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Deadwood: Stories of the Black Hills
There is nothing on television like the award-winning HBO series Deadwood. Beautiful, profane, complex, and sublime, the show is dreama at its very best. Entertaining and illuminating, Deadwood: Stories of the Black Hills offers a mesmerizing portrait of the most dangerous settlement in the West. This unprecedented look at the people, places, and history of Deadwood comes straight from the show’s creator, chief writer, and executive producer, David Milch.
Through in-depth discussions of the themes and motivations that course through the lawless camp, Milch sheds some light on the characters and events in Deadwood. Fresh interviews with the Deadwood cast, scores of never-before-seen photographs, and historical images and illustrations bring the show and the place to life.
Much more than a companion to the series, Deadwood: Stories of the Black Hills is an essential part of the show’s story, and required reading for every fan.
Dramatis personae --
"It's all either fear or faith": the making of Deadwood --
The language of men: lies, profanity, and greed, and how words can lead us to the apprehension of our common existence --
The color: gold makes a man a man, and lifts us up above the baboons --
Intoxicants: drinking, gambling, dope, and the rule of the fetish in Deadwood --
Whores: the blow job monologues, the tittylicker, and the job of the pimp --
Love and marriage: love as a foreign condition, doomed relationships, and men of few words --
The badge and the gun: law and order are not the same thing, and tend to have little to do with one another --
The mystery of the peaches: the politicians will always screw you, but there are circumstances in which we would rather have them around --
Ordinary and extraordinary violence: "tell your God to ready for blood" --
In his last extremity: the good doctor's approach to dying, the Reverend Smith, and the death of Wild Bill Hickok --
And Mr. Wu: to the celestial is given the last word --
Afterword --
Episode guide
Through in-depth discussions of the themes and motivations that course through the lawless camp, Milch sheds some light on the characters and events in Deadwood. Fresh interviews with the Deadwood cast, scores of never-before-seen photographs, and historical images and illustrations bring the show and the place to life.
Much more than a companion to the series, Deadwood: Stories of the Black Hills is an essential part of the show’s story, and required reading for every fan.
Dramatis personae --
"It's all either fear or faith": the making of Deadwood --
The language of men: lies, profanity, and greed, and how words can lead us to the apprehension of our common existence --
The color: gold makes a man a man, and lifts us up above the baboons --
Intoxicants: drinking, gambling, dope, and the rule of the fetish in Deadwood --
Whores: the blow job monologues, the tittylicker, and the job of the pimp --
Love and marriage: love as a foreign condition, doomed relationships, and men of few words --
The badge and the gun: law and order are not the same thing, and tend to have little to do with one another --
The mystery of the peaches: the politicians will always screw you, but there are circumstances in which we would rather have them around --
Ordinary and extraordinary violence: "tell your God to ready for blood" --
In his last extremity: the good doctor's approach to dying, the Reverend Smith, and the death of Wild Bill Hickok --
And Mr. Wu: to the celestial is given the last word --
Afterword --
Episode guide
232 pages, Hardcover
First published October 17, 2006
10 people are currently reading
337 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
October 25, 2007
Imagine what Al Swearengen would say to a coffee table book like this. "You would not want to be staring like that at me!" Ha! Still worth checking out your library for the many hot still photos of Ian MacShane. On the whole it's a slick HBO promo volume which will evoke weird memories when you dig it out your closet two decades hence.
Oh also, the book proves my suspicion that Powers Boothe is a blinkered dullard.
Oh also, the book proves my suspicion that Powers Boothe is a blinkered dullard.
March 4, 2014
This is a lovely, lovely book that will be of especial interest to fans of the HBO series. (People who haven't watched the TV may only be confused by this book. Really, watch the show, then read the book.)
It is full of beautiful color photographs of the actors portraying their characters, some of them up close face shots, some of them actual scenes from the TV program. There are also old photos of the real life Deadwood camp, Chinese residents of the camp, Sioux indians, and the real people on whom many of the program's characters are based on.
The book also contains much commentary from Deadwood creator David Milch. (He is credited as the author of the book.) Also, several of the actors portraying main characters get a page or two in which to tell how they interpret their character and how they played that character.
I was really fascinated by the real stories, the real people of Deadwood, South Dakota. This book tells some of those stories, which I really appreciate.
This book is a mix of fact and fiction, enlightening to read, and pleasant to look at.
Recommended
It is full of beautiful color photographs of the actors portraying their characters, some of them up close face shots, some of them actual scenes from the TV program. There are also old photos of the real life Deadwood camp, Chinese residents of the camp, Sioux indians, and the real people on whom many of the program's characters are based on.
The book also contains much commentary from Deadwood creator David Milch. (He is credited as the author of the book.) Also, several of the actors portraying main characters get a page or two in which to tell how they interpret their character and how they played that character.
I was really fascinated by the real stories, the real people of Deadwood, South Dakota. This book tells some of those stories, which I really appreciate.
This book is a mix of fact and fiction, enlightening to read, and pleasant to look at.
Recommended
April 12, 2020
As a fan of the television series, this book by the incomparable David Milch was a delight to read.
If you love the show, you will love this book.
If you love the show, you will love this book.
May 30, 2009
I've been missing this show ever since we finished it. Its language, its characters, its reflections on the screwed-upped-ness of the American experiment...It makes me sad that they didn't get one more season to explore the dark themes of the show and the tight relationships between the characters. In any case, creator David Milch writes beautifully and reflects on his creation with a literary mind and a strong sense of cultural significance and contemporary relevance. Sometimes he pontificates and seems off the mark to me, but most of the time, even his more aphoristic prose resonates. Reading his essays on his characters and aspects of the show like drunkenness, profanity, and sex, made me reflect further on the ideas I've been turning over and over in my head since I finished viewing, not to mention the emotions stirring in my heart. His allusions to Melville, Freud, Flaubert, Conrad flirt with pretension yet land in genuine insight. (Esp. because Swearengen is such an Ahab!) A pleasure to expand on the series experience this way.
October 15, 2007
O.K., granted the five-star rating is possibly more for the show than just simply the book, but this is a great tie-in, delving into not just the history, but the grand, very human themes Milch and his cohorts wrestled with in three seasons of the best television you might ever see. Milch is clearly a genius, which is not a word I throw around lightly, and the saddest thing is that john from cincinnati will probably never merit a book like this.
July 16, 2016
Absolutely fascinating. David Milch talks insightfully and intelligently about everything from the use of language to prostitution and peaches. 'Deadwood' is easily one of the best TV series ever made and this book peels away layers that you never knew existed. A wonderful read, let down only by the crushing disappointment that Milch's promise that 'Deadwood' would return "next year" for two, two-hour long, films to finish the story off never happened.
August 27, 2007
Ahem, so I didn't actually purchase this, but unsurreptitiously read it on the floor of a Barnes & Noble. Well, I hope HBO paid Milch well. Some interesting thoughts on the characters by the actors - including backgrounds they made up to inform their acting - but overall more fluffy and pretty than substantial.
June 20, 2007
For f***'s sake, watch the show. Then read this book. Milch!
April 10, 2012
A beautiful and informative book about the best TV show ever created. Come for the pretty pictures, stay for David Milch's crazy genius.
September 29, 2020
Just completed a fun multi-media pop culture assignment that was very interesting and just a down-right blast! I wish some of my homework assignments back in high school had been half as fun.
I purchased this very nice expensive coffee table book at a going-out-of-business sale for a buck a couple of years ago and have had it on the shelf since. And I have to admit, it was a steal-and-a-half.
Yes, it has full-page photos, illustrations, episode-by-episode summarizations, but it also has lots of esoteric and existential chapters by Mr.Milch about such meaty subjects as how society assigns value to objects and concepts (i.e. gold & community for example). At it’s bare essence, gold is just a shiny hunk of rock or physical element that man has, over time, assigned artificial wealth and significance to that equates to great power and status within society. Otherwise, its just a rock in the ground.
He also expounds at great length, and quite entertainingly, about the many aspects associated with profanity and the profane use of language on many different levels. The rants and soliloquies Mr. Milch writes for all the characters, with special lines for Ian McShane as brothel-operator and saloon-keeper Al Swearengen, are Shakespearean in scope and length and the delivery of said filthy soliloquies is a feast for the ears.
I had originally watched the original TV series on HBO during it’s initial run (2004-2006), but I had missed several episodes, as a lot was going on at that particular time in terms of career activity and child-rearing. So, I decided to re-watch all three original seasons back-to-back over about a month or two span and then go right into the long-awaited wrap-up Deadwood movie that was aired last year.
There had never been, and still has not been, a TV series like Deadwood. Lots and lots of Westerns over the years, but nothing close to Deadwood. It won a passle of Emmys over its run and I have been a fan of much of David Milch’s work over his career (Hill Street Blues, NYPD Blue, Murder One, Luck, True Detective). The Western ranks right at the top.
But the book is not only a great companion to the series, but it is also a very comprehensive historical study of the gold rush town of Deadwood, SD, the colorful characters that inhabited said settlement, and the issues and forces at work during that period of American expansion and development.
Also, a very interesting element that Mr. Milch uses in the book is to allow the actors portraying the main characters to expound upon their personal thoughts on their roles (many of whom were real historical figures), as well as their collaboration with Mr. Milch on bringing their characters to life.
Listed below are the characters & actors highlighted in the book:
Seth Bullock* – Timothy Olyphant
Al Swearengen* – Ian McShane
E.B. Farnum* – William Sanderson
George Hearst* – Gerald McRaney
Sol Star* – John Hawkes
Calamity Jane* – Robin Weigert
Cy Tolliver – Powers Boothe (deceased)
Joanie Stubbs – Kim Dickens
Trixie – Paula Malcomson
Alma Garrett – Molly Parker
Silas Adams – Titus Welliver
Johnny Burns* – Sean Bridgers
Dan Dority* – W. Earl Brown
Francis Wolcott – Garret Dillahunt
Doc Cochran – Brad Dourif
Mr. Wu – Keone Young
*Actual historical characters who lived in Deadwood, SD during the span of the TV series. Honorable mentions to real-life characters *Wild Bill Hickock (Keith Carradine), *Charlie Utter (Dayton Callie), & *A.W. Merrick (Jeffrey Jones).
Watching the long-awaited Deadwood movie was very bittersweet as the passage of time was evident and it was a good, but not great, wrap up of a classic top-shelf show.
I purchased this very nice expensive coffee table book at a going-out-of-business sale for a buck a couple of years ago and have had it on the shelf since. And I have to admit, it was a steal-and-a-half.
Yes, it has full-page photos, illustrations, episode-by-episode summarizations, but it also has lots of esoteric and existential chapters by Mr.Milch about such meaty subjects as how society assigns value to objects and concepts (i.e. gold & community for example). At it’s bare essence, gold is just a shiny hunk of rock or physical element that man has, over time, assigned artificial wealth and significance to that equates to great power and status within society. Otherwise, its just a rock in the ground.
He also expounds at great length, and quite entertainingly, about the many aspects associated with profanity and the profane use of language on many different levels. The rants and soliloquies Mr. Milch writes for all the characters, with special lines for Ian McShane as brothel-operator and saloon-keeper Al Swearengen, are Shakespearean in scope and length and the delivery of said filthy soliloquies is a feast for the ears.
I had originally watched the original TV series on HBO during it’s initial run (2004-2006), but I had missed several episodes, as a lot was going on at that particular time in terms of career activity and child-rearing. So, I decided to re-watch all three original seasons back-to-back over about a month or two span and then go right into the long-awaited wrap-up Deadwood movie that was aired last year.
There had never been, and still has not been, a TV series like Deadwood. Lots and lots of Westerns over the years, but nothing close to Deadwood. It won a passle of Emmys over its run and I have been a fan of much of David Milch’s work over his career (Hill Street Blues, NYPD Blue, Murder One, Luck, True Detective). The Western ranks right at the top.
But the book is not only a great companion to the series, but it is also a very comprehensive historical study of the gold rush town of Deadwood, SD, the colorful characters that inhabited said settlement, and the issues and forces at work during that period of American expansion and development.
Also, a very interesting element that Mr. Milch uses in the book is to allow the actors portraying the main characters to expound upon their personal thoughts on their roles (many of whom were real historical figures), as well as their collaboration with Mr. Milch on bringing their characters to life.
Listed below are the characters & actors highlighted in the book:
Seth Bullock* – Timothy Olyphant
Al Swearengen* – Ian McShane
E.B. Farnum* – William Sanderson
George Hearst* – Gerald McRaney
Sol Star* – John Hawkes
Calamity Jane* – Robin Weigert
Cy Tolliver – Powers Boothe (deceased)
Joanie Stubbs – Kim Dickens
Trixie – Paula Malcomson
Alma Garrett – Molly Parker
Silas Adams – Titus Welliver
Johnny Burns* – Sean Bridgers
Dan Dority* – W. Earl Brown
Francis Wolcott – Garret Dillahunt
Doc Cochran – Brad Dourif
Mr. Wu – Keone Young
*Actual historical characters who lived in Deadwood, SD during the span of the TV series. Honorable mentions to real-life characters *Wild Bill Hickock (Keith Carradine), *Charlie Utter (Dayton Callie), & *A.W. Merrick (Jeffrey Jones).
Watching the long-awaited Deadwood movie was very bittersweet as the passage of time was evident and it was a good, but not great, wrap up of a classic top-shelf show.
June 3, 2019
Pretentious. I don't know if I have ever said this about any book I've read before, but that is exactly what I thought of this book. It wasn't at all what I expected, and I was disappointed by much of it. Deadwood is one of my all-time favorite television shows. It's brutal and exciting. It's filled with some of the most intricately worded dialogue, and some of the most vulgar phrases ever uttered on cable television. The stories, characters, and actors are all beyond superb. It's a western very much of its time, and it was awesome.
I thought this book would go in-depth into the show with chapters on the actors, the sets, the costumes, the dialogue, and anything else a Deadwood fanatic would want to know about all three seasons of the show. Instead, we get David Milch's musings on gambling, violence, medicine, language, etc. Much of it had me rolling my eyes especially when he compared drinking to oblivion to trying to reach the divine or some other nonsense.
What kept me going through the book was all the photographs, newspaper articles, diaries, and other ephemera from the actual time of Deadwood. That stuff was completely fascinating and insightful. I could have used a lot more of that rather than Milch's ramblings about violence and prostitutes. I also liked the interviews with the cast. They do elevate Milch to a rather vaunted level, but he is a good writer and has crafted a classic of a tv show.
My adoration of the tv show has not dimmed. My enjoyment of this book definitely not on the same level.
I thought this book would go in-depth into the show with chapters on the actors, the sets, the costumes, the dialogue, and anything else a Deadwood fanatic would want to know about all three seasons of the show. Instead, we get David Milch's musings on gambling, violence, medicine, language, etc. Much of it had me rolling my eyes especially when he compared drinking to oblivion to trying to reach the divine or some other nonsense.
What kept me going through the book was all the photographs, newspaper articles, diaries, and other ephemera from the actual time of Deadwood. That stuff was completely fascinating and insightful. I could have used a lot more of that rather than Milch's ramblings about violence and prostitutes. I also liked the interviews with the cast. They do elevate Milch to a rather vaunted level, but he is a good writer and has crafted a classic of a tv show.
My adoration of the tv show has not dimmed. My enjoyment of this book definitely not on the same level.
May 21, 2019
Just finished reading the book “DEADWOOD: STORIES OF THE BLACK HILLS” by DAVID MILCH. DEADWOOD was one of cable's highest rated series, a symbol of how great television can be when pushed to its limits. From the masterful acting to the surprisingly credible re-creation of a Western gold-rush town to the grippingly profane dialogue, DEADWOOD is television made at the highest level of craft. DEADWOOD is a vividly illustrated and comprehensive companion volume that brings fans behind the scenes to get the full story of HBO’s award-winning drama―from Custer's opening of the Black Hills (and defeat by the Sioux), to the compelling story of the frontier Chinese and how they braved racism and formed a shadowy society in the west. With unprecedented access, the book gives readers in-depth interviews with cast, crew, writers, designers, and historians. Original, specially commissioned photography provides a fresh look at the people and places of DEADWOOD, with new portraits of the lead characters (based on actual persons), detailed depictions of the set (including the Gem Saloon and Jack Langrishe's theater), and images revealing how the show is made, from costuming and makeup to the mixing of DEADWOOD mud. A provocative, entertaining, and always evocative portrait of an era. I loved reading about the characters and the illustrations are absolutely beautiful. I look forward to the new movie coming out soon with all of the original characters.
November 9, 2018
Deadwood is arguably one of the best long form narrative cable TV shows ever to air. It launched the careers of many actors, and elevated the adult content of the format to a new level, with a caveat--it was intricately linked to the world David Milch created. Nothing gratuitous, everything essential. This book, written by David Milch with essays from the principal actors and excerpts from historical source material about Deadwood and the Black Hills, furthers the case by miles just how smart the storytelling was. The book ends with an episode guide. My copy has several repeat pages toward the back, but the content is nothing short of perfect.
June 30, 2019
Re-read/finished reading this after seeing that Matt Zoller Seitz is trying to raise funds through Kickstarter for a Deadwood book. Written by Milch with many sidebars about the actual people the characters were based on and contributions from the actors on their characters.
Format is unusual and seems hard to follow at first. I suggest reading the main text of the chapter from start to finish, skipping the notes, dialogue excerpts, etc. Then go back to chapter start and read the side bits.
Format is unusual and seems hard to follow at first. I suggest reading the main text of the chapter from start to finish, skipping the notes, dialogue excerpts, etc. Then go back to chapter start and read the side bits.
June 24, 2018
Companion book to the extraordinary TV series, this book discusses the real history, choices made in production, and etc. Lavishly illustrated and very well designed.
August 5, 2019
Great book if.....
You watched all three seasons
And
You really liked the show
You watched all three seasons
And
You really liked the show
September 19, 2019
Only read this if you really, really liked the show.
September 1, 2024
if you liked Deadwood, you'll like this
June 22, 2024
have been checking this book out for a while. Some pages really well written. Will be looking into it further. Could be a final girl cliffhanger
November 27, 2007
You're not going to like this book if you're uncomfortable with David Milch's tortuous speaking style, because reading this is like listening to Milch for a couple of hours with no intermission. There are some great interviews with Ian McShane, Molly Parker, Tim Olypant, W. Earl Brown, William Sanderson, Paula Malcomson, John Hawkes, Robin Weigert, Garret Dillahunt and Brad Dourif. There are also some great pictures. I consider it a valuable resource for the Deadwood fan.
The book does have some errors, for instance one caption of a picture from the episode "I Am Not the Fine Man You Take Me For" states that the pic is from after Al's traumatic finger amputation, but it's from the beginning of the episode instead.
The book does have some errors, for instance one caption of a picture from the episode "I Am Not the Fine Man You Take Me For" states that the pic is from after Al's traumatic finger amputation, but it's from the beginning of the episode instead.
September 14, 2010
After listening to many of the commentaries and now reading the book, I've got the feeling that Hearst's words "You mistake for fear, Mr. Bullock, what is in fact preoccupation. I’m having a conversation you cannot hear," would have been better spoken by Milch himself. This is like no other coffee table book you've ever read and if your a fan of Deadwood it's a great read. There are subtleties and depths to Milch's vision of the show which are revealed in this book only make me want to watch the series again. Like the show, Milch and the cast could have gone on for pages and I would have happily gone along for the ride.
July 22, 2016
Interesting details about the HBO show and connections to real events of the western town. It's like creator David Milch's love letter to his child. Includes several essays by Milch from the inspiration to the language to the use of drugs and alcohol to prostitution ... all with his "explanation" and interpretation. Chock full of historical photographs and stills from the set. It's a great companion guide to the series and a must for any Deadwood/Milch fan.
March 23, 2007
Difficult to have around if you've not seen all of Season 3, but this book, written by David Milch, expands on the show and peeks behind the curtain at the writing, the language, the characters, and the process. Very graphically overwrought, but somehow it makes it work.
Want to read
April 14, 2007Good lord I love everything associated with the Deadwood HBO Series....
I started reading this, but it started talking about things that happen in Season 3 which I have not been able to watch yet. So I will have to wait.....
I started reading this, but it started talking about things that happen in Season 3 which I have not been able to watch yet. So I will have to wait.....
May 21, 2008
Again, this is a screenplay, not a book, but it is something I am reading so I thought I should add it.
Fascinating! Love the characters, the stories, the cursing, the brutal harsh reality, the complexity, the ability to tell me more about America than if I were to live hear another 100 years.
Fascinating! Love the characters, the stories, the cursing, the brutal harsh reality, the complexity, the ability to tell me more about America than if I were to live hear another 100 years.
September 26, 2011
Deadwood geek?
Then you'll enjoy this.
Good insight into the creative process and full of nuggets of sweary goodness.
You will find yourself muttering "cocksucker" and "hooplehead" during your next confrontation with anyone...at the very least...time to dig out those boxed sets...
Then you'll enjoy this.
Good insight into the creative process and full of nuggets of sweary goodness.
You will find yourself muttering "cocksucker" and "hooplehead" during your next confrontation with anyone...at the very least...time to dig out those boxed sets...
March 29, 2009
After watching the three seasons of Deadwood back to back I found reading this book clarified some questions I had about Deadwood and its characters. I found it insightful and fascinating...as well as a quick read.
May 23, 2012
An in-depth look at a TV series that ended way too soon. It was tough to read this book in which the final two seasons were talked about, seasons that never came to fruition. But overall, a great look at one of my favorite all-time TV shows.
October 5, 2007
Really enjoyed this book. A lot different from the series that was loosely based upon it (and if you get to see those shows, they are good too).
November 3, 2008
If you loved the HBO series of "Deadwood", you'll love this book written by creator David Milch.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews