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Rip Ford's Texas (Personal Narratives of the West)

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Memoirs may often cure insomnia, but not this hefty chunk of history. Travel back in time with John Salmon "Rip" Ford. Saddle the horses and hitch up your britches, you'll be heading out to the Texas of a newly independent republic. Ride from the Red to the Rio Grande and beyond with the doctor, lawyer, surveyor, journalist, trailblazer, legislator, and celebrated soldier of numerous wars.

Ford takes the reader from the earliest days of the republic to statehood, secession, and on into reconstruction. Meet the intrepid Texas Ranger Jack Hays. Ride from Matamoros to Mexico City with the "Los Diablos Tejanos." Trailblaze a trade route from San Antonio to El Paso with the Ford-Neighbors expedition.

Brilliantly edited by Stephen B. Oates, this personal narrative of a time, place, and adventure, all larger than life itself, is a must read for all who are interested in Texas and its history.

This book is now hard to find, but look for it. It is among the most fascinating and informative recollections of all those written to cover the Civil War. Ford recounts his early experience with Edmund J. Davis, brig. general in U. S.Volunteers ab=nd kater the "worst Reconstrution governor anywgere, We see the personality of Ford and learn how he got his knick-name "Rip." It's not what you woiuld imagine. This is a great book that needs to be republished.