• General Recommendations
  • Staff-Created List

Nonfiction for Western Lovers

Selections perfect for Western novel fans and history buffs alike. - October 2024, April S.

Toledo Library

15 items

  • Bandit Heaven

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

    Clavin, Tom, 1954-
    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.
    BookNew York : St. Martin's Press, 2024. — 978.02 Cla
  • Throne of Grace

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

    Drury, Bob,
    "A lively account of the remarkable life of one of the men who led the U.S. into the vast West." ―Kirkus (starred review)
    BookNew York : St. Martin's Press, 2024. — 92 Smith, Jedediah Strong
  • The Last Outlaws

    the Desperate Final Days of the Dalton Gang

    Clavin, Tom, 1954-
    "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
    BookNew York : St. Martin's Press, 2023. — 978.0209 Cla
  • Ghost Town Living

    Lessons From Chasing An Impractical Dream /

    Underwood, Brent,
    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.
    BookNew York : Harmony, [2023] — 979.487 Und
  • Son of the Old West

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

    Ward, Nathan, 1963-
    An epic narrative of the Old West told through the vivid, outsized life of cowboy, detective, and chronicler Charlie Siringo.
    BookNew York : Atlantic Monthly Press, 2023. — 978.0209 War
  • Windfall

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

    Bolstad, Erika,
    "Shockingly personal and brilliantly researched... Windfall is highly recommended." ― Booklist Starred Review
    BookNaperville, Illinois : Sourcebooks, [2023] — 338.2728 Bol
  • The Summer of 1876

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

    Wimmer, Chris,
    From the creator of the "Legends of the Old West" podcast, a book exploring the overlapping narratives of the biggest legends in frontier mythology.
    BookNew York : St. Martin's Press, 2023. — 978.02 Wim
  • Gentleman Bandit

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

    Boessenecker, John, 1953-
    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.
    BookToronto, Ontario, Canada : Hanover Square Press, [2023] — 92 Black Bart
  • Holding Fire

    A Life with Music, War, and Peace

    Andrews, Bryce
    "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
    eBookHarperCollins, 2023
  • Brave Hearted

    the Women of the American West 1836-1880

    Hickman, Katie,
    “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)
    BookNew York : Spiegel and Grau, [2022] — 978.0082 Hic
  • Black Gun, Silver Star

    the Life and Legend of Frontier Marshal Bass Reeves

    Burton, Arthur T.,
    "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…
    PaperbackLincoln : University of Nebraska Press, [2022] — 92 Reeves, Bass
  • Born of Lakes and Plains

    Mixed-descent Peoples and the Making of the American West

    Hyde, Anne Farrar, 1960-
    A fresh history of the West grounded in the lives of mixed-descent Native families who first bridged and then collided with racial boundaries.
    BookNew York, NY : W. W. Norton & Company, [2022] — 978.02 Hyd
  • Wildcat

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

    Boessenecker, John, 1953-
    “A true-life adventure saga about the female outlaw who robbed a stagecoach at gunpoint in Arizona in 1899.” –New York Times Book Review
    BookToronto, Ontario, Canada : Hanover Square Press, [2021] — 92 Hart, Pearl
  • Aloha Rodeo

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

    Wolman, David (Journalist),
    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
    BookNew York, NY : William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, [2019] — 978.719 Wol
  • Shotguns and Stagecoaches

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

    Boessenecker, John, 1953-
    “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).
    BookNew York : Thomas Dunne Books ; St. Martin's Press, [2018] — 388.341 Boe