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Land of the Permanent Wave: An Edwin “Bud” Shrake Reader
Author: Bud Shrake

Edited and with an introduction by Steven L. Davis

Foreword by Larry L. King
Southwestern Writers Collection Series, The Wittliff Collections
Publisher: University of Texas Press, 2008
343 pp., 20 halftones
Price: Hardcover: $29.95

"Catnip to women, much admired by men, the Fort Worth native cut a wide swath in his hard-living days. His writing, honed on newspaper deadlines, is direct, ironic, sending off splinters of light. To discover him now is to gain a friend for life, one who will make you laugh, snicker, and sigh even as shadows are falling."—Dallas Morning News

"Shrake has experienced a lot more of Texas in his 50-year career than most writers could imagine, and his writing has been equally varied, from pounding out police blotters to bringing New Journalism to the pages of Sports Illustrated, from long-form magazine essays to novels (Strange Peaches, Custer's Brother's Horse) to feature films, not to mention co-authoring Willie Nelson's autobiography and the golfers' bible, Harvey Penick's Little Red Book. Land of the Permanent Wave brings all these streams together while folding in personal letters and fascinating excerpts from unproduced screenplays. The book reads more like an accidental autobiography than an introduction for the uninitiated, and one suspects that even if he didn't [intend] that, he wasn't exactly trying to get away from it, either." —Austin Chronicle

"Great editors near and far revere Bud, and a foreword written by super Texan Larry L. King convinces that he is one of the best if you don't already know it. . . . He just happens to be one of the best writers in America!" —Liz Smith, New York Post

"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

Edwin "Bud" Shrake is one of the most intriguing literary talents to emerge from Texas. He has written vividly in fiction and nonfiction about everything from the early days of the Texas Republic to the making of the atomic bomb. His real gift has been to capture the Texas Zeitgeist. Legendary Harper's editor Willie Morris called Shrake's essay "Land of the Permanent Wave" one of the two best pieces Morris ever published during his tenure at the magazine. High praise, indeed, when one considers that Norman Mailer and Seymour Hersh were just two of the luminaries featured at Harper's during Morris's reign.

This anthology is the first to present and explore Shrake's writing completely, including his journalism, fiction, and film work, both published and previously unpublished. The collection makes innovative use of his personal papers and letters to explore the connections between his journalism and his novels, between his life and his art. An exceptional behind-the-scenes look at his life, Land of the Permanent Wave reveals and reveres the life and calling of a writer whose legacy continues to influence and engage readers and writers nearly fifty years into his career.

Edwin "Bud" Shrake, who died in 2009, worked as a journalist for Sports Illustrated, wrote several filmed screenplays, and is the author of several acclaimed novels, including Blessed McGill and Strange Peaches. 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.