Smoking Gun - The True Story about Gunfighting in the Old West
by Jeremy Agnew
For more than a century, stories about gun fighters and gun fighting in America's Wild West have captivated the imaginations of millions of people worldwide. In his book, Smoking Gun, Jeremy Agnew gives readers a different perspective - skillfully separating fact from exaggeration and providing believability and proof that fact can many times be stranger and more interesting than fiction. In this well-researched work, Agnew takes a look at what really made the gun fighter tick and why the era of gun fighting occurred when it did, from 1865 to 1900. Combining data on the evolution of firearms, the methods of using those "tools of the trade," and circumstances that contributed to the environment of the time, this book details who the gun fighter was, how he became a symbol of the West, and what made some towns the "baddest of the bad." From casual to the most ardent reader of Old West history, this book promises to be interesting, exciting and absorbing.
- Published
- 2010
- ISBN
- 978-1-932738-93-3
- Pages
- 280
- Category
- History
- Publisher
- Western Reflections Pub. Co.
- Listed at
- $18.95
Publication details from Open Library. The price shown is the last one on record and is historic, not a current offer.
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About this book
Smoking Gun is Jeremy Agnew's attempt to sort what happened in the gunfighting West from what the legend says happened. The book's own pitch is that the facts, set out carefully, are often stranger and more interesting than the fiction built on top of them.
Agnew frames the subject by period. He looks at why gunfighting flourished between 1865 and 1900 and not at some other time. To explain that, he pairs the development of firearms with the ways men actually used them, and with the circumstances of the time that made shooting a common answer to a quarrel.
The book also asks who the gunfighter was, how he became a symbol of the West, and why certain towns earned a name as the worst of the worst. It is nonfiction, and it was first published by Western Reflections in June 2010.
What is inside
Fact and exaggeration
The book sets out to separate real gunfighting from the stories told about it.
1865 to 1900
It asks why the era of gunfighting fell in these years.
Firearms and technique
It combines the evolution of firearms with the methods of using them.
The gunfighter as symbol
It details who the gunfighter was and how he became an emblem of the West.
The worst towns
It looks at what made some towns the baddest of the bad.
Who it is for
Smoking Gun suits readers of Old West history who want the record rather than the movie version. If you enjoy comparing a legend with the evidence behind it, the book's approach is built for that. It is written for general readers, so you do not need a background in firearms or frontier law to follow it.
Ways to use this book
Testing a legend yourself
Pick one famous fight, read the town's own account, then read a second source on the same event. Note what the two agree on and where the telling shifts.
Taking a Western road trip
Dodge City, Tombstone and Deadwood are far apart, so choose one town per trip. Check its website for current hours and tickets, since those change.
Reading for context
The book is nonfiction for general readers, so you can read it before or after a visit. Take notes on dates, because the period it covers, 1865 to 1900, is useful for sorting claims at exhibits.
Go deeper
The book looks at gunfighting between 1865 and 1900. Three well known frontier towns now preserve that era for visitors, and each one has a website you can check before you go.
Boot Hill Museum, Dodge City
A nonprofit founded in 1947 in Dodge City, Kansas, on the site of the original Boot Hill cemetery, with a replica Front Street and an 1865 Fort Dodge jail.
O.K. Corral Gunfight Site
Gives the site's own account of the October 26, 1881 fight in Tombstone, Arizona, a useful primary reading for comparing legend and record.
Historic Deadwood
The Deadwood, South Dakota tourism site has a history section with pages on Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, Jack McCall and others from the 1876 mining camp.
Good to know
What years does the book cover?
Is Smoking Gun fiction or nonfiction?
When was it first published?
How do I get a copy of Smoking Gun?
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