GREAT FIGURES OF THE WILD WEST
American Profiles series
Facts on File • 1992 • $25.00 (hc)
ISBN 0-8160-2576-2 • 144 pages
Ages 10 and up
The Wild West was created by the combination of a particular place, time, and state of mind. It was the land west of the Mississippi, the time following the California gold rush, and a life that, while tough and violent, was filled with freedom and opportunity. The adventurous spirit of the Wild West has always drawn fascination—first through dime novels and Wild West shows, more recently, in movies and miniseries. While these portrayals have typically been dramatic and enticing, they have often been misleading or outright falsities. As this book eloquently demonstrates, the true stories of the Wild West are as exciting and often more interesting than their less factual counterparts.
Great Figures of the Wild West paints a vivid portrait of this fascinating period of American history, profiling eight people whose life stories are closely tied to our image of the Wild West: Sitting Bull, Jesse James, Buffalo Bill, Wyatt Earp, Billy the Kid, Geronimo, Belle Starr, and Judge Roy Bean.