Texas Rich: The Hunt Dynasty, from the Early Oil Days Through the Silver Crash

by Harry Hurt III

The saga of H. L. Hunt, his three families, and the family feud which began with his death focuses on the fortune he made in the oil business and his adventures as a health crank, propagandist, and eccentric patriarch

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Biography, History

446 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1981

About the author

Harry Hurt III (born November 13, 1951)[1] is an American author and journalist. He was formerly senior editor of the Texas Monthly and a Newsweek correspondent, and his articles have appeared in publications such as The New York Times, Sports Illustrated, Esquire and Playboy. His books include Texas Rich, a biography of oil tycoon H. L. Hunt and family; and Lost Tycoon: The Many Lives of Donald J. Trump (1993), an unauthorized biography of real estate mogul and 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump.

Hurt was born in Houston, Texas, the son of Margaret (Birting) Hurt and Harry Hurt Jr., who was president of Hurt Oil Company in Houston. He graduated from Choate School in 1969 and Harvard College in 1974, where he wrote for the Harvard Crimson. He worked for the Texas Monthly in Austin, serving as senior editor from 1975 to 1986. He later moved to Sag Harbor, New York, and married Alison Becker in 1993.He also had an early career in professional golf, which he revisited in the mid 1990s in writing Chasing the Dream: A Mid-life Quest for Fame and Fortune on the Pro Golf Circuit.

Reviews

[Davy Bennet Surf]

Chapter 10 on the JFK Assassination was pretty good.

[Taylor]

One of the most interesting life stories I have ever heard.

[Bill]

Portrait of the Hunt family, excellent story of the young H.L. nursing at mommy's breast at age 7 all the way through his John Birch Society days in cold-war-era Dallas, and beyond - to his goofy progeny (well, Lamar and Carolyn turned out OK). Find it in a used book store and read it.

[John]

takes a little discipline to follow all of the similiarly named family members, amazing amount of ego in this family, plenty of historical information

ok read- but if would've known then...

[Tom Nolan]

paperback

[Saad]

As a non-Texan, this book is greatly interesting and explains much about the modern history of Texas. I very much enjoyed learning and understanding the dynamics and what makes it a special place.