I was raised in Texas and spent much of my life there. I have a basic knowledge of Texas history but this book had me looking at Texas as more than the Alamo and the massacre and battle at Goliad with Santa Ana. This history of Texas brought to life the fearless determination of John Hayes and the beginning of the Texas Rangers. They protected the people of Texas against lawlessness, Indian raids, and the Mexican Army. These were tough men and brave fighters for freedom. There were also portrayals of family life that made these men become more than just soldiers and provided true reasons for their calling.
Great historical fiction but the history was obviously very well researched. I understand better why the Texas Rangers still are held in the highest esteem as an elite police force to be reckoned with.
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys well written and well researched historical fiction.
Thanks to NetGalley and the author David R. Gross for this ARC. It was a pleasure to read.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. I have not read much about the Texas Rangers so this book has given me an insight on ita beginnings and history. It is a well crafted western novel with elements of Jack London throughout. There were times when it was difficult to tell which character was the focus of the narrative.

David Gross took a page from Western history and gave us the fictionalized story of a real hero of the west. It was a great read for me, leaving me wanting to know about this character and his life and times. The story unrolls as if you're watching a movie and some of your favorite actors are on the screen. The descriptions of the people and communities of the time are so real, you're there with them. Western lovers will want to read this. Those of you who do not normally read Westerns but wanted to try one...pick this one. It's great!

This was a great western novel, the characters were great and the plot kept me invested and reading. Overall I had a good time reading this book and getting in dated in the characters .

If you are looking for a book that is more than just the usual, "Texas is great," then you have to read this book! I could not put it down at all! From start to finish, it held my attention.
Jack Coffee Hays was an enigma in his time. When men like Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie were larger than life, Jack was more quiet in his methods, but he got the job done. If he didn't know it, he learned it. If he was good at it, he wanted to be better. He did not only hold himself to this standard, but those who served underneath him.
The Texas frontier was a lawless and hard place to live, but with Jack Hays, it became a place where families could grow and build.

See Texas from a different perspective, and discover the man that everyone has forgotten, one of the most celebrated Texas Rangers of all time.

This is a must read book! Get your hands on it now, you will not be sorry!

In David Gross' Defender of the Texas Frontier (iUniverse 2019), John Coffee Hays arrives on the Western frontier with his cousin, both looking for a chance to defend the new republic by fighting the Spanish, the Mexicans, or even the Indians--as long as they can be part of the wild freedom offered in this untamed part of the continent.

"...looking for action to satisfy our need for an adrenalin rush. We appeared to be anything but a disciplined militia unit. Each one of us was dressed in his own style..."

Before they finish, they are molded into a seminal part of the original fearless Texas Rangers., the toughest lawmen in American history and the scourge of criminals everywhere. Through the life of Hays, we learn authentic details about what went into making the west a lawful part of the young United States. Here are some examples of the detail and research Gross includes in his tale:

"...One of the most notorious Comanche war chiefs was known as Cuerno Verde, or Green Horn, of the Kotosoteka band. De Ansa gathered an army of nearly 350 regulars and about 250 Indian allies and then set off to find Green Horn."

"President Sam Houston faced a continuous financial crisis. He disbanded the militia and allowed funding for the ranging companies to lapse. He was doing his best to keep the Republic solvent."

"Another skill, imitating the tactics of the Comanche, was to learn to hang from the side of a mount and fire a pistol under the horse’s neck with accuracy."

If I had to rename the genre of this story. I’d call it very creative nonfiction. Though using fictional characters to tell the overall story of building the West, there is more history than the traditional western with more in-depth detail, sometimes multiple pages detailing the historic backstory. This is a must-read for anyone with a real interest in the 1830-40's, a period of history when America was extremely new and not sure it could survive, when our enemies were on our own continent and we didn't always beat them. Enjoyable and informative.

--to be reviewed on my blog, WordDreams Oct. 2, 2019