As a young man, Arturo Rodriguez was always the guardian of the underdog. This theme carried through to his adult life when he became the first Mexican-American Texas Ranger, an intense and dramatic event in South Texas history. In Rodriguez... Texas Ranger! author Rick Harper recounts Rodriguez's life and law enforcement career.

As Harper tells Rodriguez's story, he also chronicles many of Texas and Mexico's significant historical events and their corresponding sociocultural, economic, and racial developmental patterns to demonstrate not only their immediate impact, but also the ways in which these events and patterns framed the region's present state.

Providing insight into the dynamic nature of Texas during the 1960s and '70s, Rodriguez... Texas Ranger! tells a tale of Gringos and Chicanos, justice and vengeance, the law and the lawless, pistoleros and politics, sharpshooters and shopkeepers, ranchers and farmers, cowboys and cattle drives, governors and goat headers, and Texas Rangers. It's about the passing of a frontier system and the emergence of modern times.