Yours to Command: The Life and Legend of Texas Ranger Captain Bill McDonald (Frances B. Vick Series) [Hardcover]

Harold J. Weiss Jr. (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Yours to Command is well written, entertaining, and extensively researched, especially in the reports and other correspondence that McDonald wrote to his superiors in Austin."--Journal of Southern History

(20201104)

"Those seeking a fine narrative of the exploits of a legendary Texas Ranger will be satisfied with this well-researched and well-written book."--Western Historical Quarterly

"At 436 pages it is a richly detailed account of McDonald's storied career. It is both candid and exhaustive."--Journal of South Texas

 "Harold Weiss has explored McDonald''s distinguished career with rare insight into law enforcement procedures during the period of the last frontier. His book also boasts three ''photo galleries,'' which  offer images of McDonald and his world with captions of unusual length and value. Yours to Command is one of the most impressive and informative lawman biographies ever penned."—Bill O''Neal

(Bill O'Neal Journal of Arizona History )

“For a century historians regarded Albert Bigelow Paine’s Captain Bill McDonald, Texas Ranger: A Story of Frontier Reform as the benchmark volume on this legendary lawman. Certainly, the book had a good run. Yet, in terms of research, writing, and erudition, Harold J. Weiss Jr.’s Yours to Command: The Life and Legend of Texas Ranger Captain Bill McDonald, utterly supplants Paine.” --Stephen L. Hardin, author of Texian Iliad: A Military

(Stephen L. Hardin )

“Weiss’ book sorts truth from legend about a man credited for one of the Rangers’ prime myths, the ‘One Riot, One Ranger’ story.” --Mike Cox, author of The Texas Rangers: Wearing the Cinco Peso

(Mike Cox )

“Veteran Ranger readers from across the West and Southwest will thoroughly enjoy this more accurate account of McDonald’s still-remarkable exploits, finally putting Bigelow Paine’s 1909 work to rest. McDonald’s is a great story to tell, lore and legend notwithstanding, and I believe that Harold Weiss has that story here.” --Paul N. Spellman, author of Captain J. A. Brooks, Texas Ranger and

(Paul N. Spellman, author of Captain J. A. Brooks, Texas Ranger and )

Product Details

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: University of North Texas Press; First Edition edition (June 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1574412604
• ISBN-13: 978-1574412604
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,514,158 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended for public and college library biography shelves, July 11, 2009

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Yours to Command: The Life and Legend of Texas Ranger Captain Bill McDonald (Frances B. Vick Series) (Hardcover)

Yours to Command: The Life and Legend of Texas Ranger Captain Bill McDonald is the biography of Captain Bill McDonald (1852-1918), the most well-known of the "Four Great Captains" of Texas Ranger history. Rangers under his command were involved in incidents ranging from the Fitzsimmons-Maher prizefight in El Paso, to the Wichita Falls bank robbery, the murders by the San Saba Mob, the Reese-Townsend feud at Columbus, the shootout with Mexican Americans near Rio Grande City, and much more. Only one Ranger ever lost his life while under McDonald's command. McDonald's marksmanship, skill at using weapons to intimidate opponents, and ability to handle unruly mobs are the stuff of legends. Yours to Command reveals the truth behind the legends. Though Yours to Command is a scholarly accounting, McDonald's amazing life story is a pleasure for anyone fascinated by true tales of the Old West to read. Highly recommended for public and college library biography shelves.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MASTERPIECE OF LAW-ENFORCEMENT BIOGRAPHY, July 2, 2009

By 

David A. Clary (Roswell NM) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Yours to Command: The Life and Legend of Texas Ranger Captain Bill McDonald (Frances B. Vick Series) (Hardcover)

Bill McDonald was one of the "four great captains" of the Texas Rangers during the late 19th and early 20th century. He was, literally, a legend in his own time, the inspiration for the apocryphal tradition "one riot, one ranger," and more than any single individual the source of lore and legend about the Rangers. Harold Weiss has done a splendid job of sorting the man and his career from the mythology surrounding him, in a biography that is always interesting, often exciting, and engaging even when it emphasizes that a captain's life was as much one of paperwork and personnel management as of confronting often dangerous criminals (and McDonald did plenty of the latter, though with fewer gun battles than legend would hold). This is a fascinating work of biography, one that others should look to for instructive example. To anyone interested in Texas, the frontier west, and the reality behind the myths surrounding both, this book is highly recommended. Once you start reading, you can't put it down.