{"product_id":"the-last-sheriff-in-texas-james-p-mccollom-9781640091269","title":"The Last Sheriff in Texas: A True Tale of Violence and the Vote","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn Amazon Best History Book of the Month\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis true crime story transports readers to a tumultuous time in Texas history--when the old ways clashed with the new--as it sheds light on police brutality, gun control, Mexican American civil rights, and much more \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"[A] riveting story of a time when sheriffs could get away with murder.\" --\u003ci\u003eDallas Morning News\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Beeville, Texas, was the most American of small towns--the place that GIs had fantasized about while fighting through the ruins of Europe, a place of good schools, clean streets, and churches. Old West justice ruled, as evidenced by a 1947 shootout when outlaws surprised popular sheriff Vail Ennis at a gas station and shot him five times, point-blank, in the belly. Ennis managed to draw his gun and put three bullets in each assailant; he reloaded and shot them three times more. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003ci\u003eTime\u003c\/i\u003e magazine's full-page article on the shooting was seen by some as a referendum on law enforcement owing to the sheriff's extreme violence, but supportive telegrams from across America poured into Beeville's tiny post office. Yet when a second violent incident threw Ennis into the crosshairs of public opinion once again, the uprising was orchestrated by an unlikely figure: his close friend and Beeville's favorite son, Johnny Barnhart. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Barnhart confronted Ennis in the election of 1952: a landmark standoff between old Texas, with its culture of cowboy bravery and violence, and urban Texas, with its lawyers, oil institutions, and a growing Mexican population. The town would never be the same again. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003ci\u003eThe Last Sheriff in Texas\u003c\/i\u003e is a riveting narrative about the postwar American landscape, an era grappling with the same issues we continue to face today. Debate over excessive force in law enforcement, Anglo-Mexican relations, gun control, the influence of the media, urban-rural conflict, the power of the oil industry, mistrust of politicians and the political process--all have surprising historical precedence in the story of Vail Ennis and Johnny Barnhart.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e James P. McCollom\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1640091262\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781640091269\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Counterpoint LLC\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/13\/2018\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 272\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.55lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.20h x 5.50w x 0.90d","brand":"James P. McCollom","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43991769579775,"sku":"9781640091269","price":16.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_c5915a10-8698-427b-9d72-3a56da8720dc.jpg?v=1683312127","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-last-sheriff-in-texas-james-p-mccollom-9781640091269","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}