Single Star and Bloody Knuckles

Bill Minutaglio is a Pen Center Literary Award–winning author of ten books, including Dallas 1963 and First Son, the first biography of George W. Bush. He has been a reporter, columnist, and editor for the three largest newspapers in Texas, his writing has appeared in the New York Times, Newsweek, and i, among other publications.

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)

• PrologueChapter One. Remain Quietly: The 1870sChapter Two. Our Defective Plan: The 1880sChapter Three. Elites and Aliens: The 1890sChapter Four. The Bosses: The 1900sChapter Five. Legislative Rest: The 1910sChapter Six. The Second Coming: The 1920sChapter Seven. Black Blizzards: The 1930sChapter Eight. Beautiful Texas: The 1940sChapter Nine. I Have a Plaintiff: The 1950sChapter Ten. The Mink Coat Mob: The 1960sChapter Eleven. Bitten by the Political Bug: The 1970sChapter Twelve. The Sands Have Shifted: The 1980sChapter Thirteen. Reality Day: The 1990sChapter Fourteen. Smear Tactics: The 2000sChapter Fifteen. Total Command: The 2010sEpilogueAcknowledgmentsNotesPhoto CreditsIndex