Established in 1901, the Arizona Rangers have protected and served the citizenry for over 107 years. Though the initial organization was short lived, lasting only until 1909, the company--with an authorized strength of just 26 men--became the scourge of outlaws within the Arizona Territory and along the Mexican border where, like today, criminal activity was prevalent. In 1957, the Arizona Rangers were reestablished, and for the 50 years since, these modern rangers have continued the tradition of service that was established by their territorial predecessors. Today's Arizona Rangers are officially recognized by state legislation as a volunteer civilian law enforcement auxiliary. In keeping with their motto, "Few But Proud Then and Now," they assist numerous law enforcement agencies and help keep the peace within their communities and state.

"The Arizona Rangers" is the first documented history of the Rangers ever published, and fills a sizeable void in the annals of Arizona Territory. Bill O'Neal's enthusiasm for his subject and his respect for those remarkable men who wore the five-pointed star are apparent in every word of his thoroughly researched, well written manuscript. He has accurately portrayed the story of the Arizona Rangers against an authentic background of turn-of-the-century Arizona.

In this historical novel, Billy Old and Jeff Kidder were Arizona Rangers at the turn of the twentieth century and best friends. In 1908, while acting in the line of duty, Kidder was murdered by five crooked Mexican policemen. No charges were filed against his killers. They were quietly skirted away to various locations throughout the county of Sonora, Mexico, a vast, desolate area covering nearly twenty thousand square miles. In 1909, shady politics in the Territory of Arizona brought about the disbanding of the Rangers, leaving many to drift into obscurity and some into degradation. In that same year Billy Old vanished into Sonora to find and kill the men responsible for his friend’s death. He returned close to two years later with that deed accomplished. During Billy’s search of hundreds of sleazy Sonora whorehouses and cantinas he experiences many exciting, humorous, and tragic encounters. There’s a bloody and deadly confrontation with four scalp hunters; a mystical meeting with an old, dying Hopi Indian; an attack by the legendary “Red Ghost” of the southwest; a sorrowful meeting with a past fellow Ranger; cannibal Indians from East Texas; renegade Apaches; flushing toilets; the wonders of ether; Dancing Devils—fifty-foot high swirling dust funnels that can blind an animal; and a whore named Abbie Crutchfield who proves vital to Billy’s quest. And then there’s his horse Orion and a mule named Captain, all a part of a critically changing time in the American Southwest. Includes Historical Background and Readers Guide.

For twelve years, Andrea Lankford lived in the biggest, most impressive national parks in the world, working a job she loved. She chaperoned baby sea turtles on their journey to sea. She pursued bad guys on her galloping patrol horse. She jumped into rescue helicopters bound for the heart of the Grand Canyon. She won arguments with bears. She slept with a few too many rattlesnakes. Hell yeah, it was the best job in the world! Fortunately, Andrea survived it. In this graphic and yet surprisingly funny account of her and others’ extraordinary careers, Lankford unveils a world in which park rangers struggle to maintain their idealism in the face of death, disillusionment, and the loss of a comrade killed while holding that thin green line between protecting the park from the people, the people from the park, and the people from each other. Ranger Confidential is the story behind the scenery of the nation’s crown jewels—Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Great Smokies, Denali. In these iconic landscapes, where nature and humanity constantly collide, scenery can be as cruel as it is redemptive.

The Texas Rangers. The words evoke exciting images of daring, courage, high adventure. The Rangers began as a handful of men protecting their homes from savage raiding parties; now in their third century of existence, they are a highly sophisticated crime-fighting organization. Yet at times even today the Texas Ranger mounts his horse to track fugitives through dense chaparral, depending on his wits more than technology. The iconic image of the Texas Ranger is of a man who is tall, unflinching, and dedicated to doing a difficult job no matter what the odds. The Rangers of the 21st century are different sizes, colors, and genders, but remain as vital and real today as when they were created in the horseback days of 1823, when what is today Texas was part of Mexico, a wild and untamed land.

Captain Harry Wheeler was a Captain of the Arizona Rangers, Sheriff of Cochise County, Cavalry sergeant and World War I army captain. Intensely dedicated to duty and service, Harry Wheeler carved out a notable career as a Western lawman and soldier. His turbulent life was punctuated with fatal shootouts and personal tragedy. After Wheeler's beloved Ranger company was discontinued in 1909, this nemesis of lawbreakers repeatedly won election as sheriff, operating out of historic Tombstone and conduction the controversial Bisbee Deportation. Although in his forties when the United States entered World War I, the patriotic Wheeler eagerly traded his badge for an army commission. In this first biography of Harry Wheeler, the author provides never before published details about a remarkable Westerner from America's final frontier.

“Swanson has done a crucial public service by exposing the barbarous side of the Rangers.” —The New York Times Book Review A twenty-first century reckoning with the legendary Texas Rangers that does justice to their heroic moments while also documenting atrocities, brutality, oppression, and corruption The Texas Rangers came to life in 1823, when Texas was still part of Mexico. Nearly 200 years later, the Rangers are still going--one of the most famous of all law enforcement agencies. In Cult of Glory, Doug J. Swanson has written a sweeping account of the Rangers that chronicles their epic, daring escapades while showing how the white and propertied power structures of Texas used them as enforcers, protectors and officially sanctioned killers. Cult of Glory begins with the Rangers' emergence as conquerors of the wild and violent Texas frontier. They fought the fierce Comanches, chased outlaws, and served in the U.S. Army during the Mexican War. As Texas developed, the Rangers were called upon to catch rustlers, tame oil boomtowns, and patrol the perilous Texas-Mexico border. In the 1930s they began their transformation into a professionally trained police force. Countless movies, television shows, and pulp novels have celebrated the Rangers as Wild West supermen. In many cases, they deserve their plaudits. But often the truth has been obliterated. Swanson demonstrates how the Rangers and their supporters have operated a propaganda machine that turned agency disasters and misdeeds into fables of triumph, transformed murderous rampages--including the killing of scores of Mexican civilians--into valorous feats, and elevated scoundrels to sainthood. Cult of Glory sets the record straight. Beginning with the Texas Indian wars, Cult of Glory embraces the great, majestic arc of Lone Star history. It tells of border battles, range disputes, gunslingers, massacres, slavery, political intrigue, race riots, labor strife, and the dangerous lure of celebrity. And it reveals how legends of the American West--the real and the false--are truly made.

True stories of the wild and dangerous world of the Arizona Territory—includes photos. A refuge for outlaws at the close of the 1800s, the Arizona Territory was a wild, lawless land of greedy feuds, brutal killings and figures of enduring legend. These gunfighters included heroes as well as killers, and some were considered both. Bandit Pearl Hart committed one of the last recorded stagecoach robberies in the country, and James Addison Reavis pulled off the most extraordinary real estate scheme in the West. But with fearless lawmen like C.P. Owens and George Ruffner at hand, swift justice was always nearby. In this collection of true stories, Arizona’s official state historian and celebrated storyteller Marshall Trimble brings to life the rough-and-tumble characters from the Grand Canyon State’s most terrific tales of outlawry and justice.

A perfect role for a young Robert Redford, saddle tramp Petey McGuire doesn’t have much to live for. The trail in front of him stretches out long and hot, and there’s no end in sight. He’s been beaten down, beaten up, and kicked around so long, he’d run away from his own shadow if he could. But there’s one fight he can’t run from—the fight against hunger. Petey needs a job quick, before he drops dead in the dust. But the only way to get one is to act cool and talk tough—in other words, become the exact opposite of Petey McGuire. Putting on a performance worthy of a Shakespearean actor, he succeeds all too well—landing in the saddle with the Arizona Rangers. Talking tough is one thing, but backing it up is another. Because Petey’s about to discover exactly what it takes—and how much he has to risk—to face the meanest outlaw, win the prettiest girl, and become The Toughest Ranger. Born and raised in the twilight of the Old West—from Nebraska plain to the mountains of Montana—L. Ron Hubbard grew up in the company of real cowboys and rugged frontiersmen, even becoming a blood brother to a Blackfoot medicine man. His firsthand knowledge allowed him to instill a grit and authenticity into his stories that made him one of the leading writers of Westerns, publishing a total of 34 of them by the 1950s. Also includes the Western adventures, Silent Pards, in which an old prospector takes on a couple of wicked enemies with the help of some surprising friends, and The Ranch That No One Would Buy, the story of a young stranger who’s about to pull off a killer of a deception. “An exciting Western story filled with both action and adventure.” —Mommy’s Favorite Things