One thing I like to do periodically is inventory my books. I enjoy having physical books on my shelves (though I do have quite a few e-books on my iPhone) and I enjoy the solid heft of a good book. I like the smell of a book as well, especially some of the older ones I’ve collected.
I thought you might like a virtual peek at my bookshelves, being authors yourselves. You’ve probably got much the same collection, but perhaps you’ll spot something that will strike your interest. I’d love it if you’d comment, too – what books do you have that I might like to read?
Here are some of my favorite non-fiction books about the Wild West:
Age of the Gunfighter; Joseph G. Rosa – a basic history of gunfighters and gunfighting
A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains; Isabella L. Bird – the journal of a middle-aged English lady traveling alone in 1873 Colorado
The American Frontier: Pioneers, Settlers and Cowboys 1800-1899; William C. Davis – another basic history of the era
The American West; Dee Brown – a good all-around history book about the period
A Texas Cowboy, or, Fifteen Years on the Hurricane Deck of a Spanish Pony; Charles A. Siringo – autobiography of the man who later became a Pinkerton detective
Before Barbed Wire: Photographer on Horseback; L.A. Huffman – an excellent source of photographs from the era
Boudoirs to Brothels: The Intimate World of Wild West Women; Michael Rutter – a well-illustrated history of the madam and her working girls
Buckskin and Blanket Days; Thomas Henry Tibbles – the memoirs of a pioneer, scout, hunter and “friend of the Indians”
Card Sharps, Dream Books and Bucket Shops: Gambling in 19th Century America; Ann Vincent Fabian – an interesting history of gambling
Children of the Old West; Russell Freedman – full of photographs of pioneer and Indian children during the era
Cowboy and Western Songs; Austin E. Fife – an interesting collection of songs from the era
Cowboy Culture; David Dary – a chronicle of cowboy life and legend
Cowboy Lingo; Ramon F. Adams – “A dictionary of the slack-jaw words and Whangdoodle ways of the American West”
Cowboys of the Wild West; Russell Freedman – an introduction to the cowboy
Daily Life in a Covered Wagon; Paul Erickson – this interesting book draws on actual diaries and letters
Days on the Road: Crossing the Plains in 1865: Sarah Raymond-Herndon – true story of a young woman who crossed the plains to start a new life
Early America at Work: A Pictorial Guide to Our Vanishing Occupations; Everett Broomall Wilson – an interesting history of old-time workers
Frontier Gambling; G.R. Williamston – a discussion of the seedier side of the frontier
Frontier Slang, Lingo and Phrases; Kathy Weiser-Alexander – another useful dictionary
The Gunfighter: Man or Myth?; Joseph G. Rosa – truth and legend of the Old West’s gunfighters and their influence on American culture
The Gunfighters: How the West Was Won: Bruce Wexler – truth and legend about some of the famous gunfighters of the era and their weapons of choice
Guns of the Wild West; David Kennedy – showcases more than 50 of authentic weapons from the Cody Firearms Museum of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming
Home on the Range: A Culinary History of the American West; Cathy Luchetti – a chronicle of American frontier cooking from anecdotes, writings and photographs
How the Wild West Was Won: A Celebration of Cowboys, Gunfighters, Buffalo Soldiers, Sodbusters, Moonshiners, and the American Frontier – Bruce Wexler – a comprehensive history
How to Write Western Novels; Matt Braun – a good basic writing “How-To”
I Do: Courtship, Love and Marriage on the American Frontier; Cathy Luchetti – compiled from journals, letters and reminiscences
The Look of the Old West: A Fully Illustrated Guide; William Foster-Harris – basically a picture dictionary of Old West tools, culture and fashions
The Log of a Cowboy; Andy Adams – the story of an 1882 cattle drive from Mexico to Montana
Men: A Pictorial Archive from Nineteenth-Century Sources: Harter – a good picture dictionary for clothing and hairstyles
Men of the West: Life on the American Frontier; Cathy Luchetti – compiled from letters, diaries, journals and photographs
My Sixty Years on the Plains: Trapping, Trading and Indian Fighting; W.T. Hamilton – a simple reflection from a man of the era
The Old West: National Geographic – an excellent history of the era with lots of good photographs
The Old West Day by Day; Mike Flanagan – 15,000 chronologically-arranged events with descriptions, sidebars and photographs
The Prairie Traveler; Randolph B. Marcy – an 1859 guide for settlers
Reflections of Western Historians; John A. Carroll – the history of the era by 16 historians
Seeking Pleasure in the Old West; David Dary – the amusements available to the average Westerner during the era
Shoes, Hats, and Fashion Accessories: A Pictorial Archive; Grafton – a good picture dictionary of fashion from around 1850
Stagecoach: Rare Views of the Old West; Sandor Demlinger – almost 300 rare photographs
Time-Life Old West Series – a great encyclopedia with many useful photographs
Trail Driving Days; Dee Brown with Martin F. Shcmitt – tales and photographs of the men and their animals during the heyday of the cattle drives
The Way West: A.B. Guthrie, Jr. – a novel about a frontiersman’s return to the untamed West in 1846
We Pointed Them North: Recollections of a Cowpuncher; E.C. Abbott – the story of “Teddy Blue” Abbott, a cowboy from the heyday of the era
Western Words: A Dictionary of the Old West: Ramon Adams – an excellent dictionary
The Wild West How the West Was Won; Bruce Wexler – another history of the era
Women: A Pictorial Archive from Nineteenth-Century Sources; Harter – a good picture dictionary of fashion and hairstyles
Women of the West: Cathy Luchetti – a good look at the women who settled the West, from memoirs, diaries, letters, journals and photographs
Write a Western in 30 Days: With Plenty of Bullet-Points!: Nik Morton – an interesting “How-To” book for the Western writer
Writing Historical Fiction: A Writers’ and Artists’ Companion; Celia Brayfield and Duncan Sprott – reflections on writing the genre
The Writer’s Guide to Everyday Life in the Wild West: Candy Moulton – an interesting basic guide to writing the era
Your Travel Guide to America’s Old West; Rita J. Markel – a travelogue describing fashion, accommodations, foods, customs and local transportation
Comment with your own favorites!
J.E.S. Hays
www.jeshays.com
www.facebook.com/JESHaysBooks
