Old West Showdown: Two Authors Wrangle over the Truth about the Mythic Old West

by Bill Markley, Kellen Cutsforth

In an entertaining and conversational style, Markley and Cutsforth take conflicting sides to debunk and in some cases proliferate, the myths, legends, and realities of some of the West's most famous figures, including: Billy the Kid, Jesse James, Buffalo Bill Cody, Calamity Jane, the Earp brothers, and many more. The real lives of the historic figures in Calling Down the Thunder: A Search for Truth in the Old West are shrouded in controversy and myth. Was Jesse James a Southern Son fighting for the cause of the fallen Confederacy, or a blood-thirsty cutthroat justly pursued by the authorities? Was Billy the Kid a misunderstood youth or a cold-blooded killer? Did Buffalo Bill Cody truly ride for the Pony Express as a young man? Or, was he just a blowhard who trumped up his own past in an attempt to seem more heroic in the eyes of audiences attending his Wild West shows? These questions and many more will be explored in this exciting book.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

200 pages, Hardcover

Published October 1, 2018

About the author

A long-time member of Western Writers of America, Bill Markley's latest book, Billy the Kid and Jesse James: Outlaws of the Legendary West (October 2019) is the second in the Legendary West series. Which outlaw was the best at what he did, Jesse James or Billy the Kid? The first in the series, Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson: Lawmen of the Legendary West (May 2019) compares the lives of these two great lawmen of the Old West. Which lawman did the most to tame the frontier, Bat Masterson or Wyatt Earp? This joint biography reveals the intersection of their legacies and attempts to answer the questions about their place in the story of the West. Old West Showdown: Two Authors Wrangle over the Truth about the Mythic Old West (October 2018) was selected as a 2019 Will Rogers Medallion Award finalist. In this book, Bill and coauthor Kellen Cutsforth explore ten old west controversial events and characters fully realizing they will be stirring up multiple hornets' nests. Kellen takes one side of each story and Bill takes the other side--point/counterpoint. How did the gunfight near the O.K. Corral actually happen? Why did the James Younger gang try to rob the bank in Northfield, Minnesota? What really happened at Wild Bill Hickok's first gunfight? Were he and Calamity Jane lovers? Did Custer make bad decisions at the Little Bighorn or did his officers let him down? Did Buffalo Bill really ride for the Pony Express and do all the things he claimed? Did the army have Crazy Horse killed to get him out of the way? Did Pat Garrett really kill Billy the Kid? Geronimo-hero or terrorist? Wyoming's Johnson County War--were the small ranchers really rustlers? Bill's book, Deadwood Dead Men (September 2013) is a historical novel of Deadwood, Dakota Territory, in August 1876 during the time of Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, and others. Western Fictioneers selected Deadwood Dead Men as a finalist for its 2014 Peacemaker Award in the category Best First Western Novel. History, especially American history, and travel have fascinated Bill Markley since he was a boy growing up on the family farm in Pennsylvania. Moving to Pierre, South Dakota in 1976, to work for the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources was a natural fit for Markley, where he immersed himself in local history and participated in Civil War and Western frontier reenacting. Markley has been in films such as Dances With Wolves, Son of the Morning Star, Far and Away, Gettysburg, and Crazy Horse. He worked in Antarctica, traveled the South Pacific, kayaked and backpacked in Alaska, chaperoned a Boy Scout troop to Japan, and has camped, hiked, and rode horseback through the West. Markley has written three additional books, Dakota Epic, Experiences of a Reenactor during the filming of Dances With Wolves, and Up the Missouri River with Lewis and Clark and American Pilgrim, A Post September 11 Bus Trip and Other Tales of the Road. He writes for South Dakota Magazine, Roundup, True West, and Wild West. Markley's story "Kenneth McKenzie, King of the Upper Missouri" appears in WWA's anthology, Roundup! Markley and his wife Liz, live in Pierre where they raised two children.

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

History is controversial. Sometimes it’s even offensive. I think we’ve all experienced that perspective at some point recently. With cancel culture being implemented through the tearing down of statues, the banning of books, and the censoring of ideas, we’ve shown just how offended we can be by the warts of history.

Because history is in the past, we tend to think of it as being static or cut in stone. But it’s actually quite fluid. Every year, new research and archeological evidence are unearthed that sheds greater light on the events of the past, allowing for a shift in our perceptions and biases. For this reason, history will forever be debated.

In Old West Showdown, authors Bill Markley and Kellen Cutsforth guide us through some of the old West’s most controversial episodes and individuals. You’ll read about Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett, Buffalo Bill, Wyatt Earp, Crazy Horse, and others. You’ll also read about the Johnson County War, the James-Younger gang’s disastrous raid on the Northfield Bank, and the battle of the Little Bighorn.

Each chapter of the book looks at a different historical account and discusses the controversy surrounding each one. Markley and Cutsforth each take a different side in the debate, and each author backs up his point of view with extensive research. Old West Showdown contains a bibliography and numerous reference citations, but the book is an easy read, not an academic tome.

The authors intended I believe, that by presenting the facts and the controversy of these historical events, a spark would kindle a desire in each reader to further investigate the history for themselves and come to their own conclusions about the matters presented. But my takeaway from this book is one that the authors may not have even intended. That is that it’s okay to disagree about history. We can discuss it. We can debate it. We can even argue about it in a civil way that allows everyone to embrace our history – warts and all.

This was a fun read as well as an immensely interesting one. This would make a fantastic series, and I hope the authors intend to produce more volumes covering additional topics.

[Bill Markley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm one of the authors.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dry as the desert sands. I learned stuff about Old West legends that I didn't previously know. But the delivery made me want a swig of water. The 'showdown' piece of it didn't really play out. The dueling authors mostly agreed with or just added to each other. I'd say the one I learned the most about was the showdown at the OK Corral. You hear about it, maybe have seen movies about it. But the details were elaborated on more fully here but still in a summary form. I know, doesn't really make sense.

A little sorry I actually bought this one at Costco rather than my usual get it at the library scenario. Oh well.