TEXAS RANGER: The Epic Life of Frank Hamer, the Man Who Killed Bonnie and Clyde

TEXAS RANGER                                                 JOHN BOESSENECKER

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.

HUBBY'S REVIEW;
Though I am a fan of the old west and stories of gangster’s, I was really looking forward to an exciting story of the true life story of a famous law man. One that took down Bonnie and Clyde when the FBI could not. This is a book that was thoroughly researched and I believed he put every detail and every case that Frank Hammer was either the lead investigator or worked on in any way and because of this it makes for a long book and at times I was bored. It was like there was too much information which I never thought I would say. You get Texas State politics, bootlegging, hangings, and then there is too many stories to count of men being guilty of a crime but the jury finding them not guilty. Stories of prejudice that after a while I was amazed that parts of Texas became livable with some of the stories he mentions in this book. One thing you cannot deny is that Frank Hammer got the people he was after and he did it by tracking, following a pattern that the individual or individuals had, sometimes it would take him a little while but they always gave him the toughest ones and he came through. That in itself was amazing. Along with his easy attitude, shooting, riding, investigation he was a remarkable law man. Still a good book. I got this book from netgalley. I gave it 4 stars. Follow us atwww.1rad-readerreviews.com