Wildcatter Glenn McCarthy & Houston's Shamrock Hotel, First Edition

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AUTHOR: Wallace Davis.

TITLE: Corduroy Road: The Story of Glenn H. McCarthy

PUBLICATION DATA: 1951. Anson Jones Press; Houston. First edition, after the Cork Club edition sold by subscription to members of the Shamrock Hotel's Cork Club..

The first wave of Texas oil millionaires really made an impression on American culture, didn't they? They inspired characters like J. R. Ewing and Jett Rink. Some, like Howard Hughes, couldn't even be fictionalized...they didn't need to be. Big-hearted but eccentric. Flamboyant but generous. Glenn McCarthy was one of those larger-than-life characters. He brought in 38 wells in the 1930s and opened 11 fields in the 1940s. He lived to see James Dean portray a character based on his life in the big screen production of Edna Feber's "Giant." He owned the land the Astrodome would be built upon and sunk $21 million into building the opulent Shamrock Hotel at Main and Bellaire...the largest hotel in the United States in the 1940s. Diamond Glenn's career and investments helped shape modern Houston.

Condition report:

Shamrock green covers are still vibrant, as are the gilt embossed titles. Covers show little wear. Illustrated with many photos and small fold-out maps of Glenn's oil discoveries. Original dust jacket is laid into the book. 282 pages. Binding secure.

Why It Matters:

It's great oil history; it's great Houston history; it's a scarce Texas book...and it's a hell of a tale!