Claytie : the roller-coaster life of a Texas Wildcatter / by Mike Cochran.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Cochran, Mike.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Williams, Clayton, 1931-.

Williams, Clayton.

Oil industry workers--Texas--Biography.

Oil industry workers.

Political candidates--Texas--Biography.

Political candidates.

Businesspeople--Texas--Biography.

Businesspeople.

Oil well drilling--Texas.

Oil well drilling.

Governors--Texas--Election.

Governors.

Texas--Biography.

Texas.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (446 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

College Station : Texas A & M University Press, c2007.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The native son of a distinguished West Texas family and a 1954 graduate of Texas A&M whose career and personal pursuits have ranged from farmer to insurance salesman to wildcatter, pipeline entrepreneur, rancher, banker, real estate mogul, big game hunter, conservationist, philanthropist, front-running gubernatorial candidate, and oil tycoon, Clayton W. Williams Jr. is by all measures one of a kind. He has repeatedly been on the Forbes list of the 400 wealthiest Americans, yet more than once Claytie has also been on the verge of bankruptcy. This authorized biography captures the dimensions of his fascinating life: his determined work ethic and honesty; his passionate interests and rough-hewn style; his devotion to wife and constant companion Modesta and family; his all-in wildcatter bets and integrity-above-all payoff of debts; his patented gaffes in the "wildest, woolliest Texas governor's race ever" and their spotlighted consequences for the state and nation; and running through it all, both unrestrained celebrations and knees-on-the-ground repentance. His many notable successes, his most admirable traits, as well as his most outrageous flaws are all portrayed in this book, often in Claytie's own words or in the extensive comments, revealing anecdotes, and first-person accounts of others, supplemented by family and business documents, as well as contemporary journalistic records. This book tells it all, revealing one distinctive maverick who has left his boot prints all across Texas for 75 years.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

Introduction

One At Home in West Texas:Where Legacy Matters

Two Oil-Patch Dreams: The Rise of Clajon, the Little Company That Could

Three The Go-GoYears: Blowouts, Blowups, Big Riches, and a Half-Billion-Dollar Debt

Four Political Adventures:The Wildcatter Who Would Be Governor

Five A New Millennium: No Slowing Down

Recognitions

Author's Acknowledgments

Photo Credits

Index.

Notes:

Includes index.

ISBN:

1-299-05234-7

1-60344-450-5

OCLC:

607898020