UNT Press

Tall Walls and High Fences Officers and Offenders, the Texas Prison Story

— Vol. 12: of North Texas Crime and Criminal Justice Series

Published: October, 2020  Pages: 608  Features: 96 b&w illus. Notes. Bib. Index.

Tall Walls and High Fences is the first comprehensive history of Texas prisons, written by a former law enforcement officer and an officer of the Texas prisons. Bob Alexander and Richard K. Alford chronicle the significant events and transformation of the Texas prison system from its earliest times to the present day, paying special attention to the human side of the story. Within these pages are stories of prison breaks, bloodhounds chasing escapees, and gunfights. Inside the walls are deadly confrontations, human trafficking, rape, clandestine consensual trysts, and tricks turned against correctional officers. more... about Tall Walls and High Fences Officers and Offenders, the Texas Prison Story

Old Riot, New Ranger: Captain Jack Dean, Texas Ranger and U.S. Marshal

— Vol. 17: of Frances B. Vick Series

Published: July, 2018  Pages: 544  Features: 104 b&w illus. Notes. Bib. Index.

Award-winning author Bob Alexander presents a biography of 20th-century Ranger Captain Jack Dean, who holds the distinction of being one of only five men to serve in both the Officer’s Corps of the Rangers and also as a President-appointed United States Marshal. more... about Old Riot, New Ranger: Captain Jack Dean, Texas Ranger and U.S. Marshal

Texas Rangers: Lives, Legend, and Legacy

Published: July, 2017  Pages: 656  Features: 107 b&w illus. Notes. Bib. Index.

Authors Bob Alexander and Donaly E. Brice grappled with several issues when deciding how to relate a general history of the Texas Rangers. Should emphasis be placed on their frontier defense against Indians, or focus more on their role as guardians of the peace and statewide law enforcers? What about the tumultuous Mexican Revolution period, 1910-1920? And how to deal with myths and legends such as One Riot, One Ranger? more... about Texas Rangers: Lives, Legend, and Legacy

Whiskey River Ranger: The Old West Life of Baz Outlaw

— Vol. 16: of Frances B. Vick Series

Published: April, 2016  Pages: 448  Features: 100 b&w photos. Notes. Bib. Index.

Captain Frank Jones, a famed nineteenth-century Texas Ranger, said of his company’s top sergeant, Baz Outlaw (1854-1894), “A man of unusual courage and coolness and in a close place is worth two or three ordinary men.” Another old-time Texas Ranger declared that Baz Outlaw “was one of the worst and most dangerous” because “he never knew what fear was.” But not all thought so highly of him. In Whiskey River Ranger, Bob Alexander tells for the first time the full story of this troubled Texas Ranger and his losing battle with alcoholism. more... about Whiskey River Ranger: The Old West Life of Baz Outlaw

Six-Shooters and Shifting Sands: The Wild West Life of Texas Ranger Captain Frank Jones

— Vol. 15: of Frances B. Vick Series

Published: March, 2015  Pages: 512  Features: 100 b&w photos. Notes. Bib. Index.

Many well-read students, historians, and loyal aficionados of Texas Ranger lore know the name of Texas Ranger Captain Frank Jones (1856-1893), who died on the Texas-Mexico border in a shootout with Mexican rustlers. In Six-Shooters and Shifting Sands, Bob Alexander has now penned the first full-length biography of this important nineteenth-century Texas Ranger. more... about Six-Shooters and Shifting Sands: The Wild West Life of Texas Ranger Captain Frank Jones

Bad Company and Burnt Powder: Justice and Injustice in the Old Southwest

— Vol. 13: of Frances B. Vick Series

Published: July, 2014  Pages: 512  Features: 106 b&w photos. Notes. Bib. Index.

Bad Company and Burnt Powder is a collection of twelve stories of when things turned “Western” in the nineteenth-century Southwest. Each chapter deals with a different character or episode in the Wild West involving various lawmen, Texas Rangers, outlaws, feudists, vigilantes, lawyers, and judges. Covered herein are the stories of Cal Aten, John Hittson, the Millican boys, Gid Taylor and Jim and Tom Murphy, Alf Rushing, Bob Meldrum and Noah Wilkerson, P. C. Baird, Gus Chenowth, Jim Dunaway, John Kinney, Elbert Hanks and Boyd White, and Eddie Aten. more... about Bad Company and Burnt Powder: Justice and Injustice in the Old Southwest

Riding Lucifer's Line: Ranger Deaths along the Texas-Mexico Border

— Vol. 11: of Frances B. Vick Series

Published: May, 2013  Pages: 464  Features: 60 b&w photos. Notes. Bib. Index.

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.” more... about Riding Lucifer's Line: Ranger Deaths along the Texas-Mexico Border

Rawhide Ranger, Ira Aten: Enforcing Law on the Texas Frontier

— Vol. 8: of Frances B. Vick Series

Published: July, 2011  Pages: 528  Features: 100 b&w photos. Notes. Bib. Index.

Ira Aten (1862-1953) was the epitome of a frontier lawman. When as a youth he heard of the killing by Rangers of the notorious outlaw Sam Bass at Round Rock, Aten’s neighborhood, he altered his plans of being a cowboy and instead set his sights on becoming a Texas Ranger. At age twenty he enrolled in Company D during the transition of the Rangers from Indian fighters to topnotch peace officers. This unit—and Aten—would have a lively time making their mark in nineteenth-century Texas. more... about Rawhide Ranger, Ira Aten: Enforcing Law on the Texas Frontier

• Best Book Award from the Wild West History Association, 2012

Winchester Warriors: Texas Rangers of Company D, 1874-1901

— Vol. 6: of Frances B. Vick Series

Published: February, 2011  Pages: 416  Features: 100 b&w illus. Notes. Bib. Index.

The Texas Rangers were institutionally birthed in 1874 with the formation of the Frontier Battalion. Prior to that time the “Rangers” were more or less citizen soldiers serving as circumstances demanded, but thereafter returning to the comforts of hearth and home when service in the field was no longer deemed necessary. After Reconstruction, establishment of a permanent force was the Democratic controlled legislature’s answer for how to prevent Indian incursions into the frontier settlements and deal with the lawlessness running rampant throughout Texas. The Frontier Battalion’s life spanned a period of twenty-five years to 1901, when it was officially disbanded and formally replaced by the Ranger Force. more... about Winchester Warriors: Texas Rangers of Company D, 1874-1901