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Clockwise from top: Oveta Culp Hobby, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and William P. Hobby Sr. in the Oval Office, April 1953 (Hobby family); Will Hobby with his five-year-old son, Bill, in 1937 (Hobby family); Colonel Oveta Culp Hobby in Egypt during her inspection tour of Women’s Army Corps stations in North Africa, January 1944 (Woodson Research Center, Rice University).

This dual biography chronicles the lives of Will and Oveta Hobby; their impact on local, state, and national events; and how their marriage and media empire helped shape twentiethcentury journalistic and political history

THE GOVERNOR AND THE COLONEL A Dual Biography of William P. Hobby and Oveta Culp Hobby

DON CARLETON

The Governor and the Colonel A Dual Biography of William P. Hobby and Oveta Culp Hobby

DON CARLETON

William P. “Will” Hobby Sr. and Oveta Culp Hobby were one of the most influential couples in Texas history. Both were major public figures, with Will serving as governor of Texas and Oveta as the first commander of the Women’s Army Corps and later as the second woman to serve in a presidential cabinet. Together, they built a pioneering media empire centered on the Houston Post and their broadcast properties, and they played a significant role in the transformation of Houston into the fourth largest city in the United States. Don Carleton’s dual biography details their personal and professional relationship—defined by a shared dedication to public service—and the important roles they each played in local, state, and national events throughout the twentieth century.

This deeply researched book not only details this historically significant partnership, but also explores the close relationships between the Hobbys and key figures in twentieth-century history, from Texas legends such as LBJ, Sam Rayburn, and Jesse Jones, to national icons, including the Roosevelts, President Eisenhower, and the Rockefellers. Carleton’s chronicle reveals the undeniable impact of the Hobbys on journalistic and political history in the United States. DON CARLETON Austin, Texas

Don Carleton is executive director of the Briscoe Center for American History and J. R. Parten Chair in the Archives of American History at the University of Texas at Austin.

release date | december 7 x 10 inches, 800 pages, 100 b&w photos

ISBN 978-0-9997318-5-7 $39.95 | £33.00 | C$49.95 hardcover