The Gunfighters ─ How the West Was Won

Of all the wild characters of the Western frontier, gunfighters were certainly the most feared and the most legendary. Was it their bizarre moral code, their charisma, their temper, or their precise marksmanship that made them so memorable? They were not simply violent, for in the Wild West of the late 1800s, this was hardly unique. The gunfighters whose reputations have survived all had some extra characteristic that has kept them alive throughout history: mystery, depravity, good looks, dandyism, or morality.

Gunfighters were an integral part of the West and a direct result of its social and economic conditions. Whereas the law governed disputes in the East, the gun was the Western choice of justice administrator.The Gunfighters takes a closer look at the most famous Wild West gun slingers, such as Doc Holiday, Wyatt Earp, Jesse James, Billy the Kid, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and Wild Bill Hickok. The book explores the truth and tall tales surrounding their lives, and the tools of the shootist's” tradesome of the most iconic weapons ever discharged in the West.

Bruce Wexler has had a lifelong fascination with the cultural history of America. His interest in Western writing, artifacts, and history developed through watching the classic Western movies. He is the author of several works on the Old West, includingJohn Wayne’s Wild West, How the Wild West Was Won, The Hatfields and the McCoys, andLouis L’Amour’s Wild West. He lives in London, England.