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Gun Notches: A Saga of Frontier Lawman Thomas H. Rynnig as Told to Al Cohn and Joe Chisholm
This book is a reprint of an extremely scarce, out-of-print 1931 edition, with added section of rare photographs of frontiersmen with whom Captain Thomas H. Rynning came in conflict.
Cpt. Rynning was without a doubt one of the most colorful and exciting personalities of the American West. His life-story, as told to Al Cohn and Joe Chisholm, is as fascinating a tale as ever came out of the Frontier era; an era in which run-of-the-mill heroes stood little chance. He was a cowboy, an Indian fighter, an officer in the Roosevelt Rough Riders, penitentiary warden and captain of the Arizona Rangers.
Cpt. Rynning was without a doubt one of the most colorful and exciting personalities of the American West. His life-story, as told to Al Cohn and Joe Chisholm, is as fascinating a tale as ever came out of the Frontier era; an era in which run-of-the-mill heroes stood little chance. He was a cowboy, an Indian fighter, an officer in the Roosevelt Rough Riders, penitentiary warden and captain of the Arizona Rangers.
332 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1931
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 9, 2018
My manager lent my dad this book, and insisted I read it. It turns out it's a $600 book; I've never read anything so expensive that wasn't a textbook.
I wish I could be justified in writing a long essay about this book, for a history class. It's an absolutely fascinating primary source. This guy is recounting his story after the fact, and it spans several decades. He is so /boastful/ it's unreal; multiple times, he would get done talking about some badass judge in Texas or whatnot and how he ran his court, and I would whip out the Google and sure enough, this person was real! Hence, the historical fiction tag - this book surely felt like it was some kid's daydream about being a cowboy.
And you may ask, how is he so boastful? Why was I so skeptical of the truth on display? Well, this guy is extraordinarily racist. Never met another person of another race he couldn't say "and those *racial slur* well... they're no good with a rifle, and I can shoot the lint off a bean stalk 400 yards away!" or something like that.
Anyway, this guy lived through a lot of shit, and it was a very turbulent time. Fun to see the spellings before they were solidified to what they are today.
I wish I could be justified in writing a long essay about this book, for a history class. It's an absolutely fascinating primary source. This guy is recounting his story after the fact, and it spans several decades. He is so /boastful/ it's unreal; multiple times, he would get done talking about some badass judge in Texas or whatnot and how he ran his court, and I would whip out the Google and sure enough, this person was real! Hence, the historical fiction tag - this book surely felt like it was some kid's daydream about being a cowboy.
And you may ask, how is he so boastful? Why was I so skeptical of the truth on display? Well, this guy is extraordinarily racist. Never met another person of another race he couldn't say "and those *racial slur* well... they're no good with a rifle, and I can shoot the lint off a bean stalk 400 yards away!" or something like that.
Anyway, this guy lived through a lot of shit, and it was a very turbulent time. Fun to see the spellings before they were solidified to what they are today.
June 22, 2014
History buffs and those who just like to be entertained will enjoy this first person account of Cpt. Tom Rynning, a very real and very remarkable man. The book contains well drawn pieces of this man's incredibly full life through it's many incarnations that flow from that of a teenage cowboy on the run after shooting up Dodge City after a 1800's cattle drive, as a member of both the Texas and Arizona Rangers in thier most dauntless and venerated periods, as a Rough-Rider running up the hill along side friend Teddy Roosevelt, as a warden of the infamous Yuma Territorial Prison, and, amazingly, still other equally fine adventures.
Written with a light touch, penned by his personal friends from his tales direct, it reads as an honest, often understated narrative as opposed to many books of the era that are drenched in flowery rhetoric and obvious invention.
Gun Notches is a joy to read from top to bottom.
Out of print, it's still around reasonably priced.
It is a very good investment.
JFB
Written with a light touch, penned by his personal friends from his tales direct, it reads as an honest, often understated narrative as opposed to many books of the era that are drenched in flowery rhetoric and obvious invention.
Gun Notches is a joy to read from top to bottom.
Out of print, it's still around reasonably priced.
It is a very good investment.
JFB
April 23, 2012
This an amazing book written in the real voice of an old cowboy who was there on the range.
If you love Lonesome Dove and the old west you owe it to yourself to find this book. It's the real deal.
If you love Lonesome Dove and the old west you owe it to yourself to find this book. It's the real deal.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews