In the fall of 1876 Cook and a partner started their own ranch on the South Fork of the Llano River in Kimball County. Cook remained there until 1880, when he sold his interest. Both Jim and Al, who sometimes went by the alias of Taylor Williams, worked for O. J. Wiren, foreman of the Quitaque Ranch. In 1881, when the Quitaque was sold to Charles Goodnight and Wiren purchased the Two Circle Bar on the upper Brazos from Jesse Hitson, the Cooks stayed with Wiren. Indeed, Jim "Lane," who was made wagon boss, was said to have owned an interest in the Two Circle Bar, although the records show no such evidence. He reportedly ran his own herd at the ranch and won notoriety among the cowboys as a "hard man to work for and inconsiderate of his men." However, he remained with Wiren five years before leaving "for reasons of my own," as he later stated.

"This immense book, by a noted bibliographer of the West, is beyond question the fairest, most complete and most learned evaluation of printed references to western outlaws to appear until now....It will stand for many years, solid as a rock amid the flooding maelstrom of western myth and legend, pointing up the truth about those men of the past who lived by their wits and their guns. It will be impossible for anyone studying that era and such men to do so without reference to this volume."—Los Angeles Times "Adams turns again to the books and histories of the western gunmen and outlaws and critically examines 425 titles, most of which rate as ’burs’ under his saddle. Ramon Adams’ plea is that the writers must stop compounding each other’s errors into legend. In this book, with great skill and without malice, he has pointed out past mistakes. His book should be in the essential baggage of every writer on western outlaws and on every library shelf."—American West "The value of this book to writers and historians of the badman tradition cannot be overestimated, for Adams has replaced rumors, myths, and falsehoods with documented historical facts. It is a book for all conscientious students of and writers on the American West; henceforth, any writer of ’authentic Western history’ who refuses to check with Adams should be, as the judge said to Billy the Kid in one legend, 'hanged by the neck until dead, dead, dead.'"—Southwest Review

This is the compelling realistic story about athletics in the small towns in Texas. It tells the story of building a championship tradition from a below average program that attracts five good coaches and their collision with a group of gifted athletes and it is told through the eyes of the citizens of the community in which it all takes place. The characters are as real as those in so many small towns and the interchanging of their attitudes and behaviors are comical at times. It illustrates how often smaller communities are identified by the public school's success in athletics and how much success can bring about new ideas and attract others to want and become a part of their success. It also shows what a challenge people from the outside have in being accepted and being understood, but when they are, all benefit from the experience. The question that is asked in this story is whether the next generation and a new staff can continue the tradition established, now that the "golden boys" have graduated and gone on to college. It is an amazing tribute to those who follow such an era and their struggles.