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Old West Books and Guides

Out of Print & Rare | Route 66 | Travel | Vintage Magazines

Eldorado - The California Gold Rush by Dale L. Walker

With the exception of the call to arms in the North and South in 1861, no moment of nineteenth-century America was more electrifying than the shout, "GOLD ON THE AMERICAN RIVER!" first heard in San Francisco in the spring of 1848.
Within a year, tens of thousands of dreamers from around the world were making their way to the vast territory on the Pacific. All routes to San Francisco, gateway to the goldfields, were lengthy---six months on average---arduous, and dangerous: over land from the Missouri frontier and across the Rockies and Sierra Nevada; through the fever jungles of Panama to the Pacific; or 15,000 sea miles around Cape Horn.

In Eldorado, Dale L. Walker presents the full, colorful, character-filled story of this American epic: from the first traces of gold found in a riverside sawmill and the spreading of the news east of the Rocky Mountains to the great migration to California and the experiences of those who risked, and often lost, their lives at the rainbow's end.

Stagecoach - Wells Fargo and the American West, by Philip L. Fradkin

Sweeping in scope, as revealing of an era as it is of a company, Stagecoach is the epic story of Wells Fargo and the American West, by award-winning writer Philip L. Fradkin. The trail of Wells Fargo runs through nearly every imaginable landscape and icon of frontier folklore: the California Gold Rush, the Pony Express , the transcontinental railroad, the Civil and Indian Wars. From the Great Plains to the Rockies to the Pacific Ocean, the company's operations embraced almost all social, cultural, and economic activities west of the Mississippi, following one of the greatest migrations in American history. Fortune seekers arriving in California after the discovery of gold in 1849 couldn't bring the necessities of home with them. So Wells Fargo express offices began providing basic services such as the exchange of gold dust for coin, short-term deposits and loans, and reliable delivery and receipt of letters, money, and goods to and from distant places. As its reputation for speed and dependability grew, the sight of a red-and-yellow Wells Fargo stagecoach racing across the prairie came to symbolize not only safe passage but faith in a nation's progress. In fact, for a time Wells Fargo was the most powerful and widespread institution in the American West, even surpassing the presence of the federal government. Stagecoach is a fascinating and rare combination of Western and business history. Along with its colorful association with the frontier -- Wyatt Earp, Black Bart, Buffalo Bill -- readers will discover that swiftness, security, and connectivity have been constants in Wells Fargo's history, and that these themes remain just as important today, 150 years later. New, hardback.

The Great Taos Bank Robbery and other Indian Country Affairs, by Tony Hillerman

In this extraordinary collection, Tony Hillerman presents the Southwest as only he can, choosing remarkable true tales from his personal archives of local lore.
From the amusing title story of the holdup that didn't happen, to the riveting account of scientists tracking Black Death through the arroyos, to the ironic account of how a black cowboy's commonsense intelligence destroyed the dogma of the Smithsonian Institution, master storyteller Tony Hillerman reveals the present and timeless past of one of America's most beautiful and haunting regions.

The American West by Dee Brown The American West -- by Dee Brown

As the railroads open up the American West to settlers in the last half of the 19th century, the Plains Indians made their final stand and cattle ranches spread from Texas to Montana. Dee Brown here illuminates the struggle between these three groups as they fought for a place in this new landscape.

Buffalo Bill Cody - The Man Behind the Legend by Robert A. Carter

Who was the real Buffalo Bill? This engrossing biography brings to thrilling life the frontier hero who is responsible for creating the lasting legend of the Wild West. Author Robert Carter takes us back to the Great Plains, where William "Buffalo Bill" Cody emerges in his many incarnations: as a buffalo hunter, a Civil War cavalry scout, an Indian fighter, a Pony Express rider, until, finally, he conceives of the show that made him famous throughout the world—the Wild West Exhibitions. In Buffalo Bill Cody, the first full biography in over thirty years, we are given an intimate glimpse into the exhilarating life of this one-of-a-kind frontiersman and enormously popular showman, from his famous exploits to the lesser-known dramas surrounding his life. We gain fresh insights about many of the mysteries of Buffalo Bill's life, including whether he indeed killed Yellow Hand the "first scalp for Custer." Elegantly written, Buffalo Bill Cody is a spellbinding achievement that not only reveals the truth behind this legendary subject, but also explores the myths of the Wild West that he created, which live on to this day.

Outlaws On Horseback, by Harry Sinclair Drago

The History of the Organized Bands of Bank and Train Robbers Who Terrorized the Prairie Towns of Missouri, Kansas, and the Indian Territory of Oklahoma for Half a Century. Outlaws on Horseback concentrates on the long, unbroken chain of crime that began in the late 1850's with the Missouri-Kansas border warfare and ended in Arkansas in 1921 with the killing of Henry Starr, the last of the authentic desperadoes. Harry Sinclair Drago shows links among the men and women who terrorized the Midwest while he squelches the most outlandish tales about them.

Annie Oakley: Sharpshooter of the Wild West, by Lucy Lethbridge

Annie was just seven years old when her mother sent her away to work. They were just too poor to keep her at home. But this little girl had a very special talent. She could shoot better than anyone. She could even shoot the cork off a bottle. By fourteen she was keeping her family alive. But who could have guessed that Annie would become internationally famous, travel the world with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, make friends with Chief Sitting Bull, even perform before Queen Victoria herself! For no one could out shoot Annie Oakley and her gun.

Outlaw Tales of Utah, by Michael Rutter

Butch Cassidy paid a farmer's mortgage then robbed the banker to get the money back. The Sundance Kid gained a reputation as a gunfighter--without firing a shot. Bible-reading wife and mother Elizabeth Basset stole cattle at night from neighboring ranches. Former slave-turned-rustler Dart Isom saved the life of the sheriff who arrested him--and was set free.

Meet the Wild Bunch, a notorious group of rustlers, bandits, and wannabe outlaws who tore up the Wild West in the late 1800s then sought refuge between heists hanging out and hiding out in Utah. Outlaw Tales of Utah uncovers their astonishing true stories, as well as those of equally raucous but lesser-known outlaws. Read all about these fearless renegades in this riveting collection.

Far from Home, by Lillian Schlissel, Byrd Gibbens, and Elizabeth Hampsten

Far from Home focuses on three frontier families--the Malicks in the Oregon Territory, the Browns in Colorado and New Mexico, and the Martin/Neher families in North Dakota. Each of the narratives, drawn from family letters and diaries from 1848 to 1909, realistically portrays how these families tested the frontier and were tested by it. Far from Home addresses the effects of the harsh frontier on the entire family unit.

Gilded Girls, by JoAnn Chartier and Chris Enss
This book profiles fourteen of the liveliest, wildest, and most talented female entertainers ever to light up the boards of the western frontier. A delicious, illuminating glimpse at the colorful and often scandalous women who made their living performing for the restless souls of the Old West.

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