Land of the Permanent Wave

Edwin "Bud" Shrake has worked as a journalist for Sports Illustrated, written several filmed screenplays, and is the author of several acclaimed novels, including Blessed McGill, Strange Peaches, and Billy Boy. He is also the co-author of Harvey Penick's Little Red Book, the best-selling sports book of all time. Shrake's newest novel is Custer's Brother's Horse. Steven L. Davis is the Assistant Curator of the Southwestern Writers Collection at Texas State University-San Marcos.

• Foreword (Larry L. King) Introduction (Steven L. Davis) Part 1: Strange Peaches in the "Land of the Permanent Wave" Is He Edwin, or Is He Bud? Cops Eat Kid's Pet Priest Taunted at Mansfield Letter: April 10, 1963, from the Navel of Mother Europe Jason and the Oui Oui Club (from But Not for Love) The Land of the Permanent Wave John Lee Wallace, Reporting from Dallas (from Strange Peaches) There Will Be Chickens The Hunts of Dallas Visit to Big Earl's (from Strange Peaches) Letter: August 7, 1969, on Dallas The Kennedy Motorcade (from Strange Peaches) No Day for Games Part 2: From New York to Chihuahua Letter: February 2, 1966, to NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle Letters from New York, 1964-1966 The Once-Forbidding Land Gerhardt's Farm (from Blessed McGill) Matthew Caldwell in Houston City (from The Borderland) Letter: May 29, 1965, on Writing Blessed McGillLetter: September 8, 1966, on Visiting Chihuahua The Tarahumaras: A Lonely Tribe of Long-Distance Runners Letter: October 4, 1967, on the Publication of Blessed McGillGoing into Chihuahua (from Blessed McGill) Part 3: Mad Dogs and Outlaws The Best-Kept Secret in America (from Willie: An Autobiography) The Screwing Up of Austin Letter: December 16, 1969, on Mad Dog, Inc. The Regenerator Erection Laboratory (from Peter Arbiter) Letter: August 1, 1969, from Zihuatanejo Scenes from Kid Blue ("Dime Box") Letter: November 4, 1973, on Larry Mahan Horsing Around with Bull Rafting the Big Bend Part 4: Night Never Falls Letters to Larry L. King, 1978-1983 Scene from "Pancho Villa and Ambrose Bierce" Scenes from "The Big Mamoo" The Angels of Dien Bien Phu (from Night Never Falls) Letter: March 8, 1988, to LLK, on Being "Sodbuster Two" Backstories: Sodbusters One and Two Letter: February 12, 1998, to LLK, on Getting Older Showdown at the Colonial (from Billy Boy) From Custer's Brother's HorseHow to Live Forever

"Land of the Permanent Wave offers a vibrant look at American and Texas culture through the eyes of one of the most remarkable writers the state has produced. Edwin "Bud" Shrake seems to have packed about six lifetimes worth of living into one, and he writes about his experiences with intelligence, wit, and skill." Ben Fountain, award-winning author of Brief Encounters with Che Guevara