The Men Who Wear the Star: The Story of the Texas Rangers [Hardcover]

Charles M. Robinson III (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 21, 2000

In 1935, Walter Prescott Webb first told about them in his classic The Texas Rangers, but not until now do we have a modern retelling of this storied organization, based on new material and written with the encouragement of the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame.

Most narratives of this colorful story, even Webb's, leave out several important eras in the history of the Rangers--the Civil War years, for instance, simply don't exist, and there is little acknowledgment of the Reconstruction period, from 1866 to 1874. In addition, though these previous chronicles concerned themselves primarily with the Rangers since their formal organization in 1835, the earlier years, when the "Ranging" defense force was established by Stephen Austin, are significant and exciting. And while most stories about the Texas Rangers treat them uncritically and uniformly as heroes, this was not always the case, to say the least.

The Texas Ranger captured the imagination of the American public like no other individual. Here is his colorful story, told anew, by the highly praised author of A Good Year to Die.

Editorial Reviews

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.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Random House; 1st edition (March 21, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 067945649X
• ISBN-13: 978-0679456490
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,415,081 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One Man's Depredations are Another's Horror Story, April 27, 2000

By 

[e-mail] (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Men Who Wear the Star: The Story of the Texas Rangers (Hardcover)

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.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rugged Historical Adventure, July 12, 2000

By 

John J. BAIN (Staunton, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Men Who Wear the Star: The Story of the Texas Rangers (Hardcover)

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.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Masterpiece of history, June 11, 2001

By 

Jeff Keith (Lorena, Texas United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Men Who Wear the Star: The Story of the Texas Rangers (Hardcover)

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.