from the sale of this book will benefit Houston Public Media.

The Kids Got It Right

The Kids Got It Right
Author: Jim Dent
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2013-08-20
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1250007852

The Texas team came to Hershey with a mandate to win. A year earlier, Texas had lost to the Pennsylvania all-stars 12-6 in the most significant defeat in the state's proud history. This was considered blasphemy in a place where football outranked religion. Texas coach Bobby Layne was mad-as-hell that he was forced to play with second stringers in '64. So he and assistant coach Doak Walker traveled to Austin and asked Texas governor John Connally to end the scheduling conflict with the in-state all-star game so he could suit up the best players. Layne also sought permission to recruit black players. After all, Texas was flush with black stars, some of whom would mature into the most notable players in the history of the National Football League.Layne's scheme never would have worked without Bradley and LeVias. Together--and with Layne's indomitable will to win--the two led their team proudly to face down the competition at Hershey Stadium.

In Too Deep

In Too Deep
Author: Rachel Kimbro
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 268
Release: 2021-12-21
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0520377729

In a small Texas neighborhood, an affluent group of mothers has been repeatedly rocked by catastrophic flooding—the 2015 Memorial Day flood, the 2016 Tax Day flood, and sixteen months later, Hurricane Harvey. Yet even after these disrupting events, almost all mothers in this neighborhood still believe there is only one place for them to live: Bayou Oaks. In Too Deep is a sociological exploration of what happens when climate change threatens the carefully curated family life of upper-middle-class mothers. Through in-depth interviews with thirty-six Bayou Oaks mothers whose homes flooded during Hurricane Harvey, Rachel Kimbro reveals why these mothers continued to stay in a place that was becoming more and more unstable. Rather than retreating, the mothers dug in and sustained the community they have chosen and nurtured, trying to keep social, emotional, and economic instability at bay. In Too Deep provides a glimpse into how class and place intersect in an unstable physical environment and underlines the price families pay for securing their futures.

Houston Rap Tapes

Houston Rap Tapes
Author: Lance Scott Walker
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Total Pages: 368
Release: 2019-01-29
Genre: Music
ISBN: 1477317937

The neighborhoods of Fifth Ward, Fourth Ward, Third Ward, and the Southside of Houston, Texas, gave birth to Houston rap, a vibrant music scene that has produced globally recognized artists such as Geto Boys, DJ Screw, Pimp C and Bun B of UGK, Fat Pat, Big Moe, Z-Ro, Lil’ Troy, and Paul Wall. Lance Scott Walker and photographer Peter Beste spent a decade documenting Houston’s scene, interviewing and photographing the people—rappers, DJs, producers, promoters, record label owners—and places that give rap music from the Bayou City its distinctive character. Their collaboration produced the books Houston Rap and Houston Rap Tapes. This second edition of Houston Rap Tapes amplifies the city’s hip-hop history through new interviews with Scarface, Slim Thug, Lez Moné, B L A C K I E, Lil’ Keke, and Sire Jukebox of the original Ghetto Boys. Walker groups the interviews into sections that track the different eras and movements in Houston rap, with new photographs and album art that reveal the evolution of the scene from the 1970s to today’s hip-hop generation. The interviews range from the specifics of making music to the passions, regrets, memories, and hopes that give it life. While offering a view from some of Houston’s most marginalized areas, these intimate conversations lay out universal struggles and feelings. As Willie D of Geto Boys writes in the foreword, “Houston Rap Tapes flows more like a bunch of fellows who haven’t seen each other for ages, hanging out on the block reminiscing, rather than a calculated literary guide to Houston’s history.”

Joe Namath, Game by Game

Joe Namath, Game by Game
Author: Bryan L. Yeatter
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 389
Release: 2014-01-10
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 0786492554

This is a comprehensive reference work covering Joe Namath's entire professional football career, following it season by season and game by game. After a lengthy opening chapter discussing Namath's college career and his enormous impact on professional football after turning pro in 1965, the book proceeds to chronicle every game of his pro career. Chapter 6 documents Super Bowl III while the concluding chapter sizes up Namath's career and addresses the debate over his Hall of Fame status.

Cowboys Are My Weakness: Stories

Cowboys Are My Weakness: Stories
Author: Pam Houston
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Total Pages: 180
Release: 2011-02-14
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0393077535

"Exhilarating, like a swift ride through river rapids with a spunky, sexy gal handling the oars."—Washington Post Book World In Pam Houston's critically acclaimed collection of strong, shrewd, and very funny stories, we meet smart women who are looking for the love of a good man, and men who are wild and hard to pin down. "I've always had this thing for cowboys, maybe because I was born in New Jersey,” says the narrator in the collection’s title story. “But a real cowboy is hard to find these days, even in the West.” Our heroines are part daredevil, part philosopher, all acute observers of the nuances of modern romance. They go where their cowboys go, they meet cowboys who don't look the part – and they have staunch friends who give them advice when the going gets rough. Cowboys Are My Weakness is a refreshing and realistic look at men and women – together and apart.

The Ultimate Game

The Ultimate Game
Author: Kevin Bakko
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Total Pages: 362
Release: 2011-01-10
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1456713655

Here's What Former NFL Players Think About "THE ULTIMATE GAME" “(THE ULTIMATE GAME) reads as if Tom Clancy hijacked Monday Night Football; it’s that cutting edge.” – Joe Kapp; Super Bowl Quarterback and CFL Hall of Fame Inductee “THE ULTIMATE GAME puts the sport of professional football in a futuristic setting and tells a tale of what technology could one day allow. It’s a positive, exciting thrill-ride for all ages. It’s a frightening and intriguing look at how the game could be manipulated.” – Dan Pastorini; Pro Bowl Quarterback “I cheer Kevin (Bakko) for writing a fast moving, fun, futuristic novel that thoroughly entertained me. And he found no need to load the book with the smut that has been filling most sports books to date.” – Phil Villapiano; Super Bowl Champion Linebacker “If John Grisham and Issac Asimov got together to write a novel about pro football – this is what they would write. You have to read it to believe it!” – Jeff Nixon; Former Player, and Editor / Nat’l Advocacy Committee Member of ‘Fourth and Goal Assists’ “Kevin Bakko does a great job of conveying the spirit of the players and their drive to be the World Champions of NFL football. He also points out the price that players pay to play in the NFL both mentally and physically.” – Carl Mauck; Thirty-Four Year NFL Veteran Player and Assistant Coach “THE ULTIMATE GAME is a book that honors the NFL alumnus of yesterday, today, and tomorrow.” – George Martin; Super Bowl Champion Defensive End and President of the NFL Alumni Association IMAGINE THE MOST TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED VIDEO FOOTBALL GAME EVER CREATED. IMAGINE SOME OF THE GREATEST PRO PLAYERS TO EVER STEP ON THE GRIDIRON AT THE CONTROLS. NOW IMAGINE BOTH, MANIPULATING A REAL NFL FOOTBALL TEAM... WITHOUT THEIR KNOWLEDGE... WITHOUT THEIR CONSENT. 2019 is the 100th Anniversary of the National Football League, and the Houston Texans have just won their second Super Bowl in a row. Now comes their quest for an unprecedented third consecutive trip to the championship game. Yet accomplishing this extraordinary feat will not be left to either dutiful preparation or divine providence. A glory-driven head coach (Walt Griffin) and a narcissistic neuroscientist in need of human guinea pigs (Dr. John McLane) have combined forces to reach the final phase of their respective life’s ambition. But murder, mayhem, and the pursuit of answers to gut-wrenching questions are driving veteran All-Pro quarterback Rod Mackenna to make sense of the resulting toll that has been taken by his team, his teammates, and his long – but no longer – unrequited love interest. On the day of the Super Bowl – with the final piece to an unimaginable puzzle firmly in his grasp – Griffin and McLane catch Mac within the confines of the clandestine command center used by their band of former gridiron heroes to control the active players, on-the-field, like a macabre video game. Only the threat of harm to his (now) fiancée keeps Mac on the sideline with a bogus injury as the final contest of the season kicks off.

Remembering Whitney

Remembering Whitney
Author: Cissy Houston
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 300
Release: 2013-01-29
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0062238418

Honest and heartbreaking, a mother's story of tears, joy, and her greatest love of all—her daughter, Whitney On the eve of the 2012 Grammy Awards, the world learned of a stunning tragedy: Whitney Houston, unquestionably one of the most remarkable and powerful voices in all of music, had been silenced forever. Over the weeks and months that followed, family, friends, and fans alike tried to understand how such a magnificent talent and beautiful soul could have been taken so early and so unexpectedly. Glamorous and approachable, captivating and sweet, Whitney had long ago won the hearts of America, but in recent years her tumultuous personal life had grabbed as many headlines as her soaring vocal talents. Her sudden death left behind not only a legacy of brilliance, but also painful questions with no easy answers. Now, for the first time, the beloved superstar's mother, Cissy Houston—a gospel legend in her own right—relates the full, astonishing scope of the pop icon's life and career. From Whitney's earliest days singing in the church choir to her rapid ascent to the pinnacles of music stardom, from her string of number one hits to her topping the Hollywood box office, Cissy recounts her daughter's journey to becoming one of the most popular and successful artists of all time. Setting the record straight, Cissy also speaks candidly about Whitney's struggles in the limelight, revealing the truth about her turbulent marriage to singer Bobby Brown, her public attempts to regain her celebrated voice, and the battle with drugs that ultimately proved too much. In this poignant and tender tribute to her "Nippy," Cissy summons all her strength to reveal not only Whitney the superstar, but also Whitney as a sweet girl, a bright-eyed young woman, and a deeply caring mother. Complete with never-before-seen family photographs, Remembering Whitney is an intimate, heartfelt portrait of one of our most revered artists, from the woman who cherished her most.

Deep Creek: Finding Hope in the High Country

Deep Creek: Finding Hope in the High Country
Author: Pam Houston
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Total Pages: 350
Release: 2019-01-29
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0393285499

Winner of the 2020 Reading the West Advocacy Award Winner of the 2020 Colorado Book Award for Creative Nonfiction "This is a book for all of us, right now." —Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild On her 120-acre homestead high in the Colorado Rockies, beloved writer Pam Houston learns what it means to care for a piece of land and the creatures on it. Elk calves and bluebirds mark the changing seasons, winter temperatures drop to 35 below, and lightning sparks a 110,000-acre wildfire, threatening her century-old barn and all its inhabitants. Through her travels from the Gulf of Mexico to Alaska, she explores what ties her to the earth, the ranch most of all. Alongside her devoted Irish wolfhounds and a spirited troupe of horses, donkeys, and Icelandic sheep, the ranch becomes Houston’s sanctuary, a place where she discovers how the natural world has mothered and healed her after a childhood of horrific parental abuse and neglect. In essays as lucid and invigorating as mountain air, Deep Creek delivers Houston’s most profound meditations yet on how “to live simultaneously inside the wonder and the grief… to love the damaged world and do what I can to help it thrive.”