Nonfiction for Western ReadersLike this list

20 items

• Bandit Heaven

  the Hole-in-the-Wall Gangs and the Final Chapter of the Wild West

  Clavin, Tom, 1954-

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  From multiple New York Times bestselling author Tom Clavin comes the thrilling true story of the most infamous hangout for bandits, thieves and murderers of all time―and the lawmen tasked with rooting them out.

• Throne of Grace

  a Mountain Man, An Epic Adventure, and the Bloody Conquest of the American West

  Drury, Bob,

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  "A lively account of the remarkable life of one of the men who led the U.S. into the vast West." ―Kirkus (starred review)

• The Last Outlaws

  the Desperate Final Days of the Dalton Gang

  Clavin, Tom, 1954-

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  "American West expert Clavin delivers a solid and definitive recapitulation of one of history’s most notorious outlaw gangs … Readers will … enjoy this Old West crime caper.” ―Booklist on The Last Outlaws

• Ghost Town Living

  Lessons From Chasing An Impractical Dream

  Underwood, Brent,

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  A long-abandoned silver mine for sale sounded like an adventure too great to pass up, but it turned into much more—a calling, a community of millions, and hard-earned lessons about chasing impractical dreams.

• Son of the Old West

  the Odyssey of Charlie Siringo: Cowboy, Detective, Writer of the Wild Frontier

  Ward, Nathan, 1963-

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  An epic narrative of the Old West told through the vivid, outsized life of cowboy, detective, and chronicler Charlie Siringo.

• Windfall

  the Prairie Woman Who Lost Her Way and the Great-granddaughter Who Found Her

  Bolstad, Erika,

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  "Shockingly personal and brilliantly researched... Windfall is highly recommended." ― Booklist Starred Review

• The Summer of 1876

  Outlaws, Lawmen, and Legends in the Season That Defined the American West

  Wimmer, Chris,

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  From the creator of the "Legends of the Old West" podcast, a book exploring the overlapping narratives of the biggest legends in frontier mythology.

• Gentleman Bandit

  the True Story of Black Bart, the Old West's Most Infamous Stagecoach Robber

  Boessenecker, John, 1953-

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  New York Times bestselling author and award-winning historian John Boessenecker separates fact from fiction in the first new biography in decades of Black Bart, the Wild West’s most mysterious gentleman bandit.

• Holding Fire

  A Life with Music, War, and Peace

  Andrews, Bryce

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  "Beautifully observed. . . This jewel of a book belongs on the shelf with our best Western writers—Norman MacLean, Pam Houston, and Annie Proulx."—John Vaillant, bestselling author of The Tiger and The Golden Spruce

• Brave Hearted

  the Women of the American West 1836-1880

  Hickman, Katie,

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  “As easy to read as any Western with the added advantage of showing a new version of the Old West, one vital for readers to explore.”—Library Journal (starred review)

• Black Gun, Silver Star

  the Life and Legend of Frontier Marshal Bass Reeves

  Burton, Arthur T.,

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  "Burton is a generous author who shares his thinking and analysis with the reader, and explains his personal fascination with the story of Bass Reeves. The result is a highly readable book with a tone that will appeal to several audiences."—Barbara…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Born of Lakes and Plains

  Mixed-descent Peoples and the Making of the American West

  Hyde, Anne Farrar, 1960-

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  A fresh history of the West grounded in the lives of mixed-descent Native families who first bridged and then collided with racial boundaries.

• Wildcat

  the Untold Story of Pearl Hart, the Wild West's Most Notorious Woman Bandit

  Boessenecker, John, 1953-

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  “A true-life adventure saga about the female outlaw who robbed a stagecoach at gunpoint in Arizona in 1899.” –New York Times Book Review

• Butch Cassidy

  The True Story of An American Outlaw

  Leerhsen, Charles,

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  Charles Leerhsen brings the notorious Butch Cassidy to vivid life in this “lyrical and deeply researched” (Publishers Weekly) biography that goes beyond the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid to reveal a more fascinating and complicated man…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Aloha Rodeo

  Three Hawaiian Cowboys, the World's Greatest Rodeo, and a Hidden History of the American West

  Wolman, David (Journalist),

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  The triumphant true story of the native Hawaiian cowboys who crossed the Pacific to shock America at the 1908 world rodeo championships. “Thrilling. … Gripping. … Aloha Rodeo shines.” — NPR.org

• Contention and Other Frontier Stories

  a Five Star Anthology

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  "This anthology of seventeen short stories by notable Western-genre authors doesn't hold back: the settings are often bleak, the characters are often down-on-their-luck, and the themes are often bitter and painful. None of that should deter the…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Shotguns and Stagecoaches

  the Brave Men Who Rode for Wells Fargo in the Wild West

  Boessenecker, John, 1953-

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  “A rip-roaring history of moving the mail in the wildest of the Wild West days” from the New York Times–bestselling author of Texas Ranger (Kirkus Reviews).

• Empire of the Summer Moon

  Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History

  Gwynne, S. C. (Samuel C.), 1953-

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  S. C. Gwynne’s Empire of the Summer Moon spans two astonishing stories. The first traces the rise and fall of the Comanches, the most powerful Indian tribe in American history. The second entails one of the most remarkable narratives ever to come…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Ghost Towns

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  Capturing the adventure and excitement of the Old West, this collection of tales, including a gambler who has long since played his hand, to a singing rifle man protecting a besieged town, features contributions from such masters of Western fiction…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

  An Indian History of the American West

  Brown, Dee, 1908-2002,

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  First published in 1970, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee is Dee Brown's eloquent, meticulously documented account of the systematic destruction of American Indians during the second half of the nineteenth century.