Check out and delivery of New & Noteworthy titles is available to legislative staff in Capitol and District offices. To arrange check out and delivery of any of these items, you can submit an online request through the New & Noteworthy page on our website, contact the library at 512-463-1252, or use our PDF request form.
1. The ABCs of School Choice
By EdChoice
Presents comprehensive, data-rich information on private school choice programs in the United States. Focuses on education savings accounts (ESAs), vouchers, tax-credit scholarships, and individual tax credits and deductions. Outlines how each program works and who it serves. Provides feedback on how each program could be improved.
EdChoice, 2018. 162 pages.
Online at: https://www.edchoice.org/research/the-abcs-of-school-choice/
379.111 AB29 2018
2. America's Lone Star Constitution: How Supreme Court Cases from Texas Shape the Nation
By Lucas A. Power
Charts the development of Texas-inspired constitutional law, illustrating why Texas provides such breadth and depth to constitutional adjudication. Details Texas cases that cover major issues of national interest, areas as diverse as race, school finance, abortion, freedom of religion, and the relationship of the states and the federal government. Comments on how individual Supreme Court justices voted on the Texas cases, splitting justices into liberal, conservative, and centrist points of view.
University of California Press, 2018. 310 pages.
342.73 P871A 2018
3. Discrimination and Disparities
By Thomas Sowell
Challenges the notion that economic and social disparities can be the result of any one factor, such as discrimination, exploitation, or genetics. Argues that policy solutions are often counterproductive because they are based on oversimplified data and fallacies of reasoning.
Basic Books, 2018. 179 pages.
339.2 SO92D 2018
4. Speaker Jim Wright: Power, Scandal, and the Birth of Modern Politics
By J. Brooks Flippen
Examines the life and political career of Jim Wright, beginning in the Texas House of Representatives and culminating as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Draws on personal papers and interviews with Wright and others. Suggests his political downfall was brought about by poor personal choices, a dictatorial leadership style, and the "devolution of political civility" that is even more prevalent today.
University of Texas Press, 2018. 400.
328.73 F648S 2018
5. The Texas Liberators: Veteran Narratives from World War II
By Aliza S. Wong, ed.
Documents Texas veterans' experiences as liberators of concentration camp prisoners during World War II. Notes that this collection of stories was made possible by the Texas Holocaust and Genocide Commission, which was established by SB 482, 81st Legislature R.S., a bill authored by Senators Florence Shapiro and Rodney Ellis, to "teach the lessons of the Holocaust and other contemporary genocides."
Texas Tech University Press, 2018. 109 pages.
940.54 W846T 2018
6. Mexican American Baseball in South Texas
By Richard A. Santillan, et al.
Highlights the contributions of baseball teams and players from Edinburg, McAllen, Mission, Pharr, Donna, Alamo, San Juan, Brownsville, Harlingen, and other surrounding communities, from the late 19th century through the 1950s. Discusses the role of baseball in bridging the cultural divide in the Rio Grande Valley. Includes the story of former Representative Joe J. Bernal and his father.
Arcadia Publishing, 2016. 127 pages.
796.35709764 SM 2016
