"A deeply reported, searingly honest portrait of the death penalty in Texas--and what it tells us about crime and punishment in America. In 1972, the United States Supreme Court made a surprising ruling: the country's death penalty system violated the Constitution. The backlash was swift, especially in Texas, where executions were considered part of the cultural fabric, and a dark history of lynching was masked by gauzy visions of a tough-on-crime...

"Presents the biography of Barbara Jordan against the backdrop of her political, historical, and cultural environment"--Provided by publisher.

A deeply personal memoir by the 2014 Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate traces her upbringing by a single-mom high school dropout, her early divorce, her Harvard Law School education and the early political achievements that led to her successful 2008 election to the Texas Senate.

"Even as a child growing up in the Fifth Ward of Houston, Barbara Jordan stood out for her big, bold, booming, crisp, clear, confident voice. Barbara took her voice to places few African American women had been in the 1960s: first law school, then the Texas state senate, then up to the United States congress. Throughout her career, she persevered through adversity to give voice to the voiceless and to fight for civil rights, equality, and justice"--...

Profiles the life of the Texas governor, including his childhood, education, involvement in the military, personal life, business and outside interests, and campaign for the 2000 Republican presidential nomination.