Ghost of the Rio Grande
Ghost of the Rio Grande

The reluctant hero Fabriciano Garcia (the Ghost) is drawn into the fray between the US and Mexico on the border, as the Germans try to use the Mexicans to invade the United States and keep the US out of World War One. He also is chased as public enemy #1 for killing a Texas Ranger, while defending his family. The greedy white ranchers use the Texas Rangers to confiscate Tejano ranches claiming their deeds are invalid. The under pinning cause was the new found oil boom, fueling the new age of automobiles, airplanes, etc. The ghost thwarts the Rangers and the Germans and plays a crucial role unwittingly, that he hopes will allow him to reunite with his wife and family.

Book Details

Genre: 

  • Historical Fiction

Age Level: 

  • 12 and up
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The Ghost of the Rio Grande by Gilberto Beto Garcia Jr. and Don A. Holbrook is a historical fiction book occurring between the years 1915 and 1919.  Fabriciano Garcia, the Ghost of the Rio Grande, after killing a Texas Ranger who was threatening his family, inadvertently then becomes involved in an international plot by Germany to get the U.S. involved in a war with Mexico, thereby distracting the U.S. from entering the war in Europe on the side of England and France.  

Ghost of the Rio Grande by Don Allen Holbrook and Dr. Gilberto Garcia follows the story of Fabriciano Garcia in the mid-1910s. He and his family live on a farm in southern Texas, and he strives to support them as best he can. He descends from a Mexican-Indian bloodline. In the town where he lives, he finds himself having to defend himself and his neighbors with force and firepower. There is much tension as Fabriciano runs from the law that prosecutes him for killing a Texas Ranger about to kill his friend.

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