The Bandera Trail - by Ralph Compton (Paperback)

About the Book

The fourth book in the exciting Western series by Ralph Compton, hailed by many reviewers as the successor to Louis L'Amour. The nephews of Steve Austin, the founder of Texas, must ride into a hostile Mexico to aid a longtime friend in a cattle and horse drive. Reissue.

Book Synopsis

From bestselling author Ralph Compton--the extraordinary saga of a death-defying mission across the Texas border into the blazing heart of the Mexican war...

There are a thousand ways to die on a trail drive through Mexico. But a pair of bold Texans are willing to risk their lives, even take on Santa Anna's army, to lead a herd of wild longhorns northward--and save a convicted man's life...
Set on rescuing a friend trapped inside war-torn Mexico, Gild and Van Austin, nephews of Texas founder Stephen Austin, cross the border and soon discover half of Mexico's army wants them dead. Taken prisoner by Santa Anna's soldiers, the brothers make a daring escape and head into Durango county, where they stumble upon a valley full of longhorns--and a chance to build a future north of the border. All they have to do now is break their friend out of prison and drive their cattle to safety. But faced with outlaws, soldiers, and one dangerous woman, the Austins are finding out that this isn't a trail drive, it's a battle to reach the Bandera Range alive. And the only way to do it is the Texan way--fighting every bloody, dusty mile ahead...

Review Quotes

"Compton offers readers a chance to hit the trail and not even end up saddle sore." --Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Ralph Compton stood six-foot-eight without his boots. His first novel in the Trail Drive series, The Goodnight Trail, was a finalist for the Western Writers of America Medicine Pipe Bearer Award for best debut novel. He was also the author of the Sundown Rider series and the Border Empire series. A native of St. Clair County, Alabama, Compton worked as a musician, a radio announcer, a songwriter, and a newspaper columnist before turning to writing westerns. He died in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1998.