Cover Image: Lawmen of the Wild West

Lawmen of the Wild West

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

This book delves into the history of the Wild West. It explains how the stereotype of the local sheriff we see in every book and movie came to be. It was so fascinating. It almost read like fiction, it was so well written.

Was this review helpful?

Having been surprised at the number of outlaws named in "Outlaws of the Wild West" by the same author, I probably shouldn't have been wide-eyed at the number of lawmen out to catch them! "Lawmen of the Wild West" is a superb exploration of the other side of the line in the Wild West. It's written in a very easy to read way, and the photos are excellent!

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley. This review was written voluntarily and is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.

Was this review helpful?

This was a fascinating read, and I really enjoyed how the author presented it as a series of short mini biographies as it gave each of the lawmen there own time to shine, although some had more attention than others. It was like having the curtain drawn back on the wild west, and it was nice to see the 'romantic view' of that world stripped away. My only complaint would be that sometimes it felt as though the writing drifted away from the person that was being discussed, and while the details were interesting and added to the book, I think that maybe they took away from the execution a little. Still this was a great book, and one I will be revisiting in the future.

Was this review helpful?

I received this arc for an honest review.
The author gives you a glimpse into the lives of many lawmen, some famous most not so much. It is the not so much ones this author spends time on. He gives time to the ones that through his research were not criminals but only from what he could tell were always on the right side of the law. Many died being shot either in the back or when they were at a disadvantage. He does go into Hickock and Earp he just does not spend a lot of time on either one. He does spend a lot of pages on Bass and the men he brought in from the Indian territory and all that he did. The only part he left out of him was that at one time Bass even arrested his own son for killing his wife. Many good stories that will keep you entertained. A good book.

Was this review helpful?

while written in the short story format, this book is in truth a well rounded look at frontier lawmen and their job in settling the west. Terry C Treadwell has chosen some famous and some who should have been famous examples and shown us how their versions of the law changed with every criminal they faced. These men were often the only thing standing between the outlaws and the townspeople. Failure was not an option. I'm a diehard western fan. I enjoyed every one of these stories. Terry Treadwell is now on my followed author list.

Was this review helpful?

Lawmen of the Wild West by Terry C. Treadwell are minibiographies of some well known and not as well known lawmen. The introduction has a lot of information about the background of the jobs, from the 14th century up until the time of the men in this book. It also describes what the western lawmen, from Sheriffs to US Marshals, did in their day to day and what they had to deal with. There are a ton of pictures, not only of the famous lawmen, but different types of badges, images of the outlaws that have been killed, and much more.

The book starts with Robert Forsyth, who was an early US Marshal and the first to be killed in the line of duty. Luckily, the biographies get longer after the first one. There are thirty-five chapters about individual lawmen talked about in the book including; Judge Isaac Parker, Wild Bill Hickock, Wyatt Earp, Bass Reeves, Pat Garrett, and Seth Bullock. Many of the biographies have some historical background about the times, the range wars, and the outlaws these men chased. The book also shows that the Wild West wasn't like the old westerns have shown us, black and white, good versus bad. A lot of the lawmen had an outlaw past or used their badges to gain for themselves.

I enjoyed the book, but at times found it slow, especially when the stories diverted away from the men being written about. I understood why the author had to add in the extra details, it just ruined the flow for me a bit. I was also thrown whenever the author talked about the Earps and their exploits. He doesn't seem to like the family at all. I did like how some biographies mentioned a man that the next biography was about. I also enjoyed how many of the men popped up in the others stories, showing that they all knew and maybe respected each other. There is a companion book about the outlaws of the west, which I will have to check out

Was this review helpful?

Saddle up for an adventure that is going to knock you over! This book is packed full of information on the Lawmen of the Wild West, and there is SO MUCH INFORMATION!

I loved reading through this one! Isaac Parker and Wild Bill Hickock were two of my favorites to read about. Lawmen of the Wild West draws the romantic notion of the west, and kicks that out of the window. It was lawless, but there were some who did their best to bring law and order. This rather makes me think a bit of the old radio show, "Have Gun, Will Travel." These men did their best to bring justice (but let's be honest, some of them managed to hit the wrong side of the law too), and in turn, shaped their names to be remembered throughout history, and the struggle for taming the west.

Hands down one of the best books I have read this year!

Was this review helpful?

Very good read but I felt there were things left out of some of the stories. Overall, it was informative and a decent look at law enforcement in the West.

Was this review helpful?

An interesting set of short stories about the lawmen of the Wild West. The stories were great and held my interest. I learned facts about these individuals that I never knew. If your into true crime or history, this is the book for you.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?