Product Description

Here is the first full telling of the most colorful and famous law enforcers of our time. For years, the Texas Rangers have been historical figures shrouded in myth. Charles M. Robinson III has sifted through the tall tales to reach the heart of this storied organization. The Men Who Wear the Star details the history of the Rangers, from their beginnings, spurred by Stephen Austin, and their formal organization in 1835, to the gangster era with Bonnie and Clyde, and on through to modern times. Filled with memorable characters, it is energetic and fast-paced, making this the definitive record of the exploits and accomplishments of the Texas Rangers.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #878525 in Books
• Published on: 2001-06-05
• Released on: 2001-06-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

Amazon.com Review
Predating the entry of Texas into the United States, the Texas Rangers came into being as a ragtag outfit of frontiersmen who battled a host of enemies, from Mexican soldiers to Comanche Indians to Anglo outlaws, and who were not often scrupulous about method--or the niceties of law. The Rangers were a controversial instrument of state justice throughout the 19th century, taming the frontier and borderlands with a hail of bullets and sometimes acting as little more than what historian Charles M. Robinson calls "officially sanctioned lynch mobs" with an unfortunate habit of singling out nonwhite Texans for punishment.

Even with their sometimes flawed conception of right and wrong, the Rangers earned widespread fame a century and more ago for conducting well-publicized campaigns against such desperadoes as Sam Bass, John Wesley Hardin, and John Selman. Less inclined to seek the spotlight today, the Texas Rangers still operate as an effective law-enforcement unit. In 1997, for example, they figured prominently in the surrender of self-styled "ambassador of the Republic of Texas" Richard McLaren. Robinson examines the checkered career of the Rangers, acknowledging the organization's darker moments while maintaining that the lawmen also did much to lessen violence in a markedly violent time and place. He approvingly cites a Ranger saying of long ago: "No man in the wrong can stand up against a fellow that's in the right and keeps on a-comin'." --Gregory McNamee

From Publishers Weekly
Fans of the old TV series The Lone Ranger and the current Walker, Texas Ranger (starring Chuck Norris) will love this history. Robinson (Bad Hand; A Good Year to Die) starts the tale in 1823, when the Mexican government allowed American settlers in Texas to form companies of border rangers to protect themselves from Indian raids. The Republic of Texas continued with the ranger companies and even formed entire regiments of them to serve alongside the American army during the Mexican War. The rangers continued to assist the American regular army in the later 1840s and '50s by patrolling both the frontier with Mexico and the northern and western settlements, keeping watch for marauding Indians. Rangers fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War, then spent the remainder of the 19th century patrolling the Mexican border, fighting Indians (the last battle occurred in 1881) and running down criminals. After their horse-riding days were over, the rangers adapted and became part of the state's Department of Public Safety. Today, more than 100 men and women continue the proud tradition of their service. Robinson has written an engaging book that covers the Texas Rangers' major highlights, including their finest moments and their great officers--men like Jack Hays, John Ford and Leander H. McNelly. The author also delves into embarrassments, such as the Rangers' participation in the 1877 "Salt War." This fast-paced book sheds new light on an organization many have heard of but fewer know well. Maps and illus. not seen by PW.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Whatever you may think of Chuck Norris's current TV show, Walker: Texas Ranger, it demonstrates the popularity of the Western and the strong mystique still possessed by the Texas Rangers. A small, elite Texas law enforcement agency, the Rangers have a long history whose blemishes--for example, racism--have often been ignored. Robinson, a history professor at a community college in Texas and the author of several books on the Old West (e.g., Bad Hand), has done a good job of covering the history of the Rangers from their inception in 1823 through the 1930s. He evenhandedly shows both their virtues and flaws and helps one to understand the foundations underlying the modern image. Still, if you already have a book on the Rangers, like Walter Prescott Webb's classic The Texas Rangers (1965) or John Davis's The Texas Rangers: Images and Incidents (Univ. of Texas, 1993), this title is not essential except for collections with a marked focus on regional or criminal-justice history. (Index and photos not seen.)--Charles V. Cowling, Drake Memorial Lib., Brockport, NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

One Man's Depredations are Another's Horror Story
Mr. Robinson has provided the definitive history of the Texas Rangers. Careful to tell his story against the backdrop of concurrent historical events, this book is lucid, informative and an excellent read.While he makes no apologies, Mr. Robinson describes in detail the alleged excesses of the Rangers while consistently lumping the atrocities of the Indians into the category of "depredations". The settlers who were on the receiving end of these depredations might not use such a ten-dollar word.The Rangers were no missionaries according to Mr. Robinson, but the rough justice they meted out was often the only assurance our Texas ancestors had that they would not be murdered in their beds, or worse. Mr. Robinson does point out the viciousness of the Tonkawa Indians ( Ranger allies) with a chilling description of the practice of impaling young children upon broken tree branches. THE MEN WHO WEAR THE STAR is a mandatory addition to the library of any historian of the nineteenth century Texas frontier.

Rugged Historical Adventure
Spend the night up to your neck in a river, sleep on the desert floor, grapple with Commanche warriors; all for the sake of the Lone Star State. Ride with the right group and you're a hero, but look out. This account is real life adventure put into easily readable chapters that will leave you glad the author has written other works.

Masterpiece of history
Being a native Texan I thought I had heard and read all there was with regards to the Texas Rangers, This book proved me wrong but delightfully so. An excellent book if you want the history of Texas as well as history of the Rangers. The detail with which Mr Robinson writes covers the ground they rode as well as their undying love of Texas and their duty.Although I did wish for some articles to be more detailed, it was hopefully due more to the loss of records then any intentional overlook by the author. Excellent reading, hard to put down.