With Badges and Bullets: Lawmen and Outlaws in the Old West (Notable Westerners) by Richard W. Etulain

With Badges and Bullets: Lawmen and Outlaws in the Old West (Notable Westerners) Reviews

• 
  Larry

  Ten essays about badge-wearers and outlaws cover mostly the famous (Wyatt Earp, Wild Bill, Pat Garrett, Tom Horn, Doc Holliday, Billy the Kid, Belle Starr, Jesse James, Joaquin Murrieta}, but also a largely unknown (Pearl Hart, who robbed but a single stagecoach but ably promoted her image as a desperado). The essays are good (Gary Roberts on Earp and Kathleen Chamberlain on Garrett are the best) introductions to significant western figures. Richard Etulain's short introduction sets up the essays pretty well, though I would have liked more analysis.
• 
  Gabriel Lopez-Shaw

  Informative in the way it juxtaposes the people with their own legend. The writing styles by the various authors keep the narrative fresh. I've gone on to research some of the featured authors and subjects in this book. A point that could use improvement is that the footnotes are not listed at the points they are sourced. Other than that, it's a worthy read that gives a deeper insights into those characters associated with unenviable task of embodying the primal beginnings of a modern empire.
• 
  Rae

  A good start for basic information on the good and bad characters from the historical Old West.