Desert Lawmen

The High Sheriffs of New Mexico and Arizona 1846-1912

By: Larry D. Ball

Narrated by: Scott Carrico

Elected for two-year terms, frontier sheriffs were the principal peace-keepers in counties that were often larger than New England states. As officers of the court, they defended settlers and protected their property from the ever-present violence on the frontier. Their duties ranged from tracking down stagecoach robbers and serving court warrants to locking up drunks and quelling domestic disputes.The reality of their job embraced such mandane duties as being jail keepers, tax collectors, quarantine inspectors, court-appointed executioners, and dogcatchers.

©1992 University of New Mexico Press (P)2014 Redwood Audiobooks

Only for history buffs

I loved parts of this book and hated other parts. Being a New Mexico native I've always been very interested in the history of the state. The author must have done a tremendous amount of research to write this which I definitely respect. But some chapters droned on and on while others were very interesting. The was an entire 50 minute chapter dedicated to just tax collection that was very hard to get through. If your not a hard core NM & AZ history buff then this book is prob not for you.

Dry set of facts.

More suited for a textbook of western history, not for a tale of western lawmen

No "Story" to this story.

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

I was expecting a few antidotes from History New Mexico/Arizona LE, instead this well intentioned book is a collection of names and dates. Thousands of names and dates.

What was most disappointing about Larry D. Ball’s story?

There was not "story" to the story.

Which character – as performed by Scott Carrico – was your favorite?

Carrico did a great job, but he had little to work with.