Texas Ranger Tales: Stories That Need Telling [Paperback]

Mike Cox (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1997

Texas Ranger Tales is a collection of legendary Texas Ranger stories, from new takes on the famous tales to fresh stories few, if any, have heard.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The late Colonel Homer Garrison Jr. said of the men who word the badge of the Texas Rangers that they were "The were men who could not be stampeded. " Founded by Colonist Stephen F. Austin during the earliest days of Anglo settlement in Texas, the Texas Rangers became an important part of Texas history. These were good men who, though few in number, were distinguished, unique even among themselves, and soon, even mythical. The legends and traditions surrounding the Texas Rangers have endured and evolved. Today the Texas Rangers are among the most respected law enforcement agencies in the world. Texas Ranger Tales is a collection of these legendary Texas Ranger stories providing new takes on the famous tales to fresh stories few, if any, have heard. Texas Ranger Tales is terrific reading for anyone with an interest in the American West, and has much of value for students, scholars, and popular western fiction writers seeking a firmer grounding in authentic background materials for some of the best known American lawmen to ever strap on a gun and pin on a star. -- Midwest Book Review

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Taylor Trade Publishing; 1st edition (April 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556225377
• ISBN-13: 978-1556225376
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #747,993 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Texas Ranger Tales, May 31, 2000

By 

Charles M. Broadhead - See all my reviews

This review is from: Texas Ranger Tales: Stories That Need Telling (Paperback)

Mike Cox has written a fun, fact filled essay that is a quick and easy read. Each chapter is a separate story related to some past instance of Texas Ranger history. This book does not contain popular stories, in fact, most of the chapters cover obscure events, which makes it very interesting for true fans of this elite agency. I am afraid, however, that most people will not get much interest out of some of the chapters. I would have to disagree with Mr. Cox, and say that some of these stories really don't "need telling".

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Stampeded, February 15, 2008

By 

Virgil Brown (White Oak, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Texas Ranger Tales: Stories That Need Telling (Paperback)

Stephen F Austin once wrote during the early days of the Anglo settlement in Texas that he would "employ ten men to act as 'rangers' for the common defense." Thus were the famous Texas Rangers born. The Rangers are an important part of the history of Texas. About them have endured and evolved numerous myths and traditions. One of which is that the Texas Rangers could not be stampeded according to the late Colonel Homer Garrison.

Mike Cox tells folksy tales, the kind that we would all enjoy around a campfire. In the early 1870's Ranger Tedford and several other Rangers were scouting the headwaters of the Llano River. They were under strict orders not to shoot unless they came upon Indians. The order was mildly irritating to the Rangers until they crossed a hill and came upon a bear. What would they do? One Ranger suggested roping it. One can imagine what could have happened.

Even the chapter where Cox tells about eating coyote is folksy. Comanches had attacked settlers in Coleman County in West Texas. The Rangers trailed the Indians across Runnels and Coke Counties into

Nolan County. At that point the Rangers were running out of supplies and there was no game around except ... a coyote. Years later a Ranger named Rogers recalled that another Ranger named Elkins was so hungry he ate a half-quarter of the coyote. "Pass the coyote, please."

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Stories that did not need telling, August 5, 2011

By 

Christopher Amos (Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Texas Ranger Tales: Stories That Need Telling (Kindle Edition)

Texas Ranger Tales by Mike Cox does not live up to its subtitle, "Stories That Need Telling." The book is a compilation of after notes and leftovers from history and laboriously expounded upon. Each chapter is a stand-alone story, and each ended with me hoping the next might hold my interest through the book. It didn't.

For instance, the chapter "Pass The Coyote, Please!" documents a hungry group of Rangers traveling during the winter. Game is so scarce, they kill and eat a coyote. That's it. The author drags the incident out into a full chapter by adding historical documentation about civilizations that did or did not eat coyote.

"Corporal Wilson's Ride" is a detailed account of a group of Texas Rangers that road through the night to intercept a would-be bank robbery and were too late. The following chapter, "The Killing of `Caige' Grimes" is a continuation of the previous boring chapter, documenting the early life of the person killed in the gunfight of the would-be robbery the Rangers missed.

Each chapter left me wishing I had the book that these insignificant details were left out of. I can only speak for the first half of the book, because I gave up half the way through it and move on to my next book.