Wildest of the Wild West: True Tales of a Frontier Town on the Sante Fe Trail

by Max Evans (Foreword), Howard Bryan

The 'Wild West' stories of Dodge City, Deadwood, and Tombstone pale in comparison to the incredible story of Las Vegas, New Mexico, for decades considered the most violent community on America's western frontier. In Wildest of the Wild West, popular Western historian Howard Bryan provides a spirited account of the violent, melodramatic, and often bizarre events that centred in and around this small Hispanic farm and ranching community from 1835 to 1915.

269 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1988

Reviews

[Wayne Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Could have read the entire volume in one sitting were it not for having to tend to distractions. Loved the frequent referrals to the original newspaper stories throughout the telling of the narrative, which lent an air of authenticity. The individual accounts are all factual (have read several versions of each in numerous other publications over the years) but the order in which the have been assembled, combined with the vivid narrative style, along with some original Old West humor from the "Las Vegas Optic", make the telling flow as if one were in a theater watching a VistaVision Western.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but choppy.
My girlfriend is from Las Vegas, New Mexico and her sister gave me this book for Christmas to educate me about this tiny town with a rich history.

The book covered some fascinating topics and told some great stories, but the writing did not flow well and seemed to jump around quite a lot. I think it is best to read one chapter and then go read something else; it's not a book that you might sit down and read in one sitting.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wild tales mostly from newspapers. I used to live in the town where all this happened, so I really enjoyed it when I recognized places mentioned.

[Ernest Hogan]

A helluvalot more than fear and loathing in the original Las Vegas.

[David Grassé · Rating 3 out of 5]

Few facts, lots of fluff.