Inside the Texas Chicken Ranch

"[An] action-packed history of the brothel that inspired the Broadway play and film The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and the ZZ Top hit 'La Grange'" ( The New York Post).   Thanks to its status as a pop culture icon, many people think they know the story of the infamous Chicken Ranch. The real story of this Texas brothel is more complex, lying somewhere between heartbreaking and absurd.   For more than a century, dirt farmers and cigar-smoking politicians alike rubbed shoulders at the Chicken Ranch, operated openly under the sheriff's watchful eye. Madam Edna Milton and her girls ran a tight, discreet ship that the God-fearing people of La Grange tolerated if not outright embraced. That is, until a secret conspiracy enlisted an opportunistic reporter to bring it all crashing down on primetime television.   Through exclusive interviews with Milton, former government officials, and reporters, Jayme Lynn Blaschke delivers a fascinating, revelatory view of the Ranch that illuminates the truth and lies that surround this iconic brothel.