Known for his ability to make history come vividly to life, Reasoner strips away the dime novel legends and Hollywood myths to show us how the gunfighters of the Old West really lived, killed, and were killed.

Praised for his “well-researched” (Booklist) and “lively, suspenseful” (Publishers Weekly) novels, James Reasoner now proves that truth can be even more exciting than fiction.

Among the true stories he brings us:

• Doc Holliday’s Last Gunfight

• The Last Bloody Ride of the Dalton Gang

• The End of the Notorious John Wesley Hardin

• Wild Bill’s Tragic Mistake

• The End of an Earp

• Turkey Creek Canyon Shoot-out

• Gunfight at Stone Corral

• The Doolin Bunch vs. the U.S. Marshals

• Rourke’s Bad Luck Robbery

• Shoot-out at the Tuttle Dance Hall

• Wichita’s New Year’s Day Gunfight

• Bat Masterson and the Battle of the Plaza

• The Sam Bass Gang’s Luck Runs Out

• The Long Branch Saloon’s Spectacular Fray

• Ben Thompson’s Christmas Day Shooting

• The Man Who Killed the Man Who Killed Jesse James

• and more!

These are the shoot-outs and showdowns that gave the Wild West its name, recounted here with gritty accuracy, colorful detail, and all the drama of life—and death—on the frontier.