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Gunfighter. Eine Enzyklopädie aller Revolvermänner des Wilden Westens
Much information (some of it factual, a lot of it fictional) is available about the famous gunfighters of the Old Westa comprehensive and reliable source.
Hardcover
First published June 1, 1979
About the author
Bill O'Neal
66 books7 followersBill O’Neal is an American historian of the West, author of more than 25 books and hundreds of articles, longtime Panola College professor, frequent documentary contributor, and recipient of the 2003 NOLA Literary Award.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 17, 2011
Well, okay. I grew up on "tales of the American west". Being a child of the '50s my TV viewing, movie preferences and much of my early reading was of the genre.
Here we have an attempt at a "factual" account of the Gun-Fighters of the "old west". (I don't say "gunmen" as there are some female entries).
While it's a fairly interesting book it is really something that would require a multiple volume effort. There are holes in the list (no J.B.Books for example) and the writer tends to record EVERYTHING that was ever suggested about the personalities. (I doubt Wyatt Earp could have lived long enough to do all that is attributed to him...and he'd have to have been a multiple personality suffer to have accomplished it all). I think an easy fix here would have been had he simply said the people were "alleged" to have been (for example) a gambler, horse thief, bunco artist, marshal, deputy sheriff, "Indian" fighter, buffalo hunter, army scout, etc., etc.,etc.
So, read for interest, but if you are looking for a bit more serious fare maybe go for individual bios...???
Skimmed...etc. 3 stars.
Here we have an attempt at a "factual" account of the Gun-Fighters of the "old west". (I don't say "gunmen" as there are some female entries).
While it's a fairly interesting book it is really something that would require a multiple volume effort. There are holes in the list (no J.B.Books for example) and the writer tends to record EVERYTHING that was ever suggested about the personalities. (I doubt Wyatt Earp could have lived long enough to do all that is attributed to him...and he'd have to have been a multiple personality suffer to have accomplished it all). I think an easy fix here would have been had he simply said the people were "alleged" to have been (for example) a gambler, horse thief, bunco artist, marshal, deputy sheriff, "Indian" fighter, buffalo hunter, army scout, etc., etc.,etc.
So, read for interest, but if you are looking for a bit more serious fare maybe go for individual bios...???
Skimmed...etc. 3 stars.
September 10, 2022
I loved reading this (hardcover) book. It is something that is just neat to have in the library, and I will be buying it soon. It is honestly just a really well-structured book, and I see few issues with it, however it isn't flawless.
I can understand some being upset on the sheer amount of information about people who may not have been so well-recorded as presented. This is completely understandable, as the book is very straightforward with facts and personalities of each and every gunfighter featured. It seems a little cocky.
Then again, I would be much less immersed if every sentence had "allegedly" or "according to an anonymous source" behind it, so this doesn't bother me at all. Just read with a grain of salt and you'll enjoy it, I'm sure.
The pictures are well placed, and are occasional but enjoyable. The statistics in this book are mostly surprising, and very interesting to read on such as occupations of gunfighters and their relationships. Spoiler alert, gunfighting and being on the lam runs in the family!
TL;DR: This is a great book to have handy if you like western history, 4.1/5.
I can understand some being upset on the sheer amount of information about people who may not have been so well-recorded as presented. This is completely understandable, as the book is very straightforward with facts and personalities of each and every gunfighter featured. It seems a little cocky.
Then again, I would be much less immersed if every sentence had "allegedly" or "according to an anonymous source" behind it, so this doesn't bother me at all. Just read with a grain of salt and you'll enjoy it, I'm sure.
The pictures are well placed, and are occasional but enjoyable. The statistics in this book are mostly surprising, and very interesting to read on such as occupations of gunfighters and their relationships. Spoiler alert, gunfighting and being on the lam runs in the family!
TL;DR: This is a great book to have handy if you like western history, 4.1/5.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews