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Current Titles
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They Rode for the Lone Star:
The Saga of the Texas Rangers
The Birth of Texas-The Civil War (Volume 1)
by Thomas W. Knowles
Foreword by T.R. Fehrenbach
Trade Paperback
List Price: $17.95
Direct to Reader Discount: $15.95
ISBN: 978-0-9794354-6-1
December 2009, 280 pages
--Click to Order Direct from Lone Star Publishing--
Charged with the mission of operating beyond the boundaries of civilization with minimal support and no communication from higher authority, they lived and often died by the motto, "Order first, then law will follow."
In this first volume of his fully illustrated history of the Texas Rangers, Thomas Knowles brings to life the genesis of the Lone Star's legendary lawmen. Discover their origins as the first defenders of the Alamo and as Stephen F. Austin's ideal of mounted volunteers, and track their service on the longest and deadliest frontier in the history of the American West. Along the way, meet some of the dedicated men who served with the early Rangers: Juan Seguin, Noah Smithwick, Jose Toribo Losoya, Samuel Walker, Benjamin and Henry McCulloch, Young Chief Flacco of the Lipan Apache, John S. "R.I.P." Ford, and the most revered of Ranger captains, Jack Hays.
They Rode for the Lone Star burns away the myths to expose the rich and detailed history of the Rangers' first decades of service, as their organization evolved to meet the demands of a young and turbulent Texas. The men who answered the Lone Star's call came from all walks of life and from diverse ethnic backgrounds-hopeful new immigrants from Europe, eager colonists from the young United States, proud Tejano vaqueros, fierce Native American horsemen-and studied combat and survival in the harsh, unforgiving school of the bloody border wars.
Usually outnumbered and often alone, they confronted the terrible challenges of the frontier with the skills and weapons they adapted to their needs. They learned to "ride like Mexicans, track like Indians, shoot like Tennesseans, and fight like the very Devil himself." They patrolled the uncharted fringes of the colonies, clashed with the armies of Santa Anna in the struggle for Texas independence, guarded the borders of the Republic, served as special forces for the United States in Mexico after annexation, and rode into combat under the Confederacy's banners against guerrillas, Indians, and invading Union troops.
The living legend of the Texas Rangers has inspired countless stories, novels and motion pictures, but few of the fictional accounts have done justice to the dramatic reality. With a historian's broad perspective and a novelist's imagery and characterization, Knowles renders a vivid and accurate depiction of the Rangers' deeds and development. The stories and larger-than-life personalities that fill the pages of They Rode for the Lone Star give ample proof of the Rangers' ability to spark the imaginations of those who love tales of Texas and the American West.
This revised trade paperback edition features an expanded "killed-in-action" list that takes into account new research and information gathered by the author since the original hardcover publication.
 Click to read an excerpt from They Rode for the Lone Star
(Amazon.com "Inside the Book" excerpt)
Click to watch a KAMU-TV interview with They Rode for the Lone Star: The Saga of the Texas Rangers author Thomas W. Knowles
... praise for They Rode for the Lone Star ...
"The Rangers ... are more than myth or legend and tales of law and order in the Old West; they made history on America's longest-lasting and bloodiest frontier. They were born in desperate times out of brutal necessity. Their purpose was to defend civilization as they knew it from dangerous and savage enemies. The fact that the Texas Rangers were largely successful in this goal is the reason that today both the name and the organization survive."
- from the Foreword by T. R. Fehrenbach,
author of Lone Star: Texas and the Texans
"The Texas Rangers have long needed a narrator who is both a meticulous researcher and who understands the politics of the South. They have needed someone who can distinguish the real Ranger from his superhero image and his cartoon caricature. They have found him in Thomas Knowles and his voice in They Rode for the Lone Star."
- Don Coldsmith, author of the Spanish Bit saga,
Tallgrass, and South Wind
"Tom Knowles has always shown a fine talent and dedication to the real West. Here in They Rode for the Lone Star he moves to a high, very high plateau of accurate research and first-rate writing. A top-hand read for those who truly care. Read it now. Enjoy it forever."
- Max Evans, author of The Hi-Lo Country,
Bluefeather Fellini, and The Rounders
"Unlike many partisan writers who take sides, especially today's politically correct revisionists, Tom Knowles avoids making judgments but points up the reality that three completely different cultures came together in Texas, and conflict was inevitable."
- Elmer Kelton, seven-time Spur Award winner
and author of The Good Old Boys and
Lone Star Rising: The Texas Rangers Trilogy
"With his already proven skill for combining images and words, Thomas Knowles has now created a wonderful history of the Texas Rangers."
- Dee Brown, author of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee,
The American West, and Conspiracy of Knaves
"They Rode for the Lone Star is destined to be a great and dependable book and it is a book we have needed for a long time."
- Dale L. Walker, author of Legends and Lies: Great Mysteries of the American West
and The Boys of 98: Theodore Roosevelt and The Rough Riders
Editorial Reviews of the Original Hardcover Edition:
"The Texas Rangers' reputation is based to a large extent on the fact that they constitute one of the smallest, most effective law-enforcement agencies in the world. There has not been a definitive history of the Texas Rangers since Walter Prescott Webb's in 1935. Though this work is not as detailed or extensive as Webb's, it is an important update that fills a significant void. The history of the Texas Rangers, from their origin through the Civil War, is broken down into five distinct periods of service. It is illustrated throughout with rare historical photos and documents, while 22 intriguing sidebars add depth and detail to the study. The introduction by T. R. Fehrenbach points out that Òthis book details the facts of the early Ranger force. It does not attempt to judge.Ó A good basis for true, accurate history. It has also received the endorsement of the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum as the official history for the Texas Rangers' 175th anniversary.
... Fred Egloff, The American Library Association's Booklist Magazine, April 15, 1999
"The awesome sweep of Texas history that the Rangers' saga embraces is truly captured in They Rode for the Lone Star ... Knowles' history explores the very roots of the ranger concept, which had antecedents not only in the culture of the Spanish empire in Texas but also with Texans' Celtic ancestors and the "ranging" units who used guerrilla tactics in the French and Indian wars. By prepping his canvas in this manner, Knowles sets out to do what he does best, hitting the high notes and broad strokes of Ranger history, establishing the idea of the Ranger as the original, seminal Texan and a true product of his environment. For the bulk of this lavishly illustrated, powerfully written book, the author portrays the Ranger as a man who was one of us, often not that different than a member of a frontier neighborhood watch program with a license to kill when necessary. And it was necessary a lot of the time. Correcting the idea that Rangers were all white men until recently, Knowles' chronicle of the contributions of Indian and Hispanic Rangers is fascinating and refreshing ..."
"Byron A. Johnson, director of the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum in Waco, Texas, writes in a pre-foreword note that his organization endorses this book as "the official history for the 175th anniversary of the Texas Rangers." That anniversary was actually celebrated in 1998, based on Stephen F. Austin's proposal in 1823 to use 10 mounted riders as "rangers." But the Texas Ranger story is one worth considering any year.
"Author Knowles covers the birth of the Rangers through the Texas Rangers of the Confederacy in this fully illustrated volume. Famous Rangers such as Samuel Walker, "Rip" Ford, Benjamin McCulloch, Noah Smithwick and Jack Hays all make appearances here. 'In defeat as well as in victory,' Knowles writes in his chapter 'Defenders of the Lone Star,' 'the Rangers had proved themselves as worthy foes to the Comanche and the Mexicans.' During the Mexican War, many Rangers were eager to fight an old enemy, and they continued to fight Indians on the Texas frontier afterward.' "
"Stellar work--The best-looking new Ranger work is They Rode for the Lone Star ... The colorfully illustrated, well-written 234-page work ... has won official endorsement from Byron A. Johnson, director of the top-notch museum in Waco."
... Kent Biffle, from his Texana Column in The Dallas Morning News, September 26, 1999
"... the strong point of this book is its illustrations, several of which are previously unpublished. The book also contains the first published list of Rangers killed in the line of duty."
... Mike Cox, from his Texana Column in The Austin American-Statesman, April 9, 2000
"The richly illustrated They Rode for the Lone Star shows what made the Rangers distinctive: their spirited defense of an extensive frontier penetrated at times by Mexican troops, raiding Indians such as the Comanches and bandits attacking the homesteaders and ranchers on the fringe of settlement ...
Knowles' history is sensitive to the state's multicultural roots--he's quick to point out that the early Ranger companies often had Hispanic and Indian members--and shows that Texas Rangers' tactics and mobile fighting styles influnced fighting in the Mexican War and the Civil War.
... entertainment editor Carl Hoover, The Waco Tribune Herald, April 10, 1999
"Historian Thomas Knowles has put together a masterfully comprehensive account of the birth and formative decades of the Texas Rangers. It is packed with gritty "war stories" and tales of incredible derring-do, and clearly reveals the courses for Ranger hallmarks like honor, courage, service, self-sacrifice and an uncompromising dedication to doing the right thing. Complementing the eminently readable narrative is a profusion of historic photographs and illustrations showing what the cast of colorful characters looked like.
... Jim Gibson, The Abilene Reporter-News, November 21, 1999
Being Texan:
Celebrating a State of Mind
by Jeff Carroll
List Price: $15.95
Direct to Reader Discount: $14.95
Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-0-9794354-4-7
Lone Star Publishing-October 2009, 380 pages
--Click to Order Direct from Lone Star Publishing--
 When Jeff Carroll tells the tale, history comes to life. His popular "Legendary Texas" radio series made his distinctive voice and his genial, informative storytelling style, as well as his unrivaled knowledge of Texas people, places, and events, known to and beloved by many. In Being Texan, he distills that knowledge and style into more than one hundred chronologically ordered individual stories that take the reader on a fascinating journey through the history of Texas and the people who created it.
 You'll sometimes meet the people who made history, but more often Jeff will introduce you to the people who lived that history and give you the opportunity to walk a mile-or a thousand miles-in their boots, moccasins, or slippers. Attend the first Thanksgiving in North America, held on the Rio Grande River more than a century before the Pilgrims celebrated it in the Plymouth Colony. Make a desperate ride with the "Paul Revere" of the brasada and compare the differences between tales told by the survivors of the siege of the Alamo. Ride a nitroglycerine delivery car to an oil-drilling site with Ma Thornton and fly on the silver wings of Queen Bess, the first African-American woman to become a licensed aviator. Find out who really built Dallas and learn how the Gospel came to Mobeetie, the wildest town in the Wild West. Meet the slave who became a Senator, the hero of the Texas Revolution for whom no street or school has ever been named, the Apache who was one of the most famous Texas Rangers of the Republic, and Two-Gun Sallie Scull, one of the toughest and most dangerous of the border ranchers.
 In Being Texan, you'll sit beside a Paleo Indian artisan as he-or she-delicately chips a spear point from a chunk of Alibates chert, and you'll consult with a man named Borden on the secret formula for the "Marvelous Meat Biscuit." You'll fight a duel over a poker game in which the stakes are a plantation and the fealty of a new bride, and you'll build a railhead in the middle of nowhere, knowing that if you build it, the cattle will come. You'll fight battles in dusty buffalo wallows and ancient fortresses. You'll ride the trail with Rangers and renegades and Comanche warriors, with soldiers and priests and martyrs, empresarios and tricksters and scholars, scientists and gamblers and explorers, and just plain folks who came together on the frontier to build a nation, a state, a people.
 You'll look into the "Eyes of Texas" in the many period photographs and modern and historical illustrations that illuminate the book. If you're just fond of a good story, Being Texan offers you more than 100 great stories to delight, inform and amuse you. If you're a serious researcher or an educator, it offers you an unprecedented source of information and enlightenment in the Texas experience.
And when you come to the last story and reluctantly close this book, you will have discovered just what Jeff Carroll means when he speaks of Being Texan.
Being Texan also includes a complete set of appendices that contains lesson plans and teaching guides for educators who wish to use it as a text or supplement for academic courses in Texas history.
Click to read an excerpt from Being Texan
Click to watch a KAMU-TV interview with Being Texan author Jeff Carroll
foreword to this revised edition of
Being Texan ...
"The legends of our people rise like smoke.
Sit beside me and learn,
For I am Keeper of the Flame."
"Walks Alone, "Tickanwatic shaman
 Being Texan has almost nothing to do with where one was born or lives today. Being Texan is, as many authors have written, "a state of mind." It has something to do with an outlook on life that suggests that, no matter what the hardship, there was, is, or will be a way to work it out. It has something to do with accepting responsibility. It has something to do with recognizing flaws and failures and rising above them. It is simply the process of living well, despite what the world throws at us.
 Is this uniquely Texan? Of course, it is not. Many scholars argue that Texans are no different from other people and the "Texas Mystique" is no mystery at all, simply a matter of egocentrism. So be it. They are entitled to their opinions just as I am to mine. Although I think a book like this could be written about any other state, I also think the flavor would be somewhat different. Try inserting any other state name in the title-it just would not have the same ring to it.
Being Texan is a collection of stories about people. Some of them are people that you already know, and some are not. Whoever they were, wherever they came from, and whenever they arrived makes little difference. They all contributed something toward making Texas what it is today-good, bad, or indifferent. They all became a part of the much larger story of Texas, just as you who read this today are living your part of the story.
 All of these stories have appeared before in some form. Some come from my newspaper column "Legendary Texas," some from the scripts of my radio program by the same name, some from my first five volumes of the Legendary Texas series of books, and some from the published notes for my Texas History classes at Texas A&M University and at Blinn College.
Some stories may not appear to be politically correct by modern standards, but we do the past a great disservice if we judge them in that light. This is "Folk History," a history of the people. The people and the stories should be judged, if at all, in light of what was common and acceptable in their time.  Good anthropologists realize that when dealing with different cultures, one should never judge things as "good" or "bad," but simply recognize them as being different.
Readers frequently ask if the stories are true. Ultimate truth is a concept argued by theologians, philosophers, and historians. This is not a scholarly work with footnotes to justify everything I say. I have edited all of these to make them as factual as I can, but I will not claim an absence of errors. After all, these are stories of people reacting to changing situations; no one will ever know exactly what they were thinking about at the time, unless they tell us in some way. If someone believes something to be "true," acts upon it in that belief, and then writes about it in a letter or journal so that others' lives are influenced by it, it then becomes its own version of "truth" for those people.
History is a matter of perspectives, not an exact science.
 I arranged these stories in chronological order so that they flow in a single line, like chapters in a continuing story. In this revised edition, I have added a few more stories to fill some of the gaps in the time sequence. Those who read them for pleasure may find the sequence easier to follow than it was in the five Legendary Texas volumes. Those who use these stories to illustrate and supplement material in accredited textbooks will find it easier to correlate the material. For these students and teachers there are appendices dealing with the Texas Essential Knowledge & Skills (TEKS) required in Texas schools, as well as suggested strategies, activities, and references to aid the learning process. This revised edition also contains an Index to help folks find particular people, topics, etc., and a rather limited Bibliography of sources for further reading.
 History does not happen in a vacuum. No matter what is happening in Texas, there are other things going on in the world. I preface each story with a few comments to try to put things in context. Who knew, for instance, that while Texans and Tejanos fought for Texas independence, other wars in Europe would send thousands of newcomers to the Texas frontier? Who knew that what we call the "French and Indian War," that took place mostly in upper New York State and the Ohio River Valley, would ultimately lead to the abandonment of Franciscan missions throughout Mexico and the American Southwest?  The more we know about history, the more we are able to put the pieces of the puzzle together, until a much larger picture begins to appear.
Look around you. All of the folks you see going about their everyday affairs are, in their own way, contributing to the story. I urge each one of you to keep some kind of record of your life. That way, your part of the story will not be lost. Think about it for a minute. What are some things that you remember from when you were younger that you just don't see or hear about today? What new things are taking place in your life? How do you react to the change?
You are a part of the story. By living your life, you, too are Being Texan.
... praise for Being Texan ...
A Newsvine.com review of Being Texan by Falkeep (Rhys Blavier)
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