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Fallen Angels
Fallen Angels is the unforgettable memoir of Rita Lorena Link, whose childhood unfolded on the sprawling, storied Waggoner Ranch—a 500,000-acre Texas estate steeped in legend.
At age three, Rita moved to the ranch with her mother and soon formed a deep bond with her stepfather, ranch owner Albert “Buster” Wharton, who became her closest ally. But when his death sparked a bitter legal battle that ended with Rita and her mother’s eviction, the only home she had ever known slipped away.
From ages three to seventeen, the ranch was her classroom, playground, and stage. Rita learned to ride horses and shoot guns from Buster, to smoke at age five from Miss Mandy, and to contemplate Buddhism from Grace, her Japanese governess.
Cowboys, cooks, and caretakers imparted their own colorful—and sometimes troubling—lessons, while the ranch drew everyone from political figures and movie stars to eccentric nannies and rowdy party guests. She witnessed everything from wild soirées where pearl-handled pistols were the party favors to an attempted kidnapping that left her shaken and scarred.
A vivid chronicle of both carefree joys and darker truths, Fallen Angels captures the extravagance, eccentricity, and high-stakes intrigue of one of Texas’s most iconic ranches. More than a memoir, it is a tribute to the land that shaped her, the people who worked it, and the animals that made it home—a portrait of a vanished era in Texas history.
At age three, Rita moved to the ranch with her mother and soon formed a deep bond with her stepfather, ranch owner Albert “Buster” Wharton, who became her closest ally. But when his death sparked a bitter legal battle that ended with Rita and her mother’s eviction, the only home she had ever known slipped away.
From ages three to seventeen, the ranch was her classroom, playground, and stage. Rita learned to ride horses and shoot guns from Buster, to smoke at age five from Miss Mandy, and to contemplate Buddhism from Grace, her Japanese governess.
Cowboys, cooks, and caretakers imparted their own colorful—and sometimes troubling—lessons, while the ranch drew everyone from political figures and movie stars to eccentric nannies and rowdy party guests. She witnessed everything from wild soirées where pearl-handled pistols were the party favors to an attempted kidnapping that left her shaken and scarred.
A vivid chronicle of both carefree joys and darker truths, Fallen Angels captures the extravagance, eccentricity, and high-stakes intrigue of one of Texas’s most iconic ranches. More than a memoir, it is a tribute to the land that shaped her, the people who worked it, and the animals that made it home—a portrait of a vanished era in Texas history.
218 pages, Paperback
Published March 31, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 1, 2026
Entertaining from beginning to end.
Incredible tales of adventure for a child in unique circumstances. Bright opportunities, building of relationships, loss and a cold taste of how money can truly tear families apart.
The author shares heartfelt memories of childhood while reflecting on how those events impacted the woman she became. It’s easy to connect with her through this book and even though I hadn’t known the history of this ranch prior. By the end of the book I was able to understand the community it built and picture what the Waggoner Ranch looked like and symbolized for so many people.
Grateful to have had this opportunity to get an early copy of this book!
Incredible tales of adventure for a child in unique circumstances. Bright opportunities, building of relationships, loss and a cold taste of how money can truly tear families apart.
The author shares heartfelt memories of childhood while reflecting on how those events impacted the woman she became. It’s easy to connect with her through this book and even though I hadn’t known the history of this ranch prior. By the end of the book I was able to understand the community it built and picture what the Waggoner Ranch looked like and symbolized for so many people.
Grateful to have had this opportunity to get an early copy of this book!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
I thought I knew all about the Waggoner Ranch.
I knew the legend anyway. I didn’t know what it was all about in the 1950s before the lawsuits and fighting.
Fallen Angels tells the true story of Rita Lorena Link, who grew up on the Waggoner Ranch from age three to seventeen. Cowboys helped raise her. She learned to ride horses, shoot guns, and keep secrets. John Wayne was a family friend. Polo ponies ran wild. Power was normal.
Then her stepfather died—and the ranch that raised her was taken away.
If you like Taylor Sheridan’s shows or Yellowstone, this is the real thing—before the camera crews.
This book is for anyone who loves Texas history, ranch life, fierce loyalty to land, and stories about what power gives—and what it takes.
I couldn’t stop thinking about it after I finished.
I knew the legend anyway. I didn’t know what it was all about in the 1950s before the lawsuits and fighting.
Fallen Angels tells the true story of Rita Lorena Link, who grew up on the Waggoner Ranch from age three to seventeen. Cowboys helped raise her. She learned to ride horses, shoot guns, and keep secrets. John Wayne was a family friend. Polo ponies ran wild. Power was normal.
Then her stepfather died—and the ranch that raised her was taken away.
If you like Taylor Sheridan’s shows or Yellowstone, this is the real thing—before the camera crews.
This book is for anyone who loves Texas history, ranch life, fierce loyalty to land, and stories about what power gives—and what it takes.
I couldn’t stop thinking about it after I finished.
April 6, 2026
A beautifully worded memoir and coming of age story with depictions of ranch life and thoughtful definitions of "girlhood". The author wrote with grace about death, religion, family, ethics, and wealth. Though the story is a tragic one it was told with charm and dignity, mixed with colorful anecdotes about riding naked on horseback, teenage rodeo love, decorating taxidermy, the isolation that comes with having a texan accent, nature as a religious teacher, and sweet father-daughter moments.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews