“My Life in the (not so) Fast Lane” is a folksy and humorous memoir from a native of a nondescript part of rural Texas who, although a very mediocre athlete himself, became a successful high school and small college basketball coach in a state dominated by football coach/athletic directors, one who fired him for winning too many “thump-thump” games. The author also tells of his controversial days as a member of probably the most dysfunctional body in Texas history, the Texas State Board of Education, and how he became a member of this infamous body with the help of one of his former basketball players and members of the George W. Bush Presidential Campaign team headed by Karl Rove. Finally, the author ends his story with an account of how he succeeded in his efforts to remove a historical marker at an African American cemetery that falsely depicted his great grandfather as a slave owner in Texas after slavery had ended in the state.

Dan Montgomery, a fourth generation Texan, is a native of Navarro County, a graduate of Fairfield High School, and holds two degrees from Sam Houston State Teachers College. He was a coach, teacher, and athletic director for thirty plus years at the high school, junior college, and university levels. Dan also served as an elected member of the Texas State Board of Education from 2001 until 2007. He and his wife Joan have five children, seven grandchildren, and five great grandchildren. They are retired and have lived in Fredericksburg, Texas since 1990.