Famous Sheriffs and Western Outlaws: Incredible True Stories of Wild West Showdowns and Frontier Justice

by William MacLeod Raine

This in-depth collection, unchanged since the 1940s, tells of the most legendary heroes and villains of the Old West. Get swept back to a time when sheriffs did their best to keep order in a lawless land. Read about the likes of Tom Horn, the “Apache Kid,” “Bucky” O’Neill, Tom Nickson, and many more!

Famous Sheriffs and Western Outlaws is a classic for everyone interested in history and what is was like in the Old West. The detail of every story grabs the attention of the reader and doesn't let go. Learn the early stories of famous foes like Billy the Kid and what he was like from both a personal and business standpoint. If you like stories of heroes and the people who tried to take them down, then you are in for a wild ride.

Novelist William MacLeod Raine recalls standoffs, shootouts, rowdy saloons, brave men who protected innocent townspeople, and villains who put the “wild” in Wild West. Famous Sheriffs and Western Outlaws is a sure shot for anyone interested in the history and romance of the Old West.

Genres: History, Westerns, Nonfiction

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1929

About the author

William MacLeod Raine (June 22, 1871 - July 25, 1954), was a British-born American novelist who wrote fictional adventure stories about the American Old West.

William MacLeod Raine was born in London, the son of William and Jessie Raine. After his mother died, his family migrated from England to Arkansas when Macleod was ten years old, eventually settling on a cattle ranch near the Texas-Arkansas border.

In 1894, after graduating from Oberlin College, Macleod left Arkansas and headed for the western U.S. He became the principal of a school in Seattle while contributing columns to a local newspaper. After leaving Seattle, he moved to Denver, where he worked as a reporter and editorial writer for local periodicals, including the Republican, the Post, and the Rocky Mountain News. At this time he began to publish short stories, eventually becoming a full time free lance fiction writer, and finally finding his literary home in the novel.

His earliest novels were romantic histories taking place in the English countryside. However, after spending some time with the Arizona Rangers, Macleod shifted his literary focus and began to utilize the American West as a setting. The publication of Wyoming in 1908 marks the beginning of his prolific career, during which time he averaged nearly two western novels a year until his death in 1954. In 1920 he was awarded an M.L. degree from the University of Colorado where he had established that school's first journalism course. During the First World War 500,000 copies of one of his books were sent to British soldiers in the trenches. Twenty of his novels have been filmed. Despite his prolificness, he was a slow, careful, conscientious worker, intent on accurate detail, and considered himself a craftsman rather than an artist.

In 1905 Mr. Raine married Jennie P. Langley, who died in 1922. In 1924 he married Florence A Hollingsworth: they had a daughter. Though he traveled a good deal, Denver was considered his home.

William MacLeod Raine died on July 25, 1954 and is buried at Fairmount Cemetery in Denver, Colorado.

Reviews

[Macy White · Rating 1 out of 5]

*IN REFERENCE TO KINDLE EDITION*

Unfortunately this book is riddled with typos and errors: combined words, lack of punctuation, capital letters in odd places etc. Perhaps this is the result of Skyhorse Publishing scanning a copy of the original and having software decipher the text. Regardless, it was distracting and disappointing.

Secondly, the content itself isn't that great. Raine mostly summarizes and lists "facts" about some "notorious" figures of the west. He makes many generalizations and hollow statements about these figures and often makes very similar sounding proclamations about them. Some of the chapters are better than others, but many are very boring.

This is an interesting book in the study of how the west was mythologized, though. Much of the content, and the now very cliche portrayals of "good men" and "bad men", seem to lend to the American "myth" of the old west. Overall the book struck me as a mix of fact and myth, leaning toward sensationalism rather than accuracy.

[Chris Maddix · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will provide detail that you never imagined about Bat Masterson, the Earp brothers, even John Chisum, whom I previously thought was a fictional character played by John Wayne.

It's a fun read for those interested in this genre.

[Jeff Edgens · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent western history complete with good guys, bad guys; Lincoln county range war; creation of the Arizona Rangers; gunfighters like John Wesley Hardin and Sheriffs like Bill Tilghman. A few new stories I'd not heard. The author was a contemporary of some of the subjects mentioned in the book and the writing style was like that of a book from the 1920's/1930's.

[Steven jb · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting history, but disjointed. I suspect the description of the gunfight at the O K Corral was partisan.

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is by the British-born Western writer, William MacLeod Raine (author of dozens of novels and 20 mostly forgotten movies). Some of it appears based on first-hand interviews Raines conducted in the early 20th century.

The book covers the standards such as the Gunfight at the OK Corral, the Lincoln County War and the adventures of Dodge City, John Wesley Harding and the Apache Kid. It has a rambling feel of a guy telling every story he’s ever heard. As a result, the stories are a bit uneven in their telling.

This is a good bedside book. Violent, but good. If you like Westerns, you might find this interesting. If not, not.