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Robert's Story: A Texas Cowboy's Troubled Life and Horrifying Death
Amazon Best Seller in Elder Abuse
Amazon Hot New Release in Southern U.S. Biographies Tired, disoriented, and confused, Robert East was no match for the wolves when they arrived. Robert East loved his older brother, Tom, but always resented Tom’s favored role in the family cattle business based at their San Antonio Viejo ranch near Hebbronville, Texas, just north of the Rio Grande. Tom was a figure to be reckoned with, a cattleman with ambitions to supplant their Uncle Bob Kleberg, head of the enormous King Ranch, as the leading cattle raiser in Texas. Robert, by contrast, was a cowboy who cared little for what occurred beyond the San Antonio Viejo’s main gate. Handsome and ornery, with no head for business, he nevertheless chafed in his brother’s shadow until 1984, when Tom died young of a heart attack, just as their father, Tom East, Sr., had 40 years earlier. Suddenly Robert was the new and untested patron of 250,000 acres of East Family ranchland―and the majority owner of the ocean of natural gas pooled beneath East rangeland. It was his turn to issue the orders. Robert’s contentious nature drove the Easts into bitter intra-family legal hostilities that persisted for a decade. He lost his beloved sister, Lica, to cancer, and as old age advanced, he found himself alone and isolated on a remote ranch with only an unreliable foreman and a scattering of vaqueros and other workers for company. The physical wear and tear from decades of working cattle on horseback began to show. Robert’s knees gave out, and he developed serious cardiovascular problems. His doctors prescribed pain pills, sedatives, and medications for his chronic depression. In 2000, drillers hit the most productive gas well in the U.S, if not the world, on East property, making the rich old man suddenly and spectacularly wealthy beyond his comprehension. Soon enough the wolves began to circle, and Robert’s grotesque final days were at hand.
Amazon Hot New Release in Southern U.S. Biographies Tired, disoriented, and confused, Robert East was no match for the wolves when they arrived. Robert East loved his older brother, Tom, but always resented Tom’s favored role in the family cattle business based at their San Antonio Viejo ranch near Hebbronville, Texas, just north of the Rio Grande. Tom was a figure to be reckoned with, a cattleman with ambitions to supplant their Uncle Bob Kleberg, head of the enormous King Ranch, as the leading cattle raiser in Texas. Robert, by contrast, was a cowboy who cared little for what occurred beyond the San Antonio Viejo’s main gate. Handsome and ornery, with no head for business, he nevertheless chafed in his brother’s shadow until 1984, when Tom died young of a heart attack, just as their father, Tom East, Sr., had 40 years earlier. Suddenly Robert was the new and untested patron of 250,000 acres of East Family ranchland―and the majority owner of the ocean of natural gas pooled beneath East rangeland. It was his turn to issue the orders. Robert’s contentious nature drove the Easts into bitter intra-family legal hostilities that persisted for a decade. He lost his beloved sister, Lica, to cancer, and as old age advanced, he found himself alone and isolated on a remote ranch with only an unreliable foreman and a scattering of vaqueros and other workers for company. The physical wear and tear from decades of working cattle on horseback began to show. Robert’s knees gave out, and he developed serious cardiovascular problems. His doctors prescribed pain pills, sedatives, and medications for his chronic depression. In 2000, drillers hit the most productive gas well in the U.S, if not the world, on East property, making the rich old man suddenly and spectacularly wealthy beyond his comprehension. Soon enough the wolves began to circle, and Robert’s grotesque final days were at hand.
384 pages, Hardcover
Published September 13, 2022
47 people are currently reading
81 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 19, 2022
Biographies are not a category I often read but, this instantly caught my eye. Since it’s about the history and people who helped settle and form my home state of Texas, had to read it. It is a sobering, sad tale of greed at the expense of one man’s physical well being.
There is an informative background of Robert Claude East’s family ancestors. Wish there was an actual family tree included, there were a lot of names to sort through in the first few chapters. As the story progressed they fell into place. Many anecdotes and memories of family events were full of antics and an old west bravado. It covers several generations through marriages and deaths. There are several family photos true to time period. At times I laughed out loud, others brought me to tears.
The San Antonio Viejo ranch in South Texas is where Robert lived and much of the litigation of his estate revolved around that area. The staggering acreage and number of ranch hands at Robert’s ranch is a part of Texas history I was unfamiliar with. The buildings, horses, scrub terrain is well described. The litigation might get a little tedious to some, I found it both entertaining and enlightening. The number of wills, amendments, and codicils was astounding. There were so many lawyers you’ll need a diagram for them too.
Robert’s nephew, Mike East, attempts to lift the prohibition of any family members visiting Robert as he became increasingly frail and they become concerned about his care. The denied access was baseless and petty and the ensuing litigation lasted for years. None of it protected Robert from neglect, mistreatment and other atrocities. It was appalling, made me sad and angry. How did all these smart, professional people let this happen?
There will always be two sides, or more, to every disagreement. Robert’s story is slanted towards the remaining heirs viewpoints. With all the information sited from depositions, legal documents and IRS filings the author garnered lots of compelling information in regards to Robert’s lack of care. Robert was trusting and taken advantage of repeatedly by many people. It was devastating and utterly tragic how his later years were spent. Only the trustees and lawyers gained anything. Robert never put his real wishes into the many legal documents he signed, he changed his mind often and believed he’d live forever. The Politicians, lawyers, physicians, judges, bookkeepers, ranch hands, and relatives all failed Robert. One ranch employee, who secretly taped many questionable events of those taking advantage of and leading Robert in poor decision making, seemed to be the only one who just cared for Robert, not his wealth.
The one time sprawling cattle ranch worth millions is in a Wildlife Trust now, supposedly supporting educational research, etc. Robert didn’t like hunters or hunting. We can only hope they protect his beloved white tailed deer far better than they did Robert.
This is not an author I was familiar with. He researched and wrote an excellent, historical, legal family drama. There aren’t many fictional stories that could replicate the twisted true story of Robert. There isn’t a happy ending.
Thanks so much to NetGalley for the advance digital copy of “Robert’s Story: A Texas Cowboy’s Troubled Life and Horrifying Death” by Stephen G. Michaud and to Coyote Publishing. These are my honest personal thoughts and opinions given voluntarily.
There is an informative background of Robert Claude East’s family ancestors. Wish there was an actual family tree included, there were a lot of names to sort through in the first few chapters. As the story progressed they fell into place. Many anecdotes and memories of family events were full of antics and an old west bravado. It covers several generations through marriages and deaths. There are several family photos true to time period. At times I laughed out loud, others brought me to tears.
The San Antonio Viejo ranch in South Texas is where Robert lived and much of the litigation of his estate revolved around that area. The staggering acreage and number of ranch hands at Robert’s ranch is a part of Texas history I was unfamiliar with. The buildings, horses, scrub terrain is well described. The litigation might get a little tedious to some, I found it both entertaining and enlightening. The number of wills, amendments, and codicils was astounding. There were so many lawyers you’ll need a diagram for them too.
Robert’s nephew, Mike East, attempts to lift the prohibition of any family members visiting Robert as he became increasingly frail and they become concerned about his care. The denied access was baseless and petty and the ensuing litigation lasted for years. None of it protected Robert from neglect, mistreatment and other atrocities. It was appalling, made me sad and angry. How did all these smart, professional people let this happen?
There will always be two sides, or more, to every disagreement. Robert’s story is slanted towards the remaining heirs viewpoints. With all the information sited from depositions, legal documents and IRS filings the author garnered lots of compelling information in regards to Robert’s lack of care. Robert was trusting and taken advantage of repeatedly by many people. It was devastating and utterly tragic how his later years were spent. Only the trustees and lawyers gained anything. Robert never put his real wishes into the many legal documents he signed, he changed his mind often and believed he’d live forever. The Politicians, lawyers, physicians, judges, bookkeepers, ranch hands, and relatives all failed Robert. One ranch employee, who secretly taped many questionable events of those taking advantage of and leading Robert in poor decision making, seemed to be the only one who just cared for Robert, not his wealth.
The one time sprawling cattle ranch worth millions is in a Wildlife Trust now, supposedly supporting educational research, etc. Robert didn’t like hunters or hunting. We can only hope they protect his beloved white tailed deer far better than they did Robert.
This is not an author I was familiar with. He researched and wrote an excellent, historical, legal family drama. There aren’t many fictional stories that could replicate the twisted true story of Robert. There isn’t a happy ending.
Thanks so much to NetGalley for the advance digital copy of “Robert’s Story: A Texas Cowboy’s Troubled Life and Horrifying Death” by Stephen G. Michaud and to Coyote Publishing. These are my honest personal thoughts and opinions given voluntarily.
June 15, 2023
This book needs a map and, even more importantly, a cast of characters to keep everyone straight. It was depressing to read, and got worse as the story progressed. It got to where I could only read a chapter or so at a time.
September 28, 2022
This was an interesting read and rather complex story leading to a court case. The cover really drew me in as I love reading about ranches and cowboys. Robert was certainly a very interesting characters and rather stubborn that made me chuckle at times. His brother was very strict at running the farm but after the death of his brother it was Roberts turn to run the farm and he really change things up. Many changes that others did not like at all. Once Robert had made his money people started to turn on him and all he'll broke loose and the vultures decended. I really enjoyed reading about both Tom's and Roberts running of the farm but as it switches to the court case became very complex I was getting annoyed by the vultures and started to switch off. It was heartbreaking what Robert had to go through and made me quite mad. I felt so sorry for Robert his story did need to be told. If you love biographies that Inc family fueds and complex court cases then this book is for you. My average star rating is only one person's rating and might be your 5 star read so you can always try reading a sample of this book to see if it a perfect fit for you.
Many thanks to the author and publishers for bringing this terrible story to the light of day.
Many thanks to the author and publishers for bringing this terrible story to the light of day.
July 1, 2023
This is one of those books that you need to take time reading. The author Stephen Michaud did a great job researching this man’s life in the back of the book he even included Tax returns for the private foundation. Roberts life and family is a rather complex story to tell but it’s one to be told. Imagine oil being on your property what that would do to your life and what would your family do?. Robert’s life changed a lot. It is a heartbreaking story that you will have a reaction to one way or the other.
January 14, 2024
A true story of greed, ignorance, deceit and the trouble money and power can bring into your life. Robert East’s stubbornness and ignorance allowed those closest to him to take advantage of him in his finial days/years. They kept his family from him, and with the help of greedy or misguided lawyers wrestled away the family ranches and fortune. A great history of ranching in south Texas though. All the big families were involved - East, Kenedy, King, Kleberg and Utturia among others. Lots of courtroom drama. Fascinating and Kinda boring at the same time. But still pretty sad.
March 27, 2025
The book had a lot of meaning for me
Having grown up in Corpus Christi and rodeoed all through my childhood, I was aware of many of the people mentioned in this book. To me, a very sad story of what greed can do to people. It was a great read for me and I would certainly recommend it to anyone who, if for no other reason, enjoys a good story, even a very sad one.
Having grown up in Corpus Christi and rodeoed all through my childhood, I was aware of many of the people mentioned in this book. To me, a very sad story of what greed can do to people. It was a great read for me and I would certainly recommend it to anyone who, if for no other reason, enjoys a good story, even a very sad one.
April 27, 2024
This was an educational book that I really enjoyed reading!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews