Customer Reviews

The Men Who Wear the Star: The Story of the Texas Rangers (Modern Library Paperbacks)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Robinson captures all the important characters and events in this short, easy-to-read, well balanced book of the Texas Rangers. The book is actually a series of short stories about the most notorious and memorable men who made the Texas Rangers legendary not only for their fortitude and bravery, but also for their ruthlessness and sometimes lawlessness. The book is very objective and does not attempt to portray the Rangers as gods. Nevertheless, the Rangers were a unique band of men who often sacrificed their lives to protect the ordinary citizen living in remote areas of Texas. The real Texas Rangers and their actual accomplishments are far more amazing than the myth that continues to surround these extraordinary men to this day.

Although I have Walter Prescott Webb's classic work on the Texas Rangers, which was written decades ago, I was happy to see that there is a new history of the fabled frontier law enforcement unit had come out. The Texas Rangers were founded even before Texas independence in order to protect settlers from attacks from Comanche, Kiowa and Apache Indians, outlaws of more familiar origin, miscellaneous miscreants and eventually, after Texas joined the United States, cross-border Mexican bandits. While many of the early Ranger units were little more than sanctioned vigilantes who often conflated their law enforcement role with what can be described as extra-judicial enforcement of the law, they were tasked with an extremely difficult task - keeping Texans safe in a violent time. The Indians, who lived a hardscrabble existence on the windswept Texas plains, were resentful of intrusion of the white settlers and ranchers on their land and so more than five decades of raids ensued. Other works like the seminal "Trail Drivers of Texas" are full of stories of Texans who were killed by small war parties as the settlers pushed their way farther north and west. While Robinson does not attempt to whitewash the racism, brutality and ruthlessness of the early Texas Rangers, he puts their behavior into the proper context of the era in which they lived. His book is a narrative of short stories that illustrates live among the poorly paid Rangers and vividly portrays the heroism and endurance that was necessary to pursue outlaws and Indians across a barren and treacherous landscape. Robinson has augmented early accounts with further research that sheds light on the Rangers during the Civil War and the Reconstruction Period that followed. The history of the Texas Rangers is important for anyone who seeks to learn more about Texas as their story is intertwined with many other areas of Texas history including the rebellion against Mexico, the battle for the Alamo, post-war relations with Mexico and Texas law enforcement from the 1820's to the present day. Charles M. Robinson III, a native Texan, fills his book with truly larger-than-life characters like the immortal Captain McNelly who engendered great loyalty among his men and animosity from those he pursued. The Men Who Wore the Star provides those of us who love the American West with an excellent single volume history of the Texas Rangers. Jeffrey Morseburg

Fastidiously researched, well-documented, and equally well-written, this book is probably the final word, not only on the Texas Rangers, but on certain epochs of Texas history. This is the book that we`ve been waiting for - the kind that evokes the human side of the Rangers without destroying their larger-than-life reputation, and one that makes them live up to their sins without minimizing their heroism. This combines equal parts fact and testosterone to make for a satisfying read that, although it does drag occasionally, quite makes up for it with a steady stream of colorful events and individuals on every page.

- Benjamin Gene Gardner

Probably one of the best researched, and best written account of both Texas and Texas Ranger history.

I originally got the book for my own interest, but soon decided to use it as a primary resource for a major research paper.

Robinson even tells the part of The Alamo story that almost all high school Texas History teachers leave out.

This book should be one of the textbooks students should use for Texas History.

You can feel the power of Jack Hayes, the heat of the Texas desert, you fear for the men at The Alamo, and you feel like your riding along side the Rangers against the Indians.

This book is required reading for any Texan who wants to know more about the history of the state and many of its legends.

The Texas Rangers are one of the most controversial forces in United States history. Charles Robinson does an excellent job of recounting their history. The rangers were founded after independence with an idea to police the state and provide border security. Their role would change throughout time and come to a peak during the Mexican Revolution. They would fight in the Mexican American war where they would particularly abuse the Mexican populations earning them a bad reputation with US forces. Despite their brutality they were among the best soldiers trained in scouting and commando tactics that US forces lacked. They were an early special forces that earned their reputation during the war. Their story of development is expertly recounted here. For those looking for an intro to Texas history this is a great place to start.

I agree with all of the other positives that have been written about this book. Not only does the book provide a complete history of the Rangers, it does so with spurs jingling and guns loose in the holster. I read all of Louis Lamour's books and found this as fun to read as all but Lamour's best.

First was the fact this book is selling used for 20 cents. Then that the dust cover has NYT reviews congratulating the book.
SPOLIER ALERT:

Summarizing the book: The Rangers were bad. They were loud, nasty and liked to drink hard liquor. They did not read the Miranda warning to their enemies. And they even dare to use guns. Oh My God! What were those Texans thinking?

The book spends most of the time trying to paint the Texas Rangers in the worst possible light while trying to "remain above the fray." It fails miserably.

Do yourself a favor and buy instead "Taming the Nueces Strip: The Story of McNelly's Rangers." It only encompasses a short time within the Ranger lore, but it has warts and all, not a New York Wine and Cheese attitude about rednecks. The author should resign his Texan birthright and move to Manhattan.