Boomtown: The True Story of the Wickedest Town in Texas
Boomtown: The True Story of the Wickedest Town in Texas
Boomtown: The True Story of the Wickedest Town in Texas
Description
Description
The true story of the corrupt and violent town of Borger, Texas in 1927―and the legendary Texas Ranger tasked with taming it.
Just a year after the town of Borger, Texas was founded, the press already called it "the wickedest in the state." The town, sprung into existence overnight to support new oilfields, was a lawless haven for bootleggers, pimps and gamblers, run by a crooked city hall and corrupt police. The town also became a haven for those seeking second chances, including dance hall operators, storeowners, wrestlers, lawyers and freelance oil well firefighters. But the raucous environment attracted some of the most unsavory characters in prohibition America, including a gang of murderous bank robbers who head into Borger to spend their money on booze, gambling and prostitutes. In the span of weeks, the robbers killed three law enforcement officers, bringing the worst heat imaginable: iconic Texas Ranger Captain Frank Hamer, just a few years before his takedown of Bonnie and Clyde. His arrival threatens to break the hardest boomtown in America―if it doesn't kill him first.
About the Author
About the Author
JOE PAPPALARDO is the author of the critically acclaimed books Red Sky Morning: The Epic True Story of Texas Ranger Company F; Inferno: The True Story of a B-17 Gunner's Heroism and the Bloodiest Military Campaign in Aviation History; Sunflowers: The Secret History and Spaceport Earth: The Reinvention of Spaceflight. Pappalardo is a freelance journalist and former associate editor of Air & Space Smithsonian magazine, a writing contributor to National Geographic magazine, a contributor to Texas Monthly, and a former senior editor at Popular Mechanics. He has appeared on C-Span, CNN, Fox News and television shows on the Science Channel and the History Channel.
Critical Reviews
Critical Reviews
Praise for Joe Pappalardo:
"Pappalardo keeps the action moving through chronologically arranged vignettes...a rousing tale and a very readable recreation of a colorful time and place."―Booklist on Boomtown "The pages practically turn themselves as dozens of colorful characters--moonshiners, bank robbers, corrupt deputies and town officials, professional wrestlers, a daring oil firefighter, and, of course, a bunch of tough, seen-it-all Rangers--duke and shoot it out for control of Borger's streets. History as if pulp writer Jim Thompson had written it." ―Kirkus Reviews on Boomtown "A fast-paced journey around the West during the transformative years of the mid-19th century" ―Wall Street Journal on Four Against the West "Fast-paced and full of local politics and old-fashioned gunfights―a pleasure for fans of true crime and oaters alike." ―Kirkus Reviews on Red Sky Morning "Mr. Pappalardo, a veteran journalist, has a nice way with words. The mission itself, targeting German submarine pens in France, is fairly routine and brilliantly described...a wonderful yarn." ―Wall Street Journal on Inferno
Publishing Information
Publishing Information
Publisher:
St. Martin's Press
Pub date:
2026-04-21
Length:
352 pages
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