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| The Shooters | 
 enlarge | Author: Leon Claire Metz
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Category: Book
List Price: $14.00
Buy New: $5.98
You Save: $8.02 (57%)
New (26) Used (25) Collectible (2) from $3.92
Avg. Customer Rating:  10 reviews
Sales Rank: 113407
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.2 x 1
ISBN: 0425154505
Dewey Decimal Number: 364.15092278
EAN: 9780425154502
ASIN: 0425154505
Publication Date: September 1, 1996
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: May have small mark or shelf wear / Legendary independent bookstore online since 1994. Reliable customer service and no-hassle return policy.
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Product Description
With a scholar's authority and a storyteller's passion, Leon Metz chronicles the lives of famous gunfighters like Billy the Kid, Wyatt Earp, and Wild Bill Hickok, as well as lesser known desperadoes who left just as many corpses and whiskey bottles in their wake. Rich in detail, and woven with wit and insight, these fascinating portraits reveal The Shooters as they really lived, fought and died.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
 Light reading by an historian with good knowledge of the true "Old West" March 31, 2008
Leon Claire Metz is an extremely knowledgeable and informed historian of the Old West. He knows many facts and has much inside information based on his research and he knows how to tell a story. These stories in The Shooters, are brief and to the point, but tell some interesting facts and "surmises" about western "Shooters" in the 1800's and early 1900's, and are a fun read. Those with a pretty sophisticated background in the subject may find it a bit light, and may or may not agree with everything author Metz concludes, but that is what makes it interesting to read, different opinions and conclusions offer a new perspective through which to view these fascinating men, and some women.
 Shooters January 1, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I have yet to finish this book but have enjoyed it so far. Anyone who is a fan of the gunlinger will enjoy reading this.
True Tales of the Old West December 26, 2006
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
A compendium of interesting biographies of emminent gun-fighters in Western lore.
Inside you will find the factual, un-mythologized accounts of several well-known historical figures, of the American West: Wild Bill Hickok, Buffalo Bill Cody, Wyatt Earp, John Wesley Hardin, Billy the Kid, and Pat Garrett, for example. You will find the stories of some who should be more well-known than they presently are!
-Clay Allison was medically-discharged from his original Confederate regiment because he went into enraged psychotic fits during battle. He finished the war in a regiment that didn't care about his psychological state as long as he fought. When sober, Clay was said to be a well-mannered fellow. However, when intoxicated...he caused a public disturbance once by riding about the main street of town, firing off his pistols, wearing nothing but boots, hat, and gun-belt...and waving his member at passing ladies!
-Sheriff Elfego Baca once withstood a siege from over 100 outlaws, taking shelter in an old shack. They blasted the shack with dynamite, but Baca survived, and took a terrible toll of them with his superior marksmanship. When the bodies began to pile up, the outlaws decided it was better to retreat.
-Pearl Hart, a petite and attractive woman, was one of the last stagecoach robbers. After her stint in prison, where she was the only inmate to become pregnant...and the only female inmate, she was largely forgotten.
Many of the famous westerners described within spent considerable time on both sides of the law. Some were fully criminal, some were fully law-abiding. All were dangerous.
Mr. Metz' book also features interesting historical eras and events from the period, besides biographical sketches.
If you like this book, you will very likely enjoy "Deadliest Men", by Paul Kirchner, as well.
Is that really what happened? September 30, 2006
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
The Old West has given us an unbelievable number of stories,books,songs,movies and above all a seemingly endless list of characters. But what was the real truth,what was embellished,and what was
pure legend? Long time fans of the Old West will probably say it is a mix of all that,and much more.
This book goes a long way in giving what the author has been able to research and find what the facts were on a number of the more famous as well as a number of those we don't hear so much about.I tend to think of the Old West being the period 10 years before the Civil War,roughly 1850, up to the turn of the century.The limits are not precise as many of the characters and events proceeded this period,and many of the characters lived well into the 1900's.
The author presents a lot of facts that will surprise you for the simple reason that you have probably just not thought about some of these things.
The characters were generally a lot younger than you think,many still in their teens at the height of their careers.Many were shot,hung,or otherwise met their demise in their 20's or 30's;and even more surprising a number lived to a ripe old age. The author also fills us in with a lot of details about their place of birth,family backgrounds,why they came west,why they chose the paths they did,who their friends were ,their siblings and their spouses and children.
The author gives a lot of detail about the towns of Deadwood,Tombstone,Socorro,El Paso and a number of others and is very specific on locations for events and what now occupies the spots where things took place.Some of the landmarks may now be gone as this book was first published some 30 years ago.
Another thing the author shows is that the weapons and skills were a far cry from what we see in the movies. The division between good guys and bad guys was indistinguishable at times and in many cases went back and forth.It will also surprise you how many times some got shot before dying or recovering from multiple located bullet wounds.It seems that the one shot,one kill was a rare event.The fact that any recovered with such rudimentary medical help is surprising.
Our "old friend" Ned Buntline shows up as he does in many books on the Old West.He is the writer whose real name was Edward Zane Carroll Judson, was born in upstate New York in 1823,after many adventures,arrived out west,teamed up with Buffalo Bill,and wrote many stories of the Old West and is often credited with creating much of the legendary aspects of the stories and characters we all enjoy. If interested ,you'll find more about him in "The Real Wild West" by Michael Wallis.(see my review on December 17,2003).
Any western reader must wonder at the differences between the titles of Marshals,Sheriff,Deputies,Rangers,Pinkertons aand other Lawmen.I know I have and we are given some pretty good distinctions here;but I suppose there were many inconsistancies;particularly in how they were appointed and controlled.However;that is not surprising as the Old West was anything but a situation of law and and particularly order.
An excellent read and a worthwhile reference for any one interested in the Old West and its legendary Gunfighters and Lawmen.
 Varied and thorough July 3, 2006
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
The Shooters is a pretty darn good book that covers alot of Old West figures. Half of them are pretty well known (James, Billy, Hickok, Buffalo Bill, Hardin, Earps, Holliday) and then there are many of the lesser known to the general population. There's lots of history here and some well done research. This book covers quite a bit of the history of the 'Shooters' or gunmen of the West giving us brief life histories of them. Recommended for Old West buffs and to the history buffs. Not a bad book for passing interest either.
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