Written With Lead: Legendary American Gunfights and Gunfighters - Hardcover

Weir, William

3.08

12 ratings by Goodreads

9780208023193: Written With Lead: Legendary American Gunfights and Gunfighters

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0208023194 ISBN 13: 9780208023193

Publisher: Archon Books, 1992

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A collection of 18 vigorous, lucid narratives of the lives, exploits and deaths of well-known figures. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

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From Publishers Weekly:

American culture is draped in the mythology of guns and violence, shows this montage of 18 telling episodes in our history. Freelance writer Weir, using books and magazine articles as sources, impressively contrasts celebrated events with their myths. He suffered no want of ammo from any era, finding pertinent material in everything from Burgoyne's surrender at Saratoga in 1777 through the Burr-Hamilton duel, the Alamo and gunslingers Billy the Kid and Wyatt Earp to the 1934 ambush slaying of gangster John Dillinger and the Brinks robbery of 1954. These crisply written nuggets clearly advance the author's contention that our mythology is antiestablishment, individualist and violent. A bull's-eye performance. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal:

The author defines gunfights very broadly, including not only the O.K. Corral and the Johnson County War, but also military engagements like Saratoga and Little Big Horn, plus the gangster-related battles of the 1930s. Since he never states a unifying theme, the inclusion of such events as the Burr-Hamilton duel, Alvin York's exploits in World War I, and the 1954 Boston Brinks robbery seem unjustified. Nevertheless, Weir chronicles all the incidents with close attention to the facts in a very readable style. Specialists and informed laypersons will find nothing new here, but general readers and young people will enjoy the book. For school and public libraries.
- Stephen H. Peters, Northern Michigan Univ. Lib., Marquette
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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