Mike Cox

Mike Cox writes books, reads books, reviews books and sells books.

He is the author of 13 non-fiction books including a study of Texas disasters, three books on the Texas Rangers, one collection historical stories, one true crime story, a biography, a memoir and three local histories, as well as numerous magazine articles, essays and introductions for other books. He has been an elected member of the Texas Institute of Letters since 1993.

Mike’s latest work, "The Texas Rangers: Wearing the Cinco Peso, 1821-1900," the first of a two-volume comprehensive history of the Rangers has just been published by Forge Books in New York. (496 pages, $25.95.) Early reviews have been very favorable.

Since 2000, he has written a syndicated weekly newspaper column called “Texas Tales” on interesting, little-known incidents in Texas history. In 1982 he began writing “Texana,” a Texas book review column for the Austin American-Statesman. He has written travel articles for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and for more than two years wrote a weekly column on legislative and statewide news for the Texas Press Association.

His byline regularly appears in a number of national and statewide magazines, including Texas Highways,Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine and Texas Sportsman. In addition, he has written articles and monographs for a wide variety of Texas historical associations, museums and non-profit organizations.

Mike is also an accomplished and experienced public speaker, on such topics as the Texas Rangers, free-lance writing, leadership and media relations.

He retired in the fall of 2007 as Communication Manager for the Texas Department of Transportation, where he handled media and internal relations on highways and other transportation issues.

Prior to that, he spent more than 15 years with the Texas Department of Public Safety as chief of media relations and public information officer. In between, he was Director of Member Services for the Texas Press Association.

Earlier, he was an award-winning newspaper reporter for nearly 20 years, most of that time with the Austin American-Statesman.

Mike lives in Austin, Texas with his wife Linda, 14-year old daughter Hallie, one dog (Abby) and one cat (Amy).

He and Linda own Saddlebag Books and specialize in selling used and rare Texana and Western Americana (www.saddlebagbooksonline.com).

Hallie, a eighth grader at a local magnet school, loves to read, writes award-winning poems and stories. She says that when she grows up, in addition to being a doctor, she wants to be a book writer just like her dad.