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The Two-Shoot Gun
used western novel
192 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1960
About the author
Donald Hamilton
106 books111 followersDonald Hamilton was a U.S. writer of novels, short stories, and non-fiction about the outdoors. His novels consist mostly of paperback originals, principally spy fiction but also crime fiction and Westerns such as The Big Country. He is best known for his long-running Matt Helm series (1960-1993), which chronicles the adventures of an undercover counter-agent/assassin working for a secret American government agency.
Hamilton began his writing career in 1946, fiction magazines like Collier's Weekly and The Saturday Evening Post. His first novel Date With Darkness was published in 1947; over the next forty-six years he published a total of thirty-eight novels. Most of his early novels whether suspense, spy, and western published between 1954 and 1960, were typical paperback originals of the era: fast-moving tales in paperbacks with lurid covers. Several classic western movies, The Big Country and The Violent Men, were adapted from two of his western novels.
The Matt Helm series, published by Gold Medal Books, which began with Death of a Citizen in 1960 and ran for 27 books, ending in 1993 with The Damagers, was more substantial.
Helm, a wartime agent in a secret agency that specialized in the assassination of Nazis, is drawn back into a post-war world of espionage and assassination after fifteen years as a civilian. He narrates his adventures in a brisk, matter-of-fact tone with an occasional undertone of deadpan humor. He describes gunfights, knife fights, torture, and (off-stage) sexual conquests with a carefully maintained professional detachment, like a pathologist dictating an autopsy report or a police officer describing an investigation. Over the course of the series, this detachment comes to define Helm's character. He is a professional doing a job; the job is killing people.
Hamilton was a skilled outdoorsman and hunter who wrote non-fiction articles for outdoor magazines and published a book-length collection of them. For several years he lived on his own yacht, then relocated to Sweden where he resided until his death in 2006.
Hamilton began his writing career in 1946, fiction magazines like Collier's Weekly and The Saturday Evening Post. His first novel Date With Darkness was published in 1947; over the next forty-six years he published a total of thirty-eight novels. Most of his early novels whether suspense, spy, and western published between 1954 and 1960, were typical paperback originals of the era: fast-moving tales in paperbacks with lurid covers. Several classic western movies, The Big Country and The Violent Men, were adapted from two of his western novels.
The Matt Helm series, published by Gold Medal Books, which began with Death of a Citizen in 1960 and ran for 27 books, ending in 1993 with The Damagers, was more substantial.
Helm, a wartime agent in a secret agency that specialized in the assassination of Nazis, is drawn back into a post-war world of espionage and assassination after fifteen years as a civilian. He narrates his adventures in a brisk, matter-of-fact tone with an occasional undertone of deadpan humor. He describes gunfights, knife fights, torture, and (off-stage) sexual conquests with a carefully maintained professional detachment, like a pathologist dictating an autopsy report or a police officer describing an investigation. Over the course of the series, this detachment comes to define Helm's character. He is a professional doing a job; the job is killing people.
Hamilton was a skilled outdoorsman and hunter who wrote non-fiction articles for outdoor magazines and published a book-length collection of them. For several years he lived on his own yacht, then relocated to Sweden where he resided until his death in 2006.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 23, 2014
I've rarely read a western that was so well done. This is an amazing story driven by very believable, imperfect characters set in a small, post Civil War, western town. There are no super heroes or villains, no showdowns between lightening fast gunmen or any of the clichés you'd expect in a western, but it is as perfect a western novel as you'll ever read. The people drive the plot in such a believable way that I never even managed to dislike the bad guys that much, nor was I ever all that thrilled with most of the good guys, although I felt a lot of empathy for the hero, a man haunted by a tough decision in the past. (He didn't do what you think.) This past along with the entire story unfolds subtly throughout the book, too. It's shown with an unbelievable grace.
As always, Hamilton does a wonderful job with the guns. There isn't any real technical talk about them, but their use & limitations are essential to the story. Hamilton obviously knows them well & doesn't take any great pains to prove his knowledge, he just does so in a perfectly natural way.
As always, Hamilton does a wonderful job with the guns. There isn't any real technical talk about them, but their use & limitations are essential to the story. Hamilton obviously knows them well & doesn't take any great pains to prove his knowledge, he just does so in a perfectly natural way.
May 18, 2011
Alexander Burdick is a mild, calm man from the East. But he carries a double-barreled twelve gauge shotgun and knows how to use it. A photographer by trade, he drives his wagon into town to set up a business, picking up a young cowboy walking, toting a saddle, who gets off at the city limits.
Thinking it strange, he rides into town where he's suddenly confronted by a half dozen riders demanding to know his business. Burdick doesn't like anyone that demands and when the leader tells one of them to look in the wagon, his shotgun is instantly leveled at the leader.
Jack Mort is an aging gun hand, aging because he's always careful. He sees something in Burdick's eyes that makes him know he's a dead if that wagon is opened. He backs off and they leave.
Burdick has set himself up against the Flying V ranch, owned by a man named Tom Justice, a man used to running roughshod over anyone that gets in his way. He has two daughters and a son, Tom, twenty, who fancies himself a gun hand because he's killed a man.
Some odd things are going on in Santa Clara and Burdick has stepped in the middle. When the fighting starts up, Burdick, never one to start trouble or run from it, takes his two-shoot gun and begins hunting down the killers.
Hamilton throws a couple of twists along the way. I didn't see any of them coming.
Thinking it strange, he rides into town where he's suddenly confronted by a half dozen riders demanding to know his business. Burdick doesn't like anyone that demands and when the leader tells one of them to look in the wagon, his shotgun is instantly leveled at the leader.
Jack Mort is an aging gun hand, aging because he's always careful. He sees something in Burdick's eyes that makes him know he's a dead if that wagon is opened. He backs off and they leave.
Burdick has set himself up against the Flying V ranch, owned by a man named Tom Justice, a man used to running roughshod over anyone that gets in his way. He has two daughters and a son, Tom, twenty, who fancies himself a gun hand because he's killed a man.
Some odd things are going on in Santa Clara and Burdick has stepped in the middle. When the fighting starts up, Burdick, never one to start trouble or run from it, takes his two-shoot gun and begins hunting down the killers.
Hamilton throws a couple of twists along the way. I didn't see any of them coming.
July 11, 2012
Excellent western by Donald Hamilton. Reading it, I was reminded of a movie I saw at the Drive-In back in my high school days called Massacre at Central High, in that victims and villains aren't always so clearly defined. Burdick rides in to town to set up shop as a photographer and finds a population in fear of the richest cattle rancher, Dan Justice and his band of riders.
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August 25, 2020The climax of The Man from Santa Clara (The Two-Shoot Gun) by Donald Hamilton finds the hero, Alexander Burdick, outside the town jail, facing a lynch mob. The Justice family are the big ranchers in the area, and the son is jailed on bogus rape charges. (Interesting choice of family name, as the patriarch is a law unto himself.) Alexander doesn’t particularly like the son, but is in love with the Justice daughter, the son‘s sister. He’s armed with an enormous shot-gun, borrowed from his friend, the town gunsmith. The hot-head leading the mob is yelling, “Let’s go, he won’t shoot.” As he approaches, Alexander fires, taking off the hot-head’s leg. The crowd disperses, justice and romance prevail.
Afterward, Alexander is baffled by the hot-head’s actions. Our hero arrived in Santa Clara disappointed in love and angry. Every time he’s had the choice of facing a confrontation or backing down, he’s been all in. As he reflects to himself, “I haven’t bluffed anybody since I got here.”
I’ve always wondered if Hamilton is hinting about the A-Bombing of Japan. A few days before the bombing, President Truman announced to Japan that we were about to hit them with a weapon the likes of which they couldn’t imagine. The war criminals then in charge of Japan decided, “betcha won’t.” This proved to be a tragic mistake. The book first appeared in 1960, 15 years later.
Afterward, Alexander is baffled by the hot-head’s actions. Our hero arrived in Santa Clara disappointed in love and angry. Every time he’s had the choice of facing a confrontation or backing down, he’s been all in. As he reflects to himself, “I haven’t bluffed anybody since I got here.”
I’ve always wondered if Hamilton is hinting about the A-Bombing of Japan. A few days before the bombing, President Truman announced to Japan that we were about to hit them with a weapon the likes of which they couldn’t imagine. The war criminals then in charge of Japan decided, “betcha won’t.” This proved to be a tragic mistake. The book first appeared in 1960, 15 years later.
June 10, 2024
Another good western from the creator of the Matt Helm series.
Alex Burdick has traveled west to the town of Santa Clara to open a photography business specializing in portraits and landscapes. Burdick carries a Purdey side by side shotgun, also known as a two-shoot gun.
He is immediately embroiled in the politics of the town. Dan Justice is a rancher who is prone to shooting first and never asking questions. He has two daughters and a son, who is a chip off the old block. Justice has created many enemies in town over the years and when Burdick stands down several of his ranch hands, the townspeople see this as an opportunity to get back at Justice.
At one point, he has a violent confrontation with Justice’s son, bringing the father to town. Burdick is a reluctant fighter; I think he fired that shot gun only twice.
I was all in for 182 pages, but the ending fell flat a little.
June on the Range 2024 #4
Alex Burdick has traveled west to the town of Santa Clara to open a photography business specializing in portraits and landscapes. Burdick carries a Purdey side by side shotgun, also known as a two-shoot gun.
He is immediately embroiled in the politics of the town. Dan Justice is a rancher who is prone to shooting first and never asking questions. He has two daughters and a son, who is a chip off the old block. Justice has created many enemies in town over the years and when Burdick stands down several of his ranch hands, the townspeople see this as an opportunity to get back at Justice.
At one point, he has a violent confrontation with Justice’s son, bringing the father to town. Burdick is a reluctant fighter; I think he fired that shot gun only twice.
I was all in for 182 pages, but the ending fell flat a little.
June on the Range 2024 #4
June 20, 2022
A really fun western, that took a trope and turned it into something different. Its the old story of a stranger coming into town that has warring factions splitting it in half. The stranger is a gun fighter and he runs the two sides against each other for his own gain. However this is not what happens here, first the stranger is a photographer who just wants to get away from bad memories and start fresh in a small town. Second he really just wants to be left alone but he has promised himself to back down to no one and he is a tough man who is good with a double barrel. One faction tries to use him and he won't let himself be used. Its a tale of everything is not always like it seems.
Highly recommended. Hamilton is a fantastic writer, who is best known for the great Matt Helm, secret agent, books, but he writes a solid western as well.
Highly recommended. Hamilton is a fantastic writer, who is best known for the great Matt Helm, secret agent, books, but he writes a solid western as well.
April 3, 2022
A really good book, just shy of perfect. I gave Hamilton's book 4 stars because I reserve top honors for books like The Valdez Horses, The Shootist, The Searchers, and Shane. This book is not in that league, but it is really good. Tough, flawed characters, (men and women) and plenty of gun play, with an interesting story to back it up. You could do worse than Hamilton and The Two-Shoot Gun... if you can find a copy.
February 9, 2019
Another great Hamilton western.
January 20, 2024
Superior genre fiction.
January 21, 2013
This is one of the greatest westerns I've ever read. I would rank as one of the top ten all time great westerns, up with "Shane." But where "Shane" is retorical and sterotyped, Two-Shoot is realistic, and complex.
Several of the above reviews give a very good description of the plot of this book. Basically, a photographer from the East moves to Taos, New Mexico, in the pre-railroad old West. There is a range war going on between two local ranchers. He tries to stay out of the fight, but he finds himself drawn in helplessly, until he must make a decision about who he will support. Concludes with an lynching attempt and gun battle.
Ok, I'm over simplyifing, but what makes this book so outstanding is author Donald Hamilton's creation of characters. They are real, complex people, each with their own motivations and drives. No good rancher versus bad rancher. To this I have to add his detailed knowledge of the times and surroundings of the old west. Wagons. Horses. Guns. Photography. All this surrounds the story line and helps bring it to life.
One of the greatest westerns I've ever read.
Several of the above reviews give a very good description of the plot of this book. Basically, a photographer from the East moves to Taos, New Mexico, in the pre-railroad old West. There is a range war going on between two local ranchers. He tries to stay out of the fight, but he finds himself drawn in helplessly, until he must make a decision about who he will support. Concludes with an lynching attempt and gun battle.
Ok, I'm over simplyifing, but what makes this book so outstanding is author Donald Hamilton's creation of characters. They are real, complex people, each with their own motivations and drives. No good rancher versus bad rancher. To this I have to add his detailed knowledge of the times and surroundings of the old west. Wagons. Horses. Guns. Photography. All this surrounds the story line and helps bring it to life.
One of the greatest westerns I've ever read.
February 25, 2016
The Man From Santa Clara (1960) (APA: The Two-Shoot Gun (1971)).
Western - Alex Burdick arrives in Santa Clara, NM from the East bringing with him a wagonload of photographic equipment and a Purdy shotgun. He is immediately involved with the grievances of everyone against the Justice family and their Flying V ranch.
Western - Alex Burdick arrives in Santa Clara, NM from the East bringing with him a wagonload of photographic equipment and a Purdy shotgun. He is immediately involved with the grievances of everyone against the Justice family and their Flying V ranch.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews