Old West History

Saddle up for a wild ride with The Old West: A History of the American Frontier by Oscar Johnson. Oscar Johnson brings the past to life in a way that feels more like a fireside tale told by someone who smells faintly of a horse. This audiobook gives you everything you need to understand The Old West, without needing to be chased by bandits to appreciate it. This isn't the sort of history book that puts you to sleep after page three. There are no droning lectures or endless dates to memorise.

Eight captivating manuscripts in one audiobook: The Wild West, Billy the Kid, Buffalo Bill, Seth Bullock, Davy Crockett, Annie Oakley, Jesse James, and Geronimo. Some of the topics covered in part one of this audiobook include: What the Native Americans of the West were really like before colonization, how the Spanish were some of the first Europeans to explore the West, the seven years during which Texas was its own country, and much, much more!

This is the story of the people, places, and events associated with the dramatic growth and equally rapid decline of the Wild West. It’s also the story of how myth and legend have shaped our understanding of this time to create an idealized perception of the American frontier. This is the real story of the Wild West.

Discover the remarkable life of Calamity Jane... Calamity Jane was an icon of the Wild West, and she lived her life just as free and wild as the Wild West stage shows she later performed in. Part of this wildness was not by choice but born of necessity. Her parents both passed when she was a young girl, forcing her to find a way to make it on her own. It was during this struggle for survival that she first embraced a free and unfettered lifestyle, learning to ride, shoot, and fend for herself in ways that would have been considered scandalous for women of her era.

Many of the most well-known lawmen of the American Wild West had multiple criminal charges to their name. Some were murderers, some were thieves, and many were corrupt - in fact, sometimes it was difficult to tell who was on which side of the law. Cowboys and Native Americans, robbers and sheriffs, courageous lawmen, opportunistic prospectors, frustrated Confederate soldiers turned outlaws after the war - the Wild West was filled with all of these. And their stories are breathtaking.

What if the Western world does not have its ultimate origins in a single cultural bloodline but rather a messy bramble of ancestors and influences? As battles over privilege, identity and prejudice rock the cultural wars, it's never been more important to understand how the concept of The West came to be. This book tells a bold, empowering new story of how the idea of the West was created, how it has been used to justify imperialism and racism, and also why it's still a powerful ideological tool to understand our world.

After being held prisoner and tortured by the cruel Seelie Queen, West's past comes back to haunt him. His memories of a tragic event and the truth of what happened on the Light side goes deeper than anyone realizes. Things he wants no one to know about. Struggling with his own demons, he battles the very essence of what he is - a Dark Dweller - a terrifying beast from the Otherworld designed to hunt and kill. When the Unseelie King sends him to Ireland to uncover a dangerous artifact, West's entire world takes a dangerous turn.

Discover the remarkable life of Butch Cassidy... Few children dream of growing up to rob banks and hold up trains, and Butch Cassidy was no exception. His transformation from an idealistic ranch hand to one of the most legendary outlaws of the American West was a slow, steady slide into a life of crime, shaped by choices that seemed small at the time but would alter the course of his entire existence.

Wyatt Earp was one of the most famous lawmen that the Wild West ever produced. He was also one of the longest-lived. Considering the fact that he lived all the way up until his 80s while many of his contemporaries never made it out of their 30s, this in itself was quite a feat. Wyatt Earp’s good friend and sidekick Doc Holliday, for example, perished at 36. But even though Earp lived a long life, he was no stranger to danger. He was shot at more times than he could count, and there were plenty of people out there who wanted him dead.

John Wesley Hardin had already become one of the most feared gunmen on the American frontier before his twenty-fifth birthday. A gambler, outlaw, and lightning-fast draw, Hardin left a trail of bodies across Texas that made even hardened lawmen hesitate to pursue him. When he was finally captured, authorities couldn't even agree on his true body count—estimates ranged from twenty to over forty victims. After his arrest, Hardin seemed destined to die behind bars.

Settlers in the frontier West were often easy prey for criminals. Policing efforts were scattered at best and often amounted to vigilante retaliation. To create a semblance of order, freelance enforcers of the law known as man-hunters undertook the search for fugitives. These pursuers have often been portrayed as ruthless bounty hunters, no better than the felons they pursued. Robert K. DeArment's detailed account of their careers redeems their reputations and reveals the truth behind their fascinating legends.

Annie Oakley was a remarkable sharpshooter whose legendary accuracy with firearms captivated audiences across the world. She could place bullets precisely where she intended from distances that left spectators breathless with amazement. But as impressive as this was, there was more to Annie Oakley's life than her ability with a gun.

In just 20 years, from 1840 to 1860, an astounding 400,000 people faced the danger and uncertainty of an epic migration on the Oregon Trail. They did this to follow a dream of forging a new life in the West, facing hardship and risk at every mile. This is their amazing story.

In 1874, Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer led a US Army expedition into the Black Hills of South Dakota, which was at that time under the control of the Lakota people. To the expedition members, this was unknown territory on the leading edge of the American frontier. The purpose of the expedition was not only to find a possible location for a fort and a route through the Black Hills to the Southwest but also to investigate rumors of gold deposits. Custer’s cavalry and infantry were accompanied by specialist miners and geologists whose role was to search for that gold.

The cowboy is an iconic figure in American culture. With his hat, boots, and trusty horse, the cowboy rides in at a moment of crisis to intervene against the forces of evil. In the 20th century, the cowboy of the Wild West took center stage in the realm of popular literature.

Discover the remarkable life of Brigham Young... When Joseph Smith was assassinated in 1844, his fledgling religious movement—the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, better known as the Mormon Church—faced a serious threat to its very survival. It was Brigham Young who stepped into the void and ensured that the religion became a successful one. With tens of millions of Mormons all over the world still practicing the faith today, it seems that Brigham Young's efforts have certainly paid off.

A riveting history of the American West told for the first time through the pioneering women who used the challenges of migration and settlement as opportunities to advocate for their rights, and transformed the country in the process Between 1840 and 1910, hundreds of thousands of men and women...

The word cowboy conjures up vivid images of rugged men on saddled horses - men lassoing cattle, riding bulls, or brandishing guns in a shoot-out. White men, as Hollywood remembers them. What is woefully missing from these scenes is their counterparts: the Black cowboys who made up one-fourth of the wranglers and rodeo riders. This book tells their story.

One of the greatest basketball players of all time finally tells—with relentless honesty—the incredible story of his life. He is one of basketball's towering figures: "Mr. Clutch," who mesmerized his opponents and fans. The coach who began the Lakers' resurgence in the 1970s. The general...

In the 1850s, the United States was a nation divided. In the North, industrialization and urbanization were both significant drivers of change. In the South, a largely agrarian economy was supported by the institution of slavery. The East and West of the country were also divided, not by social or political differences but by a vast tract of largely untouched, rugged, and often hostile territory. There were just two ways to travel from the East Coast to the Pacific Coast or vice versa.