Draw: The Greatest Gunfights of the American West

by James Reasoner

Book Overview

Known for his ability to make history come vividly to life, Reasoner strips away the dime novel legends and Hollywood myths to show us how the gunfighters of the Old West really lived, killed, and were killed.

Praised for his "well-researched" (Booklist) and "lively, suspenseful" (Publishers Weekly) novels, James Reasoner now proves that truth can be even more exciting than fiction.

Among the true stories...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0425191931
• ISBN13: 9780425191934
• Release Date: December 2003
• Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.3" x 8.2"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Very Happy

The book was delivered very quickly and in the condition it was advertised as. Very satisfied.

What's not to like?

In this book, the author describes SOME of the greatest gunfights which took place in the American West and the events leading up to them, and he does so quite well. Thirty-one stories are told in six different categories. Before reading the book, I was fairly knowledgeable of some, vaguely aware of others, and had never even heard of a few others. With regard to the former: Mr. Reasoner's stories refreshed my memory. With regard to those about which I was aware, having read about them in passing, the author explained a lot of things - e.g., exactly how and why Warren Earp was killed, and what the trouble was which led to Pat Garret's mysterious death, etc. With regard to the latter: I found some of those stories to be quite interesting, but others not so much so. The book is well written by an author who clearly specializes in fiction, but who has done his homework. That is obvious from his method of presentation and by the words he chooses. More specifically: he is very descriptive in his writing, postulating the thoughts, feelings, and actions of the various participants in the stories he tells, and he uses expressions which the reader wouldn't normally expect to see in a purely historical biography, e.g. slap leather for drawing one's gun, owlhoots for outlaws; hoosegow for jail, soiled doves for prostitutes, etc. But this in no way diminishes the quality of his research and, in fact, enhances the stories he tells. My only real complaint about this book is that it doesn't live up to its title. It seems to have neglected a few very prominent gunfights, including the "Gunfight at the OK corral," Jesse James' Northfield Raid, Wyatt Earp's Vendetta Ride and the shootout in which Curly Bill Brocius was killed; and the gunfight, during the Lincoln County War, in which Billy the Kid's employer, Alex McSween, and three other men were killed. It also occurred to me that some of the actions included, although interesting, couldn't really be called gun fights, e.g., John Wesley Hardin being shot in the back of the head in a saloon in El Paso while standing at the bar. In any case: I really enjoyed this book. So what's not to like?

Enjoyable

Overall this a great book, however I only read about 3/4 of it. I really enjoyed reading this book in the evenings before falling asleep. I'm a non-fiction reader and love adventure books like this. This book reminds me of Mark Twain's Roughing It. It also reminds me of a book on bear attacks I read years ago called Mark of the Grizzly which is fantastic. You get to know the various outlaws, gangs, and lawmen of the time. Each chapter is a short biography of one or more characters and tells the story of a well known gun fight involving those characters. It's interesting to see how the citizens of the American West decided that some murders were justified. One reviewer said this book is repetitive, which is a little bit true, but what do you expect from a book that tells the story of the greatest gunfights of the West? There are only so many variations in the way bank robberies, holdups and gun fights can happen. That reviewer also said the author should have used references to back up accuracy of these events. I'm okay with there not being references in this book since I read it for entertainment. The events in this book are hard to prove true, but I believe the author has done a good job in researching each of these stories. A little bit of story telling is fine with me. I recommend this book even though I didn't finish reading it.

Great read about an interesting subject:

The author, who is known for his fiction writing, has penned a very readable and entertaining history of the significant gunfights of the American West. The stories are detailed without being overly lengthy. Where disagreement exists between sources, the author points this out and opines what he feels is the most likely truth. His writing style is engaging and enjoyable. No western buff should be without a copy of this book on their shelf. If you like this subject, another must read is O'Neal's Encyclopedia of Western Gunfighters.

A Thoroughly Researched, Fascinating Study

DRAW, as its title indicates, is a study of many of the more famous gunfights and gunfighters of the Old West. It's James Reasoner's first non-fiction work, and it's a winner.DRAW is well researched, and contains many little known anecdotes about the colorful characters that populate its pages (for example, gunfighter Clay Allison, was wont, when drunk, to strip off his clothes, and wearing nothing but his boots and hat, gallop his horse through town, shooting out windows and streetlights). The book is fast paced, and holds the reader's attention as well as, if not better than, any work of fiction. Reasoner makes the reader feel as if he or she is right there in the middle of the events he describes, while at the same time remaining true to the facts of the events, without exaggeration. This makes for a book that is both entertaining and enlightening, and never dull.DRAW is a must read for any student, serious or casual, of the history of the American West, or for anyone who just enjoys good cowboy or lawman versus outlaw stories. As the back cover blurb says: "These are the shoot-outs and showdowns that gave the Wild West its name...recounted here with gritty accuracy, colorful detail, and all the drama of life--and death--on the frontier". This is one of those rare works that lives up in its entirety to the publisher's hype. I highly recommend it.