To most Americans, Frank Hamer is known only as the "villain" of the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde. Now, in The New York Times bestselling 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 ...
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To most Americans, Frank Hamer is known only as the "villain" of the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde. Now, in The New York Times bestselling 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. "Frank Hamer, last of the old breed of Texas Rangers, has not fared well in history or popular culture. John Boessenecker now restores this incredible Ranger to his proper place alongside such fabled lawmen as Wyatt Earp and Eliot Ness. Here is a grand adventure story, told with grace and authority by a master historian of American law enforcement. Frank Hamer can rest easy as readers will finally learn the truth behind his amazing career, spanning the end of the Wild West through the bloody days of the gangsters."--Paul Andrew Hutton, author of The Apache Wars
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What an incredible story! Thank you, John Boessenecker, for setting the record straight on this amazing man. I learned more history in this book than in any Texas History class. This book is fascinating; once I started it, I could not put it down.
Frank Hamer was an amazing stand-out in the Texas Rangers. I particularly liked the fact that the historian sited Hamer's good and less-admirable traits. It felt like an evenly balanced history. Hamer did it all -- went after the KKK, worked against lynchings, caught robbers and murderers.
The author spent considerable time providing the political influences and background that affected how Frank Hamer did his work. Although I do considerable studying of Texas history as part of my family's genealogy work, I was amazed by the detail and facts included in this book -- that are ignored or glossed over in many accounts.
Immediately after reading this book, I decided on three things.
1) Look for other books by John Boessenecker.
2) Read more about Frank Hamer online.
3) Go to Waco to visit the Texas Ranger Museum soon.
