Yours to Command: The Life and Legend of Texas Ranger Captain Bill McDonald, and: John James Dix, a Texian (review)

The practice of historical writing is not limited to professional historians and has always attracted a diverse group of people. No matter the motivation and credentials of the author, most have something to contribute to the discussion of historical events. However, a significant factor that affects the quality of historical publications is the expertise of the publisher; the value of an experienced historical editor and the peer review process cannot be overstated. The two books at hand are perfect examples of the diversity among historical writers, publishers, and their approaches to the craft.

Dr. Weiss's treatise attempts to correct the historical record and provide a broader context for interpreting the historical significance of the career of Texas Ranger William J. McDonald, a larger-than-life figure often referred to as one of the "Four Great Captains." Dan Manning's book records the experiences of a relatively obscure Texas merchant, farmer, mustanger, and rancher whose intermittent Ranger service occurred during the early days of statehood.

The authors are of equally distinct backgrounds: Weiss is an esteemed professional historian and Manning an enthusiastic, accomplished layman. These differences are evident in their methodology and interpretation, but their similarities are also noteworthy. Each book is the product of decades of dedicated research, and each contributes to the base of historical knowledge in its own way.

Countless biographies of celebrated Rangers have been published throughout the organization's history. However, Weiss brings to bear modern historiographical methods in his examination of the legendary "Captain Bill" (IX). In doing so, Dr. Weiss not only expands the factual record of McDonald's Ranger career, he presents it within the broader context of Texas history and the early development of professional law enforcement organizations throughout North America. With the benefit of this contextual understanding, Weiss interprets the actions of McDonald and his contemporaries, clarifying their historical significance. Weiss's latest work is not only a skilled biography of a noted Texas Ranger but also a case study in the evolution of modern law enforcement during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Yours to Command is supported by copious amounts of primary sources, particularly governmental reports and correspondence. The contextual and interpretative assertions are supported by an eclectic array of unique secondary sources (primarily scholarly monographs and journal articles, including many that are critical of McDonald) that are seldom found in the notes of Ranger biographies. Weiss also employed sources directly influenced by McDonald, frequently for the purpose of demonstrating errors and contradictions.

Weiss begins with a contrast between the public memory of McDonald's career with the historical record, including the "One riot, one Ranger" adage. Noting that in the minds of many such expressions come to "reflect the inner spirit of being a Texan [and] should be repeated and not questioned" (19). Weiss nevertheless thoroughly debunks the story and reminds readers that even the venerable Walter Prescott Webb noted that McDonald's Ranger contemporaries regarded it as laughable. He further demonstrates that the phrase is thoroughly inconsistent with Texas Ranger practices then and now. Weiss continues on with an overview of McDonald's ancestral heritage, childhood influences, and earliest law enforcement activities, followed by a close examination of McDonald's law enforcement career. He also documents that McDonald's ascension into the ranks of the fabled Texas Rangers was the result of political patronage, a practice that degraded the organization's morale and effectiveness and significantly contributed to the complete reordering of state law enforcement in 1935.

In fact, Weiss effectively presents McDonald's career as a case study in the evolution of the Texas Rangers organization from that of a paramilitary/volunteer unit focused...