BOOK SIGNING FOR BOB ECKHART BIOGRAPHY THURSDAY

Gary A. Keith, author of “Eckhardt: There Once Was a Congressman From Texas” will be appearing at Brazos Bookstore, 2124 Bissonnet, on Thursday, February 7, at 7 pm.Bob Eckhardt, a Houston Democrat, was a force to reckon with state and national politics from the 1940s until 1980. His leadership in Houston and in the Texas legislature took him to Congress from the 1960s to 1980. He was known for his “brilliant legislative mind” and political oratory — as well as for bicycling to Congress in a rumpled white linen suit and bow tie. He passed the Texas Open Beaches Act and helped create the Big Thicket National Preserve.

Al Gore’s foreword to the book says, “More than anything, this story of the life of Bob Eckhardt provides a model of public service. It shows us what politics was like before the poisoned era that we find ourselves in today. It shows us the passion and sense of social justice of a man who used his considerable skills and talents on behalf of workers, consumers, environmental protection, and constitutional rights. And, in his story, perhaps we will find the way back—the way back to politics of optimism and hope, of caring for the commons and for the common man.”