Although it is sometimes called a town without a history, Houston actually possesses the kind of sprawling past that includes a frontier port, a moon landing and a supermarket that contributed to the fall of the Soviet Union. In fact, there is so much history that much has been forgotten. Visit the landmarks of that neglected heritage, from the Cotton Exchange to Astroworld. Dropping in on legendary spots like Shamrock and Gilley's Club, Mark Lardas tells the stories of a Houston that has largely disappeared from the public eye.

Mark Lardas--a sometime engineer, freelance writer, historian and model maker--has lived in the Houston area for forty years. He is currently employed as a technical writer and spends his spare time collecting offbeat stories about Houston history. He worked on the Space Shuttle program as a navigator and engineer from 1979 until 2011.