7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Excellent History of the Texas Rangers, November 14, 2009
Like the Alamo, the Texas Rangers are a cherished symbol of the Lone Star State recognized the world over. If you are a fan of the Texas Rangers, like we are, and want to read an excellent history of that world famous law enforcement organization, you can't go wrong with Mike Cox's new book, "Time of the Rangers: Texas Rangers: From 1900 to Present."
In 2008, Mike Cox brought us the first of two books he's written about the Texas Rangers. His first book appropriately titled "The Texas Rangers: Wearing the Cinco Peso, 1821 - 1900" presented the well researched and detailed history of the Texas Rangers from the time of its creation in Stephen F. Austin's colony prior to the Republic of Texas until 1900.
The first real in-depth history of the Texas Rangers was written by Dr. Walter Prescott Webb and published in 1935. Webb's classic was titled "The Texas Rangers: A Century of Frontier Defense." As Mike Cox points out in his excellent new book, Webb had intended to update his 1935 classic in the 1960's, but died in an automobile accident before he got the chance. Cox's new book, "Time of the Rangers: Texas Rnagers: From 1900 to Present," does what Walter Prescott Webb never got the chance to do; complete the history of the Texas Rangers into the modern era.
This book is incredibly well researched. Cox is something of an insider having served for fifteen years as a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety. The Texas Rangers are part of the Texas Department of Public Safety. A ton of research went into this book. For the historical purist, "Time of the Rangers" has almost 100 pages of Notes and Bibliography. This book is destined to become the starting point for all future historians studying this period in Texas Ranger history.
But, if your not that into historical research, don't let this assessment put you off. As famed American historian David C. McCullough once put it, "No harm's done to history by making it something someone would want to read." Mike Cox has made "Time of the Rangers" something a whole lot of people will enjoy reading. He is a very interesting and entertaining writer. There is also a lot here for those who are looking for the heroic bigger than life Texas Rangers.
You might think that once the Rangers entered the 20th century that that might have been the end of the romance and adventure we have come to perceive about the Texas Rangers, but you would be wrong. The book begins with the Rangers still on horse back in 1900 and takes you to how they became one of the most modern and best trained law enforcement agencies in the world. From the rowdy oil field boom days to the killing of Bonnie and Clyde to the Carrasco prison escape attempt to the apprehension of rail-road killer, Rafael Resendez-Ramirez; the Texas Rangers have protected and are still protecting Texas and Texans from the bad guys. There is a whole lot of wonderful information in this book.
Another interesting aspect of Mike Cox's new book is that while he is relating the actual history of the Texas Rangers, he also reports how the public's perception of the Texas Rangers has been enhanced and romanticized even further by decades of different types of media including newspapers, books, magazines, radio shows, movies and television shows. A few familiar examples include "The Lone Ranger," "Walker, Texas Ranger" and "Lonesome Dove."
With his two books, Cox has become, without question, "the authority" with regard to the history of the Texas Rangers from its beginning to the present. Webb's book will always be popular for its heroic account of the early history of the Texas Rangers, but Cox's two books will be studied for their accuracy and balanced portrayal.
Get this one for yourself or the Texas history enthusiast in your family. You might also consider getting the first book, "The Texas Rangers: Wearing the Cinco Peso, 1821-1900," so you will have the the most complete history of the Texas Rangers currently available. K. K. Searle-Texas History Page.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Valuable contribution, October 30, 2009
The amazing thing about the Texas Rangers is that, after a hundred and eighty plus years, they continue to thrive, despite the pressures of political correctness, the addition of a few women to their ranks and recurring political attempts to change them. Indeed, at 134 strong, there are more of them now than at any time in the past hundred years. Some no longer ride or even like horses, but all still dress Western, with boots and big hats. They are, apparently, more independent than ever and certainly better-trained. And they have kept their legendary reputation for toughness and ingenuity while adding a now-rarely-disputed one for integrity.
Independent historian Mike Cox's valuable new contribution to Texas history shows the evolution of all that in an entertaining sequel to his popular "Wearing The Cinco Peso," about the Rangers' nineteenth century origins. Their new role is more complicated, in keeping with the times. Cox tells it in the same episodic way as the previous book and shows how they are woven through modern Texas history: policing the border during the Mexican revolution; enforcing Prohibition and gambling laws; taming overnight oil-boom towns; and catching bank robbers and kidnappers. They wisely drew the line at one politician's insistence that they enforce laws against fornication. They've even survived their own romantic portrayals, from the first dime novel in 1910 to television's silly kick-boxing version. But some legends are factual. The apocryphal "One Riot, One Ranger" has proven true as often as not. "There's an unwritten code in the Rangers," longtime leader Homer Garrison said. "You don't back out of situations..."
Yet Cox shows they have failed, sometimes spectacularly, as in a 1970s attempt to free hostages during a prison takeover that became a bloody fiasco, and the tragic end to the 1990s Branch Davidian standoff in Waco, though the FBI had more to do with that. Nowadays all Rangers have some college and work as detectives more often than enforcers. As always they are spread thin, each having responsibility for "two to three" of the 254 counties and "some as many as six." Nevertheless, they can mass on short notice for "situations" requiring their skills and political independence. As the book ends in 2009, one case they're investigating is the possibility that the 2008 burning of the 1856 governor's mansion in downtown Austin may have been retaliation--for the Ranger-led raid a few months earlier on the Yearning For Zion ranch where polygamy with girls as young as twelve was practiced. Driving by the grand old home's gutted shell, a Texan has confidence that if anyone can track down the pitiless arsonist(s), it will be the Texas Rangers.
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Wonderful Overview of the Modern Rangers, May 8, 2010
I have just finished Time of the Rangers, the fourth Mike Cox book I have read on the subject. The first three were detailed, and I must say, gripping, histories of the early years of the Texas Rangers - the "cowboy" era from their establishment under Stephen F. Austin to the opening of the 20th Century. This volume tells the Rangers' story from 1900 to the present, and includes everything from the Bonnie and Clyde episode to the David Koresh Waco catastrophe (of which Mr. Cox has an interesting piece of information, which if the media would investigate, could make for something of a fresh expose of that fateful event), right up to the recent FLDS compound raid.
I have thoroughly enjoyed all of Cox's books (I have yet to read, and wish I could get my hands on, his book on Henry Lee Lucas), but this one, more than the others, shows the hard work of historical research on his part. As I read it, I was astonished at the sheer amount of data he had to research, assimilate, and orchestrate into a very readable history. Great job. Great book!
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