Joan Mellen's FAUSTIAN BARGAINS: LYNDON JOHNSON AND MAC WALLACE IN THE ROBBER BARON CULTURE OF TEXAS

[Jim DiEugenio]

Ok, can you get any more info on the arrangements?

If you can please let us know.

[Drew Phipps]

I spoke to the younger Polk Shelton today. He confirmed that his uncle, the elder Polk Shelton, was an attorney from Central Texas back in the day. The elder Polk Shelton died in 1976. The younger Polk Shelton didn't know anything about the Mac Wallace case, but he did say that his uncle knew LBJ. He told me that his uncle ran against Johnson in the '30's (confirmed, 1937 Special election for Texas 10th Congressional District) and, after that, LBJ and the elder Polk Shelton were friends, and that his uncle was "political," and that there's a street named after him somewhere in Austin.


BTW the younger Polk Shelton isn't "political" at all; but he does sing and play guitar.

[Tom Scully]

[Drew Phipps]

A bit more local Austin colorful history:

"Marion Bennett, whose father, [the elder] Polk Shelton, was famous for defending prostitutes and other societal outcasts -- may have a more romantic recollection of the area due to her father's tolerance... "Up north [of the Colorado River], that's where everyone has moved in, and it's changed the way Austin is," she says. "It's a whole different world. The friendliness is gone. The friendliness never did leave South Austin. South Austin is like a rural Texas town. If your friend is drunk, you help them get up.""

Here's the article, which contains a photo of Marion (Shelton) Bennet and her husband (ex-Marine with a 600 knife collection) Pat Bennet sitting in front of their South Austin home.

http://www.austinchronicle.com/features/...in-secede/

The article is mostly about the difference between North Austin and South Austin, which, like most other kinds of stereotypes, is a tiny bit accurate and at the same time a whole lot of bull.

PS: I believe the juvenile criminal court building (Gardner-Betts) is named (partly) after Judge Betts.

[Jim DiEugenio]

So Shelton and Cofer both defended Wallace.

Thanks Tom and Drew.

[Dawn Meredith]

I spoke to the younger Polk Shelton today. He confirmed that his uncle, the elder Polk Shelton, was an attorney from Central Texas back in the day. The elder Polk Shelton died in 1976. The younger Polk Shelton didn't know anything about the Mac Wallace case, but he did say that his uncle knew LBJ. He told me that his uncle ran against Johnson in the '30's (confirmed, 1937 Special election for Texas 10th Congressional District) and, after that, LBJ and the elder Polk Shelton were friends, and that his uncle was "political," and that there's a street named after him somewhere in Austin.


BTW the younger Polk Shelton isn't "political" at all; but he does sing and play guitar.

Really well I might add. I see him in court still all the time in San Marcos. Some lawyers just never retire and Polk is one of them. Nice guy too. I asked him a long time ago about the Mac Wallace case when I first saw the name "Polk Shelton" associated with it. He did not know and I was not about to supply details as like Drew I assumed it was his dad.

[Dawn Meredith]

Wow this just gets more insane. A fb friend is reading this book and messaged me earlier that "Nathan Darby wrote" a letter to his file that he would not be re-certifying.

This just gets sicker and sicker.

Nathan Darby wrote no such letter.

Beyond disgusted.

Dawn

[Jim DiEugenio]

My review of Faustian Bargains is up at CTKA:

http://ctka.net/2016/mellen-review/mellen-review.html

Overall, I think its a credible effort. A lot of interesting info in a book that is less than 300 pages long.

[Dawn Meredith]

My review of Faustian Bargains is up at CTKA:

http://ctka.net/2016/mellen-review/mellen-review.html

Overall, I think its a credible effort. A lot of interesting info in a book that is less than 300 pages long.

Jim I invite you to listen to the talk Richard Bartholomew gave a bit ago in Dallas. I believe it will all be up on you tube, I watched it streaming as I knew it was going to be a defense of Nathan Darby and a correction of Joan's many errors and outright confused assertions in her book.

I know you are also in Dallas right now at Lancer so I will wait til you have an opportunity to review this talk.

Dawn

[Tracy Riddle]

Interesting Joan Mellen synchronicity - I bought the Criterion Collection DVD of Kurosawa's Seven Samurai and Joan appears in the bonus documentary "Origins and Influences" discussing the feudal period in Japan. Quite an all-around scholar.