Ten Texas Feuds (Historians of the Frontier & American West) - Softcover

"Dr. Sonnichsen . . . writes with a novelist's flair." Dr. Sonnichsen . . . writes with a novelists flair. A highly readable book of interest to outlanders as well as Texans. "Ten Texas Feuds" is a well-written account of ten blood feuds in Texas from Shelbyville to El Paso. . . . This book will be beneficial to those interested in looking into some of the local history of Texas. . . . This is a book that any collector of Texana or folklore will definitely want in their collection. aDr. Sonnichsen . . . writes with a novelistas flair.a aA highly readable book of interest to outlanders as well as Texans.a a"Ten Texas Feuds" is a well-written account of ten blood feuds in Texas from Shelbyville to El Paso. . . . This book will be beneficial to those interested in looking into some of the local history of Texas. . . . This is a book that any collector of Texana or folklore will definitely want in their collection.a

For twenty years, grassroots historian C. L. Sonnichsen went door to door through the backcountry of east and south-central Texas to coax tales from reluctant informants and peruse county documents on the colorful feuds that bloodied the state's early history. From these human explosions emerged legendary gangs such as the Regulators, Moderators, Hoodoos, Heel Flies, and Boots. Personal vengeance righted intolerable wrongs and settled unbearable grievances. Sonnichsen notes, "The men who fought these battles were mostly pretty good people," but they harshly stamped their otherwise normal lives with bloody vengeance. Dale L. Walker, Sonnichsen's biographer, sketches the author's life, historical craft, and publishing and teaching career.