Judge Ken Anderson Tells Us More About Dan Moody

We had a good group assembled to visit with Judge Anderson last week. Several spouses were there (I think of them as "spice") plus a friend or two. Anderson told us how he decided to write the book, Dan Moody: Crusader for Justice. It was when Judge Ken Anderson saw a portrait of Governor Dan Moody and thought to himself, "hmm, here is a man who went from District Attorney to Governor, and I am a D.A.;" that he became interested in Dan Moody's story. Scouring local libraries, Anderson learned that no biography had been written about Dan Moody, so he set out to fill that vacuum.

We readers always enjoy hearing authors tell how they write. Anderson said he read 7 years of newspapers on microfilm (dizziness notwithstanding) to get information about Moody. Without a biography, the daily news was the best place to learn about the career of the D.A./Governor. Then there were trial transcripts to read. Anderson compiled this dry material to create a very readable account of the history surrounding Moody. Anderson also created a book for children, called You Can't Do That, Dan Moody, which then became a play that is still performed at the Georgetown Courthouse. If you're interested, look for it next September.

We asked the author some questions and learned more about Moody and the strategic attorney work he performed to almost singlehandedly achieve the downfall of the KKK nationally plus clean up the corrupt Texas government. There may be some who feel that the Texas government can always use a little cleanup; but in the case of the Fergusons, a lot of cleanup was needed. Led by Patty, we requested that Judge Anderson consider writing a biography of the Ferguson's. Several of us found them fascinating!

It's always a special occasion when we have an author visit, and we thank Ken Anderson for his time with us.

If you love to read about Texas, note that there is a local book discussion group called "Books for Texans." Here's a link - click on Books for Texans Book Club They meet on the third Tuesday at 7:00 PM at the Georgetown Public Library. Several of us are members of that group. As the blogmaster, I guess I am allowed to say that from this New Yorker's point of view, our own RRNN Book Discussion Group reads just enough books about Texas to not be too many.