The Shooters: A Gallery of Notorious Gunmen from the American West

by Leon Claire Metz

With a scholar's authority and a storyteller's passion, Leon Metz chronicles the lives of famous gunfighters like Billy the Kid, Wyatt Earp, and Wild Bill Hickok, as well as lesser-known desperadoes who left just as many corpses and whiskey bottles in their wake. Rich in detail, and woven with wit and insight, these fascinating portraits reveal the Shooters as they really lived, fought, and died.

Shooters --
Billy [the Kid]: the enduring legend --
Sam Bass: a square shooter --
Black Jack Ketchum: a true loser --
Tom Smith: he brought them in alive --
The James boys --
The Daltons: brothers on the prowl --
Elfego Baca: last of the old-time shooters --
Print Olive: just plain mean a hell --
Stoudenmire: El Paso marshal --
King Fisher: frontier dandy --
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid --
Dave Mather: a deadly shooter --
Pat Garrett --
Jim Miller: bushwhacker --
Chisum: cattle baron --
Luke Short and Jim Courtright --
Johnson County War --
Buffalo Bill: the remarkable showman --
Wild Bill Hickok --
Clay Allison: wild wolf of the Washita --
Texas Rangers --
Blood and salt --
John Larn: Texas killer --
Bass outlaw --
James Garrett: Texas Ranger --
Pearl Hart, John Ringo, and Jack Slade --
John Wesley Hardin --
Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Westerns, True Crime, Biography

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are a lot of books of this type around. You know, the books that give thumbnail biographies of old west lawmen and outlaws; the line between the two was often quite blurred and at times totally disregarded. In at least one case, the Hot Springs shootout, lawmen shot it out with each other. I've read a lot of these books, and this is one of the better ones.

Metz doesn't glorify the gunman. He starts right out by saying that the gunfighter of TV and the big screen is a myth. Far fewer people died in shootouts than we suppose, and few of those shootouts were affairs of honour. One was more likely to be drygulched or ambushed than to be involved in a face-to-face gunfight. Within these pages you will meet the shooters, warts and all, adequately described and gently and humorously ridiculed in those cases where censure is deserved.

It Metz's account of a shootout differs from others, we have to bear in mind that most of the exploits of these men and women are poorly documented and much of the information cannot be confirmed with any accuracy.

I appreciated that the book is provided with adequate photographs and illustrations, and that Metz goes to the trouble of pointing out modern landmarks at the site of many of the shootouts. 3.5 stars downgraded to 3.

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't finish this one. It became clear from the get go that the author was more interested in laying out his own idea about "how things really were" than in just telling the stories.

Metz is well known and I suppose the "who are you to disagree" argument could be aimed at me...okay, feel free. I'm not saying that he's incorrect, just that he's more involved in his opinions here. Just my take. I burned out quick with a feeling of fatigue from the attitude I was getting through the text.

Try the book yourself, see what you think, though I'd suggest a slightly wider read about the period...just me.

Not my cup of tea.

[Stefanie Robinson · Rating 2 out of 5]

In this book, the author gives sufficiently interesting and informative portraits of serval well known names from the "Wild West" days, and also includes some lesser known individuals. Some of the more well known names are the Earp brothers, Butch Cassidy, Frank and Jessie James, and Billy the Kid. Some of the lesser known individuals were probably well known in the geographic area the book focuses on, but probably not well known throughout the broader West. In several instances in this book, the author says that the individual being covered was "one of the most dangerous" gunslingers in the West, however, they didn't really seem to warrant such a connotation. It was a bit weird.

I disliked the fact that the book is meant to be about the American West, which covered a vast amount of area during this time, yet the book focuses on El Paso. It should have been titled differently if that was going to be the case. As it turns out, the author is from El Paso, which explains the interest, but the book could have been better served if the horizons were broadened. I think that I would rate this as a history book for those interested in a light reading history moment...the characters in the book were real, historical figures. The events were historical events. The biographies are brief, and would also be great for those who just want an introduction into this particular topic. I'm giving this two stars, because I did enjoy the short biographies of each of these guys, but I was a little put off by the things mentioned above in combination with my slight lack of interest in the overall topic.

[Wayne Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

A glossing over of the usual suspects, written with some humor at times.

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

Metz is one of my favorites. He writes without trying to impress his readers with a "flowery" vocabulary.

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Broad coverage but not much depth. Some facts differ from several reliable other works I have read.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leon Metz brings the old west gunmen to life in THE SHOOTERS.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being from El Paso, TX, I found this to be an entertaining read. Knowing exactly where certain battles took place intrigued me.

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read. Good stuff.

[Roy · Rating 4 out of 5]

More recent view of the old West gunslingers originally covered in Cunningham s Triggernometry written in the thirties.

[Chuck Leonard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun book that demystifies some of the US west's most famous gun fighters.