Praise for KINGS OF TEXAS"Kings of Texas is a fresh and very welcome history of the great King Ranch. It's concise but thorough, crisply written, meticulous, and very readable. It should find a wide audience."-Larry McMurtry, author of Sin Killer and the Pulitzer Prize--winning Lonesome Dove"This book is about the King Ranch, but it is about much more than that. A compelling chronicle of war, peace, love, betrayal, birth, and death in the region where the Texas-Mexic...

John Steinbeck once famously wrote that "Texas is a state of mind." For those who know it well, however, the Lone Star State is more than one mind-set, more than a collection of clichés, more than a static stereotype. There are minds in Texas, Don Graham asserts, and some of the most important are the writers and filmmakers whose words and images have helped define the state to the nation, the world, and the people of Texas themselves. For many years, Graham has been critiquing Texas write...

In Giant Country Don Graham brings together a collection of lively, absorbing essays written over the past two decades.The collection begins with a twist on book introductions that sets the tone for the essays to come—a self-interview conducted poolside at an eccentric Houston motel favored by regional rock bands. Over piña coladas the author works on his tan and discusses timeless Texas themes: the transition of the state from a rural to an urban world, the sense of a van...

This book addresses the use of existing and emerging electronic payment technologies within a smart city in the context of the clear and proven value these systems have demonstrated in improving transportation. It addresses such question as How does the toll gantry work? How does it read the transponder tag and deduct the correct amount? How do cities harness the transaction data from mass transit to better meet the demand during peak hours? What can city planners do to make trip sched...

Instant New York Times BestsellerBest of 2017 - included on best-of lists by the New York Times, NPR, Barnes & Noble, Publisher's Weekly, LitHub, BookPage, Booklist, TheRealBookSpy.com, the Financial Times (UK) and the Daily Mail (UK)“The Force is mesmerizing, a triumph. Think The Godfather, only with cops. It’s that good.”— Stephen KingThe accla...

**Nicholai Hel-genius, mystic, and the perfect formidable assassin returns in this blockbuster thriller from the #1 bestselling author of Shibumi."Winslow imbues the James Bond-esque superspy atmosphere with a deep knowledge of Eastern cultures, including the ancient Japanese game of Go. There is plenty of fun to be had for readers." —Kirkus Reviews**Prepare to meet the world's most dangerous man ...It is the fall of 1951, and the Korean W...

Celebrated for both his novels and memoirs, Don J. Snyder is also the recipient of a James Michener Fellowship. A story of love and dedication, Walking with Jack chronicles Snyder's dream to caddie for his son Jack's pro golf tour debut. At nearly 60, Snyder left Maine for Scotland--the birthplace of golf--where he learned the game and earned his spot as a full-time caddie. His journey would finally coincide with Jack's own struggles in one of the PGA's toughest qualifying events.

In September 1955, John Guzzwell set sail alone from Victoria, BC, aboard the 20ft 6in yawl, TREKKA, built with John’s own hands at the back of a fish and chip shop, and headed west. Four years later, TREKKA became the first micro-yacht to circumnavigate the world, and the book John subsequently wrote, Trekka Round the World, became an instant classic.One of those inspired by TREKKA was a young South Australian, Don McIntyre. Don went on to achieve...

Boxing legend Christy Martin was a trailblazer in the ring and continues to be an inspiration to female fighters across the globe. She is without a doubt the most important woman in the history of female combat sports. But behind the scenes Martin was in a losing battle, unable to express her true sexual identity and struggling to survive sexual and domestic abuse at the hands of her husband.In Fighting for Survival: My Journey through Boxing Fame, Abuse, Murder, and Resurrecti...

Featuring a new Jack Reacher story by Andrew Child!A dangerous drifter, a hired gun, a grisly corpse—you never know who you’ll run into at the Hotel California.Eight deliciously talented mystery authors have lent their skills of crafting murder and suspense to this collection of gripping short stories. Each of these eight provocative tales is designed to entertain and mystify—and maybe even chill you to your core. Get lost in the w...

A larger-than-life narrative of the making of the classic film, marking the rise of America as a superpower, the ascent of Hollywood celebrity, and the flowering of Texas culture as mythology.Featuring James Dean, Rock Hudson, and Elizabeth Taylor, Giant is an epic film of fame and materialism, based around the discovery of oil at Spindletop and the establishment of the King Ranch of south Texas. Isolating his star cast in the wilds of West Texas, director ...

Road congestion imposes major financial, social, and environmental costs. One solution is the operation of high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes. This book outlines a method for dynamic pricing for HOT lanes based on non-linear programming (NLP) techniques, finite difference stochastic approximation, genetic algorithms, and simulated annealing stochastic algorithms, working within a cell transmission framework. The result is a solution for optimal flow and optimal toll to minimize total travel t...