Rodriguez Texas Ranger

As a young man, Arturo Rodriguez was always the guardian of the underdog. This theme carried through to his adult life when he became the first Mexican-American Texas Ranger, an intense and dramatic event in South Texas history. In Rodriguez... Texas Ranger! author Rick Harper recounts Rodriguez's life and law enforcement career. As Harper tells Rodriguez's story, he also chronicles many of Texas and Mexico's significant historical events and their corresponding sociocultural, economic, and racial developmental patterns to demonstrate not only their immediate impact, but also the ways in which these events and patterns framed the region's present state. Providing insight into the dynamic nature of Texas during the 1960s and '70s, Rodriguez... Texas Ranger! tells a tale of Gringos and Chicanos, justice and vengeance, the law and the lawless, pistoleros and politics, sharpshooters and shopkeepers, ranchers and farmers, cowboys and cattle drives, governors and goat headers, and Texas Rangers. It's about the passing of a frontier system and the emergence of modern times.

“Harper gets to the business of historical, political and social analysis, he is quite knowledgeable, open minded and shrewd. There’s the long history of racial troubles, the rise of La Raza Unida and the remaking of the South Texas political landscape. T e era’s larger than life Texas movers & shakers and wheelers and dealers litter the story.” -Kirkus Reviews “The book covers Rodriguez’s Texas Ranger adventures, including dustups rowdy enough to rival any Western movie. Heavy emphasis on Texas’s history puts Rodriguez’s story in a wider context and broadens the book’s scope considerably.” -Clarion Reviews “This engaging biography is about Art Rodriguez Jr, who rose from a South Texas barrio to become the first Mexican-American Texas Ranger. Harper provides vivid background about shady politics, racial tension and praises his friend as a “Real-Life- Hero!” This is a fascinating read about changing times in Texas and one man who beat the odds.” -BlueInk Review

Winner of the Caughey Western History Prize Winner of the Robert G. Athearn Award Winner of the Lawrence W. Levine Award Winner of the TCU Texas Book Award Winner of the NACCS Tejas Foco Nonfiction Book Award Winner of the María Elena Martínez Prize Frederick Jackson Turner Award Finalist “A page-turner...Haunting...Bravely and convincingly urges us to think differently about Texas’s past.” —Texas Monthly Between 1910 and 1920, self-appointed protectors of the Texas–Mexico border—including members of the famed Texas Rangers—murdered hundreds of ethnic Mexicans living in Texas, many of whom were American citizens. Operating in remote rural areas, officers and vigilantes knew they could hang, shoot, burn, and beat victims to death without scrutiny. A culture of impunity prevailed. The abuses were so pervasive that in 1919 the Texas legislature investigated the charges and uncovered a clear pattern of state crime. Records of the proceedings were soon filed away as the Ranger myth flourished. A groundbreaking work of historical reconstruction, The Injustice Never Leaves You has upended Texas’s sense of its own history. A timely reminder of the dark side of American justice, it is a riveting story of race, power, and prejudice on the border. “It’s an apt moment for this book’s hard lessons...to go mainstream.” —Texas Observer “A reminder that government brutality on the border is nothing new.” —Los Angeles Review of Books

With 14 All-Star appearances, 13 Gold Gloves, a Most Valuable Player Award, and, of course, a World Series ring, Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez has more than earned his spot in Cooperstown as one of the best Major League catchers of all time. In They Call Me Pudge, Rodriguez tells the story of his unforgettable baseball journey, from signing his first professional contract as a 16 year-old in Puerto Rico, to his years in Texas, Detroit, and beyond, to the World Series stage in Miami, and behind the doors of the Texas Rangers front office. Rodriguez's accomplishments, his teammates, and his biggest challenges all receive time in the spotlight in this refreshing memoir of a life and Hall-of-Fame career.

Traces the development of autobiography among Mexican Americans as a personal and communicative response to the threat of cultural extinction after the US conquered the northern provinces of Mexico in 1848. Explores how the writers perceived their society and the place of individuals in it. The quotations include translations. Paper edition (unseen), $17.95. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

A biography tracing the life and baseball career of Alex Rodriguez.

The second installment of a no-holds-barred look at the history of the famed Texas Rangers from western author Mike Cox Following up on his magnificent history of the 19th century Texas Rangers, Mike Cox now takes us from 1900 through the present. From horseback to helicopters, from the frontier cattle days through the crime-ridden boom-or-bust oil field era, from Prohibition to World War II espionage to the violent ethnic turbulence of the ‘50s and ‘60s--which sometimes led to demands that the Texas Rangers be disbanded. Cox takes readers through the modern history of the famed Texas lawmen. Cox's position as a spokesperson for the Texas department of Public Safety allowed him to comb the archives and conduct extensive personal interviews to give us this remarkable account of how a tough group of horse-borne lawmen--too prone to hand out roadside justice, critics complained--to one of the world's premier investigative agencies, respected and admired worldwide. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.