To most Americans, Frank Hamer is known only as the "villain" of the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde. Now, in Texas Ranger, historian John Boessenecker sets out to restore Hamer's good name and prove that he was, in fact, a classic American hero. From the horseback days of the Old West through the gangster days of the 1930s, Hamer stood on the frontlines of some of the most important and exciting periods in American history. He participated in the Bandit War of 1915, survived the climactic gunfight in the last blood feud of the Old West, battled the Mexican Revolution's spillover across the border, protected African Americans from lynch mobs and the Ku Klux Klan, and ran down gangsters, bootleggers, and Communists. When at last his career came to an end, it was only when he ran up against another legendary Texan: Lyndon B. Johnson. Written by one of the most acclaimed historians of the Old West, Texas Ranger is the first biography to tell the full story of this near-mythic lawman.
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“In terms of sheer action and violence, from close-quarters gunfights to Mexican-border ambushes to face-offs with lynch mobs, I’m hard-pressed to think of [a biography of an American lawman and detective] that rivals John Boessenecker’s excellent Texas Ranger… A notable achievement.”
— Wall Street Journal
“Fair-minded and thorough…Boessenecker tells the gruesome story with power and force.”
— New York Times Book Review“The author’s painstaking research…brings forth an astounding story…A superb account.”
— Washington PostBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
John Boessenecker is considered one of the leading authorities on crime and lawlessness in the Old West. He is the award-winning author of Bandido: The Life and Times of Tiburcio Vasquez and When Law Was in the Holster: The Frontier Life of Bob Paul. In 2011 and 2013, True West magazine named him a “Best Nonfiction Writer.” He has appeared frequently as a historical commentator on PBS, The History Channel, A&E, and others.
Graham Winton is a television, film, and voice actor who has won the Audie Award for Best Narration. He has appeared on such television shows as Blue Bloods, Law & Order, All My Children, and As the World Turns.