The Texas-Mexico border is trouble. Haphazardly splashing across
the meandering Rio Grande into Mexico is--or at least can be--risky
business, hazardous to one's health and well-being. Kirby W. Dendy,
the Chief of Texas Rangers, corroborates the sobering reality: "As
their predecessors for over one hundred forty years before them
did, today's Texas Rangers continue to battle violence and
transnational criminals along the Texas-Mexico border."In "Riding
Lucifer's Line," Bob Alexander, in his characteristic storytelling
style, surveys the personal tragedies of twenty-five Texas Rangers
who made the ultimate sacrifice as they scouted and enforced laws
throughout borderland counties adjacent to the Rio Grande. The
timeframe commences in 1874 with formation of the Frontier
Battalion, which is when the Texas Rangers were actually
institutionalized as a law enforcing entity, and concludes with the
last known Texas Ranger death along the border in 1921. Alexander
also discusses the transition of the Rangers in two introductory
sections: "The Frontier Battalion Era, 1874-1901" and "The Ranger
Force Era, 1901-1935," wherein he follows Texas Rangers moving from
an epochal narrative of the Old West to more modern, technological
times.
Written absent a preprogrammed agenda, "Riding Lucifer's Line"
is legitimate history. Adhering to facts, the author is not
hesitant to challenge and shatter stale Texas Ranger mythology.
Likewise, Alexander confronts head-on many of those critical Texas
Ranger histories relying on innuendo and gossip and anecdotal
accounts, at the expense of sustainable evidence--writings often
plagued with a deficiency of rational thinking and common
sense.
"Riding Lucifer's Line" is illustrated with sixty remarkable
old-time photographs. Relying heavily on archived Texas Ranger
documents, the lively text is authenticated with more than one
thousand comprehensive endnotes.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!