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Texas Matters: The History Of The Chicken Ranch

"The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" opened on Broadway in 1978 and was a hit musical comedy, winning two Tony Awards. In 1982 it was turned into a film with Burt Reynolds and Dolly Parton. The play and the film told the story about the Chicken Ranch – a brothel – which was a Texas institution.

But where does the movie end and reality begin? The book “Inside the Texas Chicken Ranch” exposes how the chicken ranch began and how it stayed open – and how it was finally closed.

Jayme Lynn Blaschke is the author of “Inside the Texas Chicken Ranch – The Definitive Account of the Best Little Whorehouse.”

It’s published by The History Press.

David Martin Davies can be reached at dmdavies@tpr.org and on Twitter at @DavidMartinDavi