Finalist, 2021 Writers’ League of Texas Book Award For John Nance “Cactus Jack” Garner, there was one simple rule in politics: “You’ve got to bloody your knuckles.” It’s a maxim that applies in so many ways to the state of Texas, where the struggle for power has often unfolded through underhanded politicking, backroom dealings, and, quite literally, bloodshed. The contentious history of Texas politics has been shaped by dangerous and often violent events, and been formed not just in the halls of power but by marginalized voices omitted from the official narratives.
A Single Star and Bloody Knuckles traces the state’s conflicted and dramatic evolution over the past 150 years through its pivotal political players, including oft-neglected women and people of color. Beginning in 1870 with the birth of Texas’s modern political framework, Bill Minutaglio chronicles Texas political life against the backdrop of
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Smoothly tackling this near-herculean research task, [Minutaglio] keeps the sweat stains from showing and writes in prose as cool as a trout stream. * New York Times *
Even if you don’t live in Texas, this overview of the state’s history from the 1870s to the 2020 presidential election will have you thinking about the South in a whole new way. * Vogue *
What's striking about [A Single Star and Bloody Knuckles]...is [Minutaglio's] ability to resurrect not only the marquee names we would expect to find in a history of Texas politics (famous and infamous) but also fascinating names that have faded into the fog of history. * Houston Chronicle *
[A Single Star and Bloody Knuckles] offers a well-rounded look at the complexities of race and politics, as well as the various characters involved. Minutaglio is to be commended for adding to the underrepresented topics of race and politics in post-civil war Texas historiography. * Southwestern Historical Quarterly *
[Minutaglio] delivers a vibrant political history of Texas from the 1870s to the 2020 presidential election...Minutaglio packs his brisk history with entertaining anecdotes...and keeps a close eye on the ways that Black and Latino voters have been marginalized by Texas power brokers. This is a rollicking and richly detailed portrait of the Lone Star state. * Publishers Weekly *
Bill Minutaglio has a written an excellent (and thoroughly readable) analytical synthesis that should inspire anyone interested in American politics to think more carefully about how the racism of our collective pasts continues to shape and plague our world today. * Western Historical Quarterly *
Minutaglio’s work presents a useful introduction to the civil rights history of Texas...Minutaglio tells his stories well...in an easygoing, approachable style...Readers seeking a broad overview of Texas political history that emphasizes the expansion of civil rights will find that here. * Journal of Southern History *
A readable, even rollicking survey of a century and a half of political conflict...A Single Star and Bloody Knuckles does the vital work of presenting to a general audience a powerful argument for the centrality of race in the past, present, and future of Texas politics. * Texas Monthly *
[An] engaging new work... A Single Star and Bloody Knuckles is a noteworthy, timely, and well-written addition to the continuing debates over politics and race in Texas. * Lone Star Literary Life *
Minutaglio is one of the greatest living prose stylists in the land, including lands outside Texas...Starting in 1870 and working up to the present, Minutaglio has produced the best book about the intersection of race and politics throughout Texas history. * San Antonio Express-News *
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One. Remain Quietly: The 1870s
Chapter Two. Our Defective Plan: The 1880s
Chapter Three. Elites and Aliens: The 1890s
Chapter Four. The Bosses: The 1900s
Chapter Five. Legislative Rest: The 1910s
Chapter Six. The Second Coming: The 1920s
Chapter Seven. Black Blizzards: The 1930s
Chapter Eight. Beautiful Texas: The 1940s
Chapter Nine. I Have a Plaintiff: The 1950s
Chapter Ten. The Mink Coat Mob: The 1960s
Chapter Eleven. Bitten by the Political Bug: The 1970s
Chapter Twelve. The Sands Have Shifted: The 1980s
Chapter Thirteen. Reality Day: The 1990s
Chapter Fourteen. Smear Tactics: The 2000s
Chapter Fifteen. Total Command: The 2010s
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Notes
Photo Credits
Index
