The End and the Myth

The Old West #26

by Paul O'Neil

This volume of Time Life's The Old West examines, through text, illustration, and photographs, the end of the Old West as the beginning of the twentieth-century approaches. Famous men of the period and the development of technology are featured.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Westerns

240 pages, Leather Bound

First published March 1, 1979

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Reviews

[Steven Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume represents the conclusion, substantively, of the Time-Life "Old West" series. The book begins by observing that (Page 7) "The passing of what came to be called the Old West was marked most tangibly by the arrival of modern technology." This is amply illustrated by a photograph on the same page of a cowboy looking skyward, seeing a plane passing overhead. The first chapter notes the "lingering aura of a vanishing frontier," with one of the spotlights on one of the last of the Old West lawmen, Dude Brown.

When did the Old West end? The book suggests that 1890 is not a bad date, although some Old West areas still reflected the past pretty well. Many writers still spoke of the Old West in mythical terms, such as Zane Grey. Frederick Jackson Turner wrote that the frontier spirit was a key element in American history.

The second chapter considers "show time for the West," including Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show (as well as shows by those who would emulate Buffalo Bill). Much detail is provided regarding Cody's show and how he and his team made it work. The story of Annie Oakley and Cody's use of Indians is also described.

The rodeo also became one of the last bastions of the Old West, as cowboys showed off skills once important for herding cattle. The origins of rodeo are nicely described. As always, the photographs add some life to this chapter. Teddy Roosevelt, described here as "The Cowboy President," was also a part of the fading Old West. The chapter notes his experience in the West and its importance for him. Also told is the story of oil and its role in the western United States.

The book concludes with a chapter on "The myth in motion," referring to the development of the industry of the western in movies. From "The Great Train Robbery" to "Stagecoach," the history of movies focusing on the Old West is examined. The actors, the directors (I didn't know that Buffalo Bill tried directing a movie!), the movies themselves are the focus of discussion.

All in all, a satisfying volume. . . .

[Pat Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another of my Time / Life Old West collection. This one describes the end of the 'Wild West' and the romanticized tales and versions of its existence which came about at the same time and after. The end came about organically as more people moved from the East to the West and cities became bigger and open range became smaller. The myth started before the end. Books called 'dime novels' came about as a result of people wanting to read about the West and its open, wild, free ways. The novels were written in abundance and had a helping of wildness and not a lot of truth. Kind of like a lot of action movies these days. There were rodeos of course, and further, wild west shows which traveled all over the nation. Some were not so successful due to mismanagement or outright illegal behavior between partners. Characters in these shows were people like Bill Cody and Annie Oakley. Native Americans played in these shows as well. There was play acting, sort of a live play out in the open with contests between the so called cowboys and the Indians. Rodeos continue to this day as you all probably know. A section about Teddy Roosevelt is included. He had a lot of enthusiasm for the pioneers that lived in the west and admired them greatly. He also wrote a lot of books about the subject. He was big on expansion and felt that displacing the Natives was good and necessary for the country, both here, and in other parts of the world. He saw to it that some of our treasures were made into national parks and protected to preserve them. He also built a military unit of these cowboys and scouts and took them to Cuba to fight in the Spanish American War. The oil boom is also included here. This also birthed more lawless towns and behavior. The climate was like the gold rush days. There was money to be made and all facets of civilization rushed to the scene to make their fortune. The advent of western movies is also discussed. The first ones were silent of course but they were popular. They settled on a formula where the good guy was a cowboy who was handsome, rugged, polite, and always ready to defend the underdog in any scrap, and never cheated or hit a guy when he was down, etc. They tried for a pristine image for success. Natives, or to be realistic, Indians were for the most part bad guys. Every now and then a lone Indian was portrayed as noble, loyal, and obedient. Dubious portrayal to be sure. This is the kind of show I was watching as a little kid and it explains a lot about myself as I think and look back. I am going to take time off the subject of this book to elaborate an answer to a question one of my sisters asked me last week. She wondered if I worried about getting false info or propaganda about the treatment of Natives from material that was written in the seventies. At that time I said I wasn't because the writing was sort of bland, not incendiary, and it seemed to tell all the sides of the stories. This book had some of that subject in it which allowed me to think about it as I read it, keeping in mind my siter's question. I am not an expert on any subject in the world except for what I do for a job. So it is difficult for me to say what is fair and what is not. The Time life company who produced these tried to appeal to a big audience, so that is where they get their bland approach. They stated clearly that the Natives were treated worse than the white cowboys in these wild west shows, who, like it is today, were also treated a little poorly as well. The reasoning is that when you are running a show, or a company and trying to make money, the people at the top are going to take whatever advantage they can of everyone so they can have more of the money. The description in this book makes all that clear. It doesn't seem to try to hide the happenings and what became of the Natives in the nineteenth century. I think there is stuff that will never be learned about to this day and will disappear because the Native civilization is being absorbed into ours (the white people). But these books try to tell all of it. They don't raise any voice of outrage for anything. They just tell it. I think if the editors looked at parts that they felt would cause conflict or criticism of the material, they probably left those out. I hope this explains well enough to anyone who reads this, how the history is told and the attitude with which it is written in regards to treatment of the Native Americans or if you prefer, all the separate tribes that exist in this nation. Sorry if this is too long. Thanks for reading.

[James Crabtree · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the Time-Life Old West series, this volume looks at the passing of the wild west, or rather how it went from a way of frontier life to a part of the American story, a part which is part of our culture as it has become a piece of what we are. As the west became settled and the territories became states, the Old West was represented in dime novels, in live-action wild west shows, in movies, and in television shows. The cowboy of old became the rodeo performer, the tough frontier soldier was revived in the form of Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders, and the rowdiness of the old mining camp gave way to the towns of the oil boom. In this way the Old West has forever become a cornerstone of America.