The real lives of the historic figures in Old West Showdown are shrouded in controversy and myth. Was Jesse James a Southern Son fighting for the cause of the fallen Confederacy, or a blood-thirsty cutthroat justly pursued by the authorities? Was Billy the Kid a misunderstood youth or a cold-blooded killer? Did Buffalo Bill Cody truly ride for the Pony Express as a young man? Or, was he just a blowhard who trumped up his own past in an attempt to seem more heroic in the eyes of audiences attending his Wild West shows? In Old West Showdown, dueling authors Bill Markley and Kellen Cutsforth draw on fact and folklore to present opposing viewpoints pertaining to controversies surrounding some of the most well-known characters and events in the history of the Old West.
Was Jesse James a common criminal or a defender of the South? Which side was at fault in the so-called O.K. Corral gunfight? Was Buffalo Bill a legendary figure or a self-created PR character? Bill Markley and Kellen Cutsforth take on those questions and others with a point-counterpoint approach—and let you decide what to believe. . . . It’s a refreshing and appealing take.
As a history enthusiast and mayor of the Old West town where Wild Bill and Calamity Jane are buried, I enjoyed and learned from this book . . . [especially] from the multiple accounts and perspectives provided by Markley and Cutsforth.
