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The Texas Rangers: A Century of Frontier Defense
Webb's classic history of the Texas Rangers has been popular ever since its first publication in 1935. This edition is a reproduction of the original Houghton Mifflin edition.
608 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1935
113 people are currently reading
446 people want to read
About the author
Walter Prescott Webb
62 books12 followers Webb was raised on the family farm in rural Panola County, Texas. After graduating from Ranger High School in Ranger in Eastland County, he earned a teaching certificate and taught at several Texas schools. He eventually attended the University of Texas at Austin and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1915 at the age of twenty-seven. He worked as bookkeeper in San Marcos and optometrist's assistant in San Antonio, then in 1918 he was invited to join the history faculty at the University of Texas. He wrote his Master of Arts thesis on the Texas Rangers in 1920 and was encouraged to pursue his PhD. After a year of study at the University of Chicago, he returned to Austin, where he began a historical work on the West. The result of this work was The Great Plains, published in 1931, hailed as great breakthrough in the interpretation of the history of the region, and declared the outstanding contribution to American history since World War I by the Social Science Research Council in 1939. He was awarded his PhD for his work on The Great Plains in 1932, the year after its publication.
In 1939-1946 he served as president of the Texas State Historical Association. During his tenure as president, he launched a project to produce an encyclopedia of Texas, which was subsequently published in 1952 as the Handbook of Texas. Webb wrote or edited more than 20 books. One of them, The Texas Rangers (1935) is considered the definitive study of the legendary Texas Rangers and its Captain Bill McDonald.
In 1958 Webb served as president of the American Historical Association.
Webb was killed in an automobile accident near Austin, Texas in 1963.In his honor the University of Texas established the Walter Prescott Webb Chair of History and Ideas. Webb Middle School in Austin, Texas is also named after him
In 1939-1946 he served as president of the Texas State Historical Association. During his tenure as president, he launched a project to produce an encyclopedia of Texas, which was subsequently published in 1952 as the Handbook of Texas. Webb wrote or edited more than 20 books. One of them, The Texas Rangers (1935) is considered the definitive study of the legendary Texas Rangers and its Captain Bill McDonald.
In 1958 Webb served as president of the American Historical Association.
Webb was killed in an automobile accident near Austin, Texas in 1963.In his honor the University of Texas established the Walter Prescott Webb Chair of History and Ideas. Webb Middle School in Austin, Texas is also named after him
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
September 30, 2019
A rather typical history of the Texas Rangers written by a young historian in the mid-1930's. More a telling of the Ranger's exploits in war and law-enforcement instead of a scholarly examination of the organization's political/legal development and the role that it played in the social structure of early Texas (good and bad such as dealings with slaves, freed slaves, Mexicans and native Americans).
As was common of these type of histories from the mid-twentieth century Mr. Webb is a flag waver and unabashedly partisan. Also, equally typical of works from the time period (unfortunately), there is casual racism that I'm sure Mr. Webb was unaware of. Many of his readers would have accepted some of his statements as just a matter of fact in 1935. In defense of Mr. Webb his later works showed that he had changed - as do most of us as we mature.
Mr. Webb had plans to do some editing to this book before it was re-released in 1965 and ,I suspect, among those changes would have been some judicious editing of some of the more inflammatory sentences. I also suspect that he would have provided more material on the role that the Texas Rangers played during the post-Reconstruction Era (which is basically ignored in the book). However Mr. Webb was killed in a car crash in 1963 so the original publication remains unchanged. I always state that one needs to keep perspective when reading an older book, but often it seems to fall on deaf ears. Nevertheless try to keep that in mind when reading this history.
As was common of these type of histories from the mid-twentieth century Mr. Webb is a flag waver and unabashedly partisan. Also, equally typical of works from the time period (unfortunately), there is casual racism that I'm sure Mr. Webb was unaware of. Many of his readers would have accepted some of his statements as just a matter of fact in 1935. In defense of Mr. Webb his later works showed that he had changed - as do most of us as we mature.
Mr. Webb had plans to do some editing to this book before it was re-released in 1965 and ,I suspect, among those changes would have been some judicious editing of some of the more inflammatory sentences. I also suspect that he would have provided more material on the role that the Texas Rangers played during the post-Reconstruction Era (which is basically ignored in the book). However Mr. Webb was killed in a car crash in 1963 so the original publication remains unchanged. I always state that one needs to keep perspective when reading an older book, but often it seems to fall on deaf ears. Nevertheless try to keep that in mind when reading this history.
June 15, 2017
J. Frank Dobie, Roy Bedichek, and the author of ‘Texas Rangers’, Walter Prescott Webb, are considered the fathers of Texas literature. They all gathered tales and folklore that were told around campfires, in parlors and certainly a few saloons. All the information that might be considered common knowledge for a time, but that would have been lost to history had these men not collected and wrote about it.
Webb wastes no time in setting the scene, there were 3 sides to the landscape, the Indian Warrior, The Mexican Vaquero, and the Texas Ranger. All were dead set against each other and at times, two of the three would be against the one. The word Texas means ‘friendly’, but for its first 100 years, it was anything but. The Rangers were created to apply law and order to a vast piece of real estate for a population and government with few resources.
Ranger companies were formed, having to provide their own horse and gun, usually of a few to 20 men led by a Captain. Often the force was supplemented by locals who had an interest in why the Rangers had arrived, such as cattle or horse thieving or the occasional invasion of Mexico. Often facing great odds, the Captain had to be intelligent, brave and bold, and when successful, his name became part of legend, such as Bill McDonald, or Ben McCulloch.
There is no shortage of action in Texas, even after having seen many western movies and TV shows, one can still be impressed at the scale of the violence that could happen to you out there under a Comanche moon. In many Ranger events they are judge, jury, and executioner, not necessarily in that order, an insight into the conditions of the times. One thing noticeable by its absence, while there are plenty of guns and bad guys, there are no ‘show downs’ in the middle of the street at high noon.
And it’s not all cowboys, Indians and banditos, as WWI arrived, there were Germans on the border, maybe, prohibition to enforce, reluctantly. The chapter on Frank Hamer, who was off and on a Ranger and always a true Texas character, and the man who tracked down Bonnie and Clyde, is a fascinating one. As Hamer was a contemporary, you can tell Webb was a bit in awe of him.
Author Webb was born in 1888 near Austin, Texas, and as the book was published in 1935, in time for the centennial of the Republic, it offers a fascinating perspective, as Webb grew up hearing the stories and later interviewing many old Rangers, their families and cohorts. He adds on a final chapter of his adventure as he spent a few months with the Rangers in the ultimate ‘police ride along’ which had campouts as well as shootouts!
My second edition has a photo of saddled Rangers on the cover, though the original cover art by Tom Lea (WW2 fans may know him for his ‘2,000 yard stare’ painting) is on the title page, so good stuff, also President Lyndon Johnson provides a forward (1965).
Since 1935 there have been many other books published about the Rangers, something Webb appreciated. If you want the tale from the start, get yourself ‘Texas Rangers a Century of Frontier Defense’, a Texas map, and saddle up.
Webb wastes no time in setting the scene, there were 3 sides to the landscape, the Indian Warrior, The Mexican Vaquero, and the Texas Ranger. All were dead set against each other and at times, two of the three would be against the one. The word Texas means ‘friendly’, but for its first 100 years, it was anything but. The Rangers were created to apply law and order to a vast piece of real estate for a population and government with few resources.
Ranger companies were formed, having to provide their own horse and gun, usually of a few to 20 men led by a Captain. Often the force was supplemented by locals who had an interest in why the Rangers had arrived, such as cattle or horse thieving or the occasional invasion of Mexico. Often facing great odds, the Captain had to be intelligent, brave and bold, and when successful, his name became part of legend, such as Bill McDonald, or Ben McCulloch.
There is no shortage of action in Texas, even after having seen many western movies and TV shows, one can still be impressed at the scale of the violence that could happen to you out there under a Comanche moon. In many Ranger events they are judge, jury, and executioner, not necessarily in that order, an insight into the conditions of the times. One thing noticeable by its absence, while there are plenty of guns and bad guys, there are no ‘show downs’ in the middle of the street at high noon.
And it’s not all cowboys, Indians and banditos, as WWI arrived, there were Germans on the border, maybe, prohibition to enforce, reluctantly. The chapter on Frank Hamer, who was off and on a Ranger and always a true Texas character, and the man who tracked down Bonnie and Clyde, is a fascinating one. As Hamer was a contemporary, you can tell Webb was a bit in awe of him.
Author Webb was born in 1888 near Austin, Texas, and as the book was published in 1935, in time for the centennial of the Republic, it offers a fascinating perspective, as Webb grew up hearing the stories and later interviewing many old Rangers, their families and cohorts. He adds on a final chapter of his adventure as he spent a few months with the Rangers in the ultimate ‘police ride along’ which had campouts as well as shootouts!
My second edition has a photo of saddled Rangers on the cover, though the original cover art by Tom Lea (WW2 fans may know him for his ‘2,000 yard stare’ painting) is on the title page, so good stuff, also President Lyndon Johnson provides a forward (1965).
Since 1935 there have been many other books published about the Rangers, something Webb appreciated. If you want the tale from the start, get yourself ‘Texas Rangers a Century of Frontier Defense’, a Texas map, and saddle up.
December 1, 2014
One of the best books you will ever read about the Texas Rangers. Superbly written. Full of great stories and history of the famed Rangers.
August 9, 2017
Written in 1935, The Texas Rangers is somewhat "colored" by the prejudices of that time. However, to pass it up for that reason would be to do yourself a disfavor. This book has more Texas History than anything I've read in ages. And while most of that history centers around the Rangers, that does nothing to prevent you from gaining a perspective on Texas you have probably never seen.
Texas was no place "for old men" anywhere in the 100 years covered in the book: Comanches, Apaches, Mexican armies and revolutions that spilled over into the Southwest US, a Salt War, the Mason County War between German Texans and the rest of the population, Germany teaming with Mexico to overthrow and recapture Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and the rest of the southwest, range wars (including fence-cutting wars),... the list goes on.
Webb's writing is addictive. I loved his dry humor and his grasp of history.
Texas was no place "for old men" anywhere in the 100 years covered in the book: Comanches, Apaches, Mexican armies and revolutions that spilled over into the Southwest US, a Salt War, the Mason County War between German Texans and the rest of the population, Germany teaming with Mexico to overthrow and recapture Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and the rest of the southwest, range wars (including fence-cutting wars),... the list goes on.
Webb's writing is addictive. I loved his dry humor and his grasp of history.
June 22, 2024
The first part of this book, talking about the early days of the Rangers as an indian-fighting force, was interesting.
May 13, 2015
You may have figured out by now I am a fanatic for Texana. The Texas Rangers are uniquely Texana. Webb's 1935 history of the Rangers was the most thorough single volume on the subject. The book was written at the approach of the Texas Centennial and in the wake of the 1919 Canales Hearings on the Rangers. Webb was out-and-out pro-Ranger. He covered every aspect of the force from the early days of the Republic, through the Rangers' service during statehood. The Rangers lapsed in during the Civil War and Reconstruction brought in a State Police (to this day we have no State Police in Texas, we have State Troopers, State Investigators, no State Police) which became the target of angry Confederates.
Webb puts a lot of detail into the revived Rangers that appeared in the 1870s. Indian fighting, crime fighting, and feud busting were of prime importance. Webb also covers teh highly controversial border wars that erupted from time to time such as the San Elizario Salt War & McNelly's Nueces Strip operations.
The last, bloodiest border war, the Bandit War of 1915-16 nearly destroyed the Rangers. Hearings were convened by Rep Canales of Brownsville and the Ranger force was accused of murder and corruption. The force survived but took a beating as politicians used them as a way to reward political cronies. Frank Hamer, the man who tracked down Bonnie & Clyde, emerged as the 20th century hero of the Rangers.
Webb has taken a few beatings too. Pena's Gunpowder Justice was a full-frontal attack on the Rangers & Webb's history. With His Pistol in His Hand by Paredes was another anti-Ranger history. More recently, the revisionists have gotten revised by Harris & Sadler's Texas Rangers & the Mexican Revolution and Robert Utley's two-volume history of the Rangers. While they all have something to say, Webb's overview is the trail-blazer & remains indispensable. Only Utley comes close to Webb's thoroughness.
Webb puts a lot of detail into the revived Rangers that appeared in the 1870s. Indian fighting, crime fighting, and feud busting were of prime importance. Webb also covers teh highly controversial border wars that erupted from time to time such as the San Elizario Salt War & McNelly's Nueces Strip operations.
The last, bloodiest border war, the Bandit War of 1915-16 nearly destroyed the Rangers. Hearings were convened by Rep Canales of Brownsville and the Ranger force was accused of murder and corruption. The force survived but took a beating as politicians used them as a way to reward political cronies. Frank Hamer, the man who tracked down Bonnie & Clyde, emerged as the 20th century hero of the Rangers.
Webb has taken a few beatings too. Pena's Gunpowder Justice was a full-frontal attack on the Rangers & Webb's history. With His Pistol in His Hand by Paredes was another anti-Ranger history. More recently, the revisionists have gotten revised by Harris & Sadler's Texas Rangers & the Mexican Revolution and Robert Utley's two-volume history of the Rangers. While they all have something to say, Webb's overview is the trail-blazer & remains indispensable. Only Utley comes close to Webb's thoroughness.
February 20, 2020
This book is a treasure, a history of the Texas Rangers written not long after its cessation as the chief law-enforcement body of Texas in 1935. The book is quite long. It is very detailed and well-researched. Webb's tribute follows all aspects of use of the Rangers over the years, and brings to light biographical sketches of many of the Rangers themselves. It tends to be a little dry at times, but I did learn many new things about the Texas Rangers and Texas history itself that were fascinating.
January 12, 2024
An engaging well written book, however it lacks nuance and sources are very cherry picked. Interesting piece of historical propaganda that with what it leaves out, makes for a made up and disappointing story. More research should have gone into the book.
September 29, 2017
A great historicial presentation of the Rangers
May 31, 2019
Great overview of history of the Texas Rangers
May 25, 2015
I married into a Texas family, so I'm trying to learn more about that part of the world. This was a pretty interesting book both for what it covered and when it was written. It's a pretty interesting reflection of the time period it was written. A lot of stories that help you understand the history of the Texas Rangers up through the 1930s.
February 21, 2016
"The beginning, middle, and end of the subject." - J. Frank Dobie blurb. Originally published in 1935, reprint, 1965 foreword by LBJ. Walter Prescott Webb rode with the Texas Rangers and devoted 14 years to writing this book. It beautifully details his experiences and those of the Rangers with whom he rode.
January 5, 2010
My copy has a very cool Tom Lea print on the cover, so it is significantly better than the one shown here. Otherwise, the authoritative book on the rangers written by a giant of the Austin and Texas cultural scene.
November 14, 2010
While being clearly in favor of the rangers, Webb wasn't afraid to admit they did have flaws. This is a case of a book being more interesting due to it's age. Copyright 1935 means it is real fresh, or close to the moments it recorded. Plenty of witness reports made it fun to read.
October 9, 2011
Webb's classic history of the Texas Rangers from their humble begiinings to modern times. He addresses the good and the bad.
February 25, 2014
A good history. Rather dry for my taste. The depiction of how the white settlers saw the native peoples is accurate. There is racism as a norm and dehumanization was considered a right.
February 4, 2016
I picked up this book at a garage sale a few years ago and forgot about it until this past summer. It is a surprisingly good book.
Tay S.
Tay S.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews