The Gunfighters Showdowns and shoot outs in the Old West

The Old West #8

by Paul Trachtman, Time-Life Books (Editor)

Time Life Education, 1974. Hardcover. Book New. 1St Edition. Bookseller Inventory # DADAX0809414813

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, Westerns, Reference, Historical, Biography

238 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1974

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a decent compilation of reputedly factual accounts of the lives and loves of the gunfighters in the USA. Within these pages the reader will encounter lawman and outlaw, and many who would qualify for either distinction. Short biographies are provided for a good number of the better-known frontier stalwarts. I was happy to see my hero Nate Champion given his due but was disappointed at the lack of notice given to another hero, Buckshot Roberts. Surely any man who single-handedly tackled a gang of desperadoes including Billy the Kid deserves at least passing mention.

A summation is made of both the Lincoln County and Johnson County range wars which, while short on detail, at least gives the reader a general idea of the salient points of those conflicts. The book also touches on vigilantism and frontier justice, including the lives of judges and what passed for "lawmen" at that time. The book's real strength resides in the fact that it is replete with photographs and illustrations of the people and incidents outlined therein. Of particular interest are the color photos of the weaponry favored by the gunfighters of that era. I know that the book is no great work of literature, but it makes for fantastic eye- candy for those of us who were born 100 years too late.

[GoldGato · Rating 3 out of 5]

"I'd hunt you for free."

Too bad every Old West tale can't have Randolph Scott outwitting the bad guys, but some of the real-life stories were amazing on their own. After reading this Time-Life book, it's understandable how the Gunfighters became part of the American mythological realm.

Judge Roy Parker. Jesse James. Billy The Kid. Wyatt Earp. Doc Holliday. Bat Masterson. John Wesley Hardin. The Apache Kid. Truly a rogues' gallery (for & against the law). Some were psychos and some were mislabeled, but almost all of them died by the guns they worshiped. Photographs and illustrations help to bring the stories to life and everything is well-researched.



Stick 'em up!

Book Season = Summer (bandannas and horses)

[John Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pre-internet website "infotainment" at its best. Wanted to read this since seeing the tv ads in 1979. Well-written, and illustrated with rare photos and art. Supposedly these sold like crazy for Time Life Books. You can find a set at any public library sale. And yes, John Wesley Hardin was the meanest man in the West.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm surprised this doesn't have more reviews. Seems like everyone and their mother had this book as I was growing up. I liked the connection of photos with some essays on the topic. I thought it was really good

[Pat Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This may be the only one of this series which I have given 5 stars to. I have to say that I found it to be a faster read than the ones I am used to. I am a bit embarrassed to admit that the violence and death described here appeal to me. I found it interesting that these gunfighters were able to roam around free for such a long time after having committed these crimes, and even taken on jobs as lawmen with their history known by the executives who hired them. The book starts with the shootout at the OK Corral and describes the action in great detail. The aftermath is covered as well. There is a section of about ten pages which are pictures and descriptions of the pistols and rifles and shotguns a lot of these men used. Jesse James and his gang have a pretty complete section of the book, followed by more of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and their cohorts and adventures. There follows lawmen, both lawful and unlawful. Included here are Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp. The legal crowd is also described. By that I mean Judges and Sheriffs and their stories. Charles Parker takes a good amount of the book here. We move to more sinister, evil gunmen who have no feeling for anyone they killed. They are described separately but quickly. Billy the Kid is in this group. The last part of the book tells of a series of actions called the Lincoln County War. It is a struggle between rich cattlemen and small homesteaders and cowboys over wealth in Wyoming. There is a lot of action in this part and it is a bit disappointing to see how it turns out. The wealthy are rescued by the US Army when they are pinned down in a ranch house by a majority of the county. They try going through legal channels to sort out the mess but the rich men had too many resources to be convicted. That was about it. If you like Westerns you will enjoy this. It isn't fiction, or at least in the 1970's it wasn't. That part fascinated me.

[Christian D. D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have fond early childhood memories of the Time-Life Books infomercial for this book back in circa 1980-81 (I was 5 or 6 y/o at the time). And now that I’ve finally read the book all these years later, I can attest that it lives up to the billing of that classic infomercial. Excellent balance of text and photographs that provides fascinating info and insights into Old West legends like Billy the Kid, John Wesley Hardin (“he shot 44 men, one of ‘em just for snorin’ too loud”), Jesse & Frank James, Clay Allison, Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid, etc, along with a score of lesser known names.

[Autumn Kearney · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE GUNFIGHTERS was a book from The Old West Series by Time-Life. There were black & white photos of the gunfighters. There were also paintings of real-life shootouts. I never realized how many horses were shot and killed during those encounters. It was sad to see. My favorite part was a wanted poster on the front of the book. The cover was made from tooled leather. The book was made to look and feel like a horse’s saddle.

[Mark Warren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though this book is slightly flawed due to new research that has come out since its publication, this Time Life Book is superbly written and beautifully organized, and full of great photographs.

[Professor · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I continue to run through the Time-Life books of my youth, books whose pictures and captions I know by heart, but whose contents generally I skimmed at best, I come to an entry in their Old West series, which my family either briefly subscribed to or received as a "Free Gift"/enticement to subscribe. Unlike the history of airplanes, I know next to nothing about the actual Old West, and reading this book was fascinating. Not sure how reliable a source this book is, but it seems like there is some basis in fact to the celluloid legends I grew up with, though what the filmmakers chose to highlight and chose to discard is almost as interesting as the history itself. The land wars detailed at the end of the book were the most fascinating part of the reading-so many cherished capitalist myths about how this country was built on free-competition and trade are demolished (unless you consider hiring gunmen to kill your smaller rivals/obstacles a good thing). If only I had the full set, though I suppose now I may need to seek out more in-depth, higher quality sources.

[Leonard Pierce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, I actually bought these fake-leather-bound, TV-advertised nostalgia pieces! And not entirely because I remember the commercials on heavy rotation from when I was a kid. As historical reference goes, these are actually pretty good, largely because Time-Life can afford repro rights to dumploads of historical material. The writing in this one is pretty engaging too, if over-reliant on dubious source material; I could get a pretty great screenplay out of the Billy the Kid story if that ass David Milch hadn't already tapped the vein.

[Ulrich Krieghund · Rating 4 out of 5]

"They tell lots of lies about me. They say I killed six or seven men for snoring. Well, it ain't true, I only killed one man for snoring."--John Wesley Hardin.

If you like this book, we'll send another one to you in a fine leather cover, from the rich leather markets of Corinth. If you don't like this series, you can cancel at anytime and you can just FORGET the Old West!

[James Crabtree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nothing beats these Time-Life books for the feel and look of the Old West. I really enjoyed re-reading this volume and learning the rugged life of desperados and lawman... who often were the same people at different times in their careers. Very well illustrated and it explains a lot about the handling of firearms in the wild west.

[Bright Boy Books]

2 copies

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice compendium of old west gunslingers (good and bad), their gals, pals and all that goes living the wild of the wild west. Some pictures not for the faint of heart.

[Dan Blackley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one in the series. This one focus on the gun fighters good and bad. Full of pictures.

[Roy McCullough · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining, if somewhat romanticized, account of the gunslingers, outlaws, rustlers, lawmen and judges of the Old West. Lavishly illustrated with scores of historic photographs and portraits.

[Josh Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think that the author’s reason for writing this book is to convey information. The book is written as a compilation of many different people’s accounts of famous cowboys and hustlers. The authors point of view in this book is definitely third person. He got his information from other people and was not really there. The style of this book is very different, he would write down someone’s account, and then halfway through stop to give either background or additional info.

The theme of this book is just information. The book focuses on many different accounts of many different people so I am just going to focus on one, the shoot out at the OK corral. If a theme could be conjured from this book I think that it would be friendship and loyalty. Throughout the book the Earp brothers constantly face hardships, and with the help of friends they always overcome them. For example, Doc Holliday was not supposed to be in the shoot out but insisted on helping his friends.

I would see this book as being a type of exposition. The book gives a very good explanation and analysis on the topic of gunfighters; it even had some really cool gun info. The book goes into so much detail as to tell what type of gun each man had and even the coat that Doc Holliday was wearing.

My opinion of this book as a book is not very good. It is a fun book to read every once in a while, but it is not a thrilling book that you can’t put down. I did like his attention to detail. He made sure that you got the full feeling of every character. If I could change anything it would be to add more info on location, I felt as though I was lost in the book. This book is at least to say different but it is very interesting to read.

[A_whitler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the Old West and anything having to do with this rough and rowdy time. It shows how corruption and greed have really been a very long-standing part of American life. It also shows the admiration and fame that went along with being a revered gun fighter. I also enjoyed the pictures of people and weaponry.

[Steve Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book, overall. It's serves as a primer on the subject, and dispels some myths of the Old West. It's history may not be solid, as it states as fact some disputed details of certain characters from the age. That said, I'd recommend it.

[Earl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great reference for those in love with the Old West. It's interesting to see the reality behind the legends.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

A portrayal of Old West gunfighters for Time-Life Books by the author. It has many brief histories and well as numerous illistrations. While not a definitive work it is a good start on the subject.