ENTERTAINMENT

Herewith, TCU Press launches its Texas Small Books series. These little booklings are perfect for brassing your way through Texas in a big way. Don Graham's State Fare is subtitled "irreverent" but what's irreverent about insight, wit and historical context? Texas history students viewing Red River, Giant, Hud and The Last Picture Show in sequence, along with the book, would easily see the rise, decline and fall of the Texas oil and cattle myth.

MIKE GIBSON/DMN

Ironically, a film exploiting big oil and big hair also marked the end of the Texas Western myth. The Wheeler Dealers died during its run in 1963 due to a film of stark realism, one shot by Abraham Zapruder. It was a "minimalist Western," only 313 frames long, in which the "sheriff" (JFK) is ambushed as he rides into town. Then, "everything, in terms of the Texas image, changed."

A new myth, that of urban Texas mediocrity chic, engendered Urban Cowboy and other films. Those known for excellent Texas realism are North Dallas Forty, Blood Simple and Flashpoint. Another, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, has "originality," "honesty" and "character." Its only flaw "is that the more Estrada's body deteriorates, the more it resembles Little Richard."

If State Fare is irreverent, Extraordinary Texas Women is polite. Judy Alter, a regular columnist for these pages, highlights the lives of selected members of the rib-sprung gender. Luminaries such as Ann Richards, Molly Ivins and Lady Bird Johnson share space with Ninnie Baird, who raised an empire of bread, and with Mildred "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias, the great athlete who single-handedly defeated a 20-member track team.

There's also Emily Morgan, the "Yellow Rose of Texas," who allegedly Delilahed Santa Ana, addling the Mexican strongman into defeat at San Jacinto.

Phil Fry and Jim Lee's Texas Country Singers contains 25 minibios of our now and future residents of hillbilly heaven. Tex Ritter, known for organizing this golden-gated community, got started as the cowboy in "Green Grow the Lilacs," the basis for Oklahoma!

Like Gene Autry, he was a singing cowboy in movies. George Strait was, too, in Pure Country.

Tanya Tucker was in Jeremiah Johnson at 12 and a singing star at 13, curtailing her education. Waylon Jennings got his high school diploma at 52.

Growing up, George Jones performed for coins instead of grades, and in the eighth grade Roger Miller left town on "Engine, Engine Number 9."

Ernest Tubb toiled as a WPA worker before he waltzed across Texas as a honky-tonk man. Johnny Rodriguez and Lefty Frizzell, of Corsicana, lost sunshine in jail.

Lefty once had four top-10 hits simultaneously. This feat was bested by the Beatles – but they weren't from Corsicana. Stuart Hamblin is the only Texan in hillbilly heaven to run for president. He got 78,000 votes in 1952, somewhat shy of Ike's 34 million. But he wrote more hits. "This Ole House," was No. 1 in seven countries.

Texas Small Books ought to be No. 1 in 254 counties.

NPR commentator Tom Dodge, www.tomdodge books.com, lives in Midlothian.

An Irreverent Guide to Texas Movies

Don Graham

(TCU Press, $8.95)

Judy Alter

(TCU Press, $8.95)

Phil Fry and Jim Lee

(TCU Press, $8.95)