New & Noteworthy List for December 2024

A bibliography of books, reports, and other documents recently added to the Legislative Reference Library collection.

1. Bill Hobby: A Life in Journalism and Public Service
By Don Carleton and Erin L. Purdy
Presents the biography of former Lieutenant Governor Bill Hobby, Jr. through his youth; careers in journalism, politics, and higher education; and retirement. Details the work he accomplished as the longest-serving lieutenant governor in Texas from 1973 to 1991. Discusses his handling of such issues as the 1974 Constitutional Convention, the Killer Bees' quorum break, and the relationship between the Senate and the House of Representatives. Includes discussion of his contributions as a journalist with the Houston Post and as chancellor of the University of Houston.

Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas Press, 2024. 428 pages.
976.4063092 C281B 2024
2. Blind Spots: When Medicine Gets It Wrong, and What It Means for Our Health
By Marty Makary
Examines the blind spots of modern medicine perpetuated within the medical community and the consequences to public health. Criticizes the medical “groupthink” mentality that has led to worse health outcomes for patients. Provides examples of bad medical advice related to peanut allergies, the opioid crisis, and the development of super bacteria from the overuse of antibiotics. Calls for changes to the way society approaches health by using good scientific evidence and allowing open dissent from mainstream medical opinions.

Bloomsbury Publishing, 2024. 265 pages.
362.1 M235 2024
3. Higher Admissions: The Rise, Decline, and Return of Standardized Testing
By Nicholas Lemann
Explores the role of the Scholastic Aptitude Test, now known as the SAT, in higher education admissions. Questions the logic of linking SAT success with merit and chronicles the “birth of the American meritocracy” around the exam. Considers the effect of high-stakes standardized testing on college access for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Princeton University Press, 2024. 160 pages.
378.161 L547 2024
4. Politics Under the Radar: From LBJ to George W. Bush
By Monte Akers and Robert D. Spellings
Presents the political and personal memoir of Robert D. Spellings, chief of staff of former Lieutenant Governor Ben F. Barnes. Provides an insider's account of the political workings and legislative actions during Barnes' speakership and service as lieutenant governor. Includes details of the 1971 redistricting process and the Sharpstown scandal. Reflects on state and federal politics from the 1970s to the present.

Independently Published, 2024. 280 pages.
976.4 SP743P 2024
5. The Privateers: How Billionaires Created a Culture War and Sold School Vouchers
By Josh Cowen
Traces the history of school tax-funded school choice programs in America. Links the drive for voucher programs to ultra-wealthy conservative stakeholders using school choice as an ideological and political battleground. Argues as such programs have expanded in the U.S., so too has the evidence-informed case against them.

Harvard Education Press, 2024. 200 pages.
379.1 C874 2024
6. Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects Our Minds and How to Build Immunity
By Sander van der Linden
Argues that misinformation has reached a crisis level that has led to a worldwide infodemic. Focuses on the psychological effect of misinformation on the human brain along with how to defend against false information. Offers the new science of “prebunking” as a psychological vaccine for building immunity to combat against fake news, propaganda, and conspiracy theories.

W.W. Norton & Company, 2023. 358 pages.
302.3 V228 2023