Old West History

Eight captivating manuscripts in one audiobook: The Wild West, Billy the Kid, Buffalo Bill, Seth Bullock, Davy Crockett, Annie Oakley, Jesse James, and Geronimo. Some of the topics covered in part one of this audiobook include: What the Native Americans of the West were really like before colonization, how the Spanish were some of the first Europeans to explore the West, the seven years during which Texas was its own country, and much, much more!

In old age, Charlie Siringo was called "Ulysses of the Wild West" for the long journey he took across the western frontier. Son of the Old West brings him and his legendary world vividly to life.

The mythical legends and historical allure of the old west come galloping onward with The Old West Collection: Amazing Legends and Incredible Tales of the American West. This thundering audio compendium celebrates the epic events of America's frontier, whether rediscovering the California gold rush at Sutter's Mill in '49 or recreating the outsize personalities of John Jacob Astor to Belle Starr and Billy the Kid. From racing on horseback for Oklahoma land in '89 to Dodge and Last Chance Gulch.

The word cowboy conjures up vivid images of rugged men on saddled horses - men lassoing cattle, riding bulls, or brandishing guns in a shoot-out. White men, as Hollywood remembers them. What is woefully missing from these scenes is their counterparts: the Black cowboys who made up one-fourth of the wranglers and rodeo riders. This book tells their story.

Many of the most well-known lawmen of the American Wild West had multiple criminal charges to their name. Some were murderers, some were thieves, and many were corrupt - in fact, sometimes it was difficult to tell who was on which side of the law. Cowboys and Native Americans, robbers and sheriffs, courageous lawmen, opportunistic prospectors, frustrated Confederate soldiers turned outlaws after the war - the Wild West was filled with all of these. And their stories are breathtaking.

This collection of short, action-filled stories of the Old West's most egregiously badly behaved female outlaws, gamblers, soiled doves, and other wicked women offers a glimpse into the Western women's experience that's less sunbonnets and more six-shooters. During the late 1800s, while men were settling the new frontier and rushing off to the latest boomtowns, women of easy virtue found wicked lives west of the Mississippi when they followed fortune hunters seeking gold and land in an unsettled territory.

The true story of the Earp brothers, Doc Holliday, and the famous Battle at the OK Corral, by the New York Times best-selling author of Dodge City and Wild Bill. On the afternoon of October 26, 1881, nine men clashed in what would be known as the most famous shootout in American frontier history. Thirty bullets were exchanged in 30 seconds, killing three men and wounding three others. The fight sprang forth from a tense, hot summer.

Dodge City, Kansas, is a place of legend. The town that started as a small military site exploded with the coming of the railroad, cattle drives, eager miners, settlers, and various entrepreneurs passing through to populate the expanding West. Before long Dodge City's streets were lined with saloons and brothels, and its populace was thick with gunmen, horse thieves, and desperadoes of every sort. By the 1870s, Dodge City was known as the most violent and turbulent town in the West.

The summer of 1876 was a key time period in the development of the mythology of the Old West. Many individuals who are considered legends by modern listeners were involved in events that began their notoriety or turned out to be the most famous—or infamous—moments of their lives. Those individuals were Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer, Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, Wild Bill Hickok, and Jesse James. The Summer of 1876 weaves together the timelines of the events that made these men legends.

There’s a reason why the Wild West is called as such. History will give you some pretty good (but lengthy) explanations. The purpose of this educational audiobook is to make history fun or 6th graders like you. Facts are explained in a way that they make sense.

Popular culture has taught us to picture the Old West as a land of men, whether it's the lone hero on horseback or crowds of card players in a rough-and-tumble saloon. But the taming of the frontier involved plenty of women, too - and this book tells their stories. At first, female pioneers were indeed rare - when the town of Denver was founded in 1859, there were only five women among a population of almost a thousand. But the adventurers arrived, slowly but surely.

Though the Pony Express has enjoyed a lot of traction over the years, among the authors that have attempted to encapsulate it, none have ever ridden it themselves. While most scholars would look for answers inside a library, Will Grant looks for his between the ears of a horse. Inspired by the likes of Mark Twain, Sir Richard Burton, and Horace Greeley, all of whom traveled throughout the developing West, Will Grant returned to his roots: he would ride the trail himself with his two horses, Chicken Fry and Badger, from one end to the other.

In July 1865, "Wild Bill" Hickok shot and killed Davis Tutt in Springfield, Mo., - the first quick-draw duel on the frontier. Thus began the reputation that made him a marked man to every gunslinger the Wild West. The legend of Wild Bill has only grown since his death in 1876, when cowardly Jack McCall famously put a bullet through the back of his head during a card game. Best-selling author Tom Clavin has sifted through years of Western lore to bring Hickock fully to life in this rip-roaring, spellbinding true story.

For over 150 years the image of western bad men has thrilled readers and filled movie screens. Who hasn't heard of Jesse James, the Dalton Brothers, Black Bart, or Belle Starr? They are as much a part of American folklore as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt. There's something about the west that has brought out the best, and the worst, in mankind. The funny thing is, a cult following has developed around many of these bandits, making them out to be something they weren't.

The Old West has had a powerful impact on the concept of gentlemanly masculinity among Americans. For those traditionalists among you, this audiobook is filled with authentic designs, facts, weapons, and tales from the mid-1800s to the turn of the century and slightly beyond. Here are some of the roots of the most popular holsters, fashions, weapons, cartridges, and myths preferred by collectors, reenactors, and cowboy action enthusiasts.

The task for those in charge of professionalizing the military in the first half of the nineteenth century and transforming it from a militia-led army to a highly disciplined standing army was a difficult job. Americans had long supported a tradition of militia and distrusted professional soldiers.

Settlers in the frontier West were often easy prey for criminals. Policing efforts were scattered at best and often amounted to vigilante retaliation. To create a semblance of order, freelance enforcers of the law known as man-hunters undertook the search for fugitives. These pursuers have often been portrayed as ruthless bounty hunters, no better than the felons they pursued. Robert K. DeArment's detailed account of their careers redeems their reputations and reveals the truth behind their fascinating legends.

Need a room for the night in the Old West? No problem. Hotels had sprung up everywhere, from forgotten cow towns to the bustling city of San Francisco. Hotels of the Old West reveals the fascinating story of the hotels and hospitality houses - the grand, the deplorable, and the just plain dependable - that flourished and failed in the 19th century.

Jesse James grew up in Clay County, Missouri, a place where north and south conflicted over the issue of slavery. Tensions grew in the lead-up to the Civil War, and James’ Southern loyalties meant he had to make a decision. When war broke out, Jesse and his brother Frank joined the Confederate guerrillas known as “bushwhackers” alongside other notorious characters like “Bloody Bill”. By the age of 17, Jesse had escaped death twice and gained a reputation as a ruthless killer. 

Western writer Alton Pryor has brought forth a collection of important moments in history. These vignettes present a virtual digest of historical happenings that are fun and educational as well. Listeners will learn about the poignant story of the Seven Little Indians. When a tribe stole a band of horses, Indian fighters killed the Indians that stole them. In doing so, they found seven little Indian babies on their hands.