"Their heads filled with images of glory and battle, most young men joined the frontier army only to endure a life of tedious drills, bad meals, uncomfortable quarters, and ill-fitting uniforms. Working hard seven days a week in all kinds of weather, soldiers frequently found themselves lonely and bored, with little opportunity for advancement but many ways to be punished -- all for $13 a month. Focusing on the Indian Wars period of the 1840s through...

"This exploration of the heyday of popular theater and other entertainments of the Old West chronicles its emergence and growth from 1850 to the early twentieth century. Here is the story of the men and women who provided myriad types of entertainment in the Old West, and brought excitement, laughter and tears to generations of pioneers"--Provided by publisher

"Through the Victorian and Edwardian eras, various new health movements emerged in the transition to the modern age of scientific medicine. Strange medical devices and quack cures were pushed for the curing of illnesses during this time, frequently using crude remedies based on simplistic beliefs and the placebo effect. Nowadays, some of these treatments appear absurd, even cruel. Because some of these devices were properly used as appropriate therapies,...

"Starting with early 1900s Western movies, the narrative follows the evolution in look, style, and content as the films matured from short vignettes of good-versus-bad into the modern plots. The book compares the reality of the cowboys, Indians, gunmen, lawmen, and soldiers who peopled the Old West to how they are portrayed on the silver screen"--

For more than a century, stories about gunfighters and gunfighting in America s Wild West have captivated the imaginations of millions of people worldwide. Jeremy Agnew gives readers a different perspective skillfully separating fact from exaggeration and providing believability and proof that fact can many times be stranger than fiction. In this well-researched and documented work.