Books in Classic Biography - Old West Classic series

HISTORY OF “BILLY THE KID” The true life of the most daring young outlaw of the age. He was the leading spirit in the bloody Lincoln County, New Mexico, war. When a bullet from Sheriff Pat Garett’s pistol pierced his breast he was only twenty-one years of age, and had killed twenty-one men, not counting Indians. His six years of daring outlawry has never been equalled in the annals of criminal history.

Charles A. Siringo was truly a Texas original not only in that his life was singular in its variety—youthful survivor, working cowboy, Pinkerton detective, early movie extra. He also was an original among Texas cowboys in providing a personal narrative of the actual experience of the uniquely American hero, the cowboy. A TEXAS COWBOY, OR, FIFTEEN YEARS ON THE HURRICANE DECK OF A SPANISH PONY, takes us through his journey as a fatherless child, the primary provider for his mother and older sister. Beginning on the Texas coast, detouring through Mississippi river towns and back to Texas, he eventually settles into the life of the working cowboy. An encounter with the famous outlaw Billy the Kid and his pursuer Pat Garrett is only one of the colorful experiences that shapes his life and makes his narrative so impelling.

Two men come together in a violent act—yet develop a bond of trust and respect. Curly Flandrau has embarked on a career outside the law. He is young and wild but not mean. Luck Cullison is a former sheriff, now a struggling rancher. After Kate, Cullison’s spirited daughter, saves Curly from a certain lynching, the lives of all meet a new danger. While the nation beyond is rushing forward into a new century, their part of Arizona is clinging to a time when dangers must be faced by men and women willing to take matters into their own hands. Curly Flandrau and Luck Cullison join forces to face a challenge the law proves ill-equipped to handle.

This classic biography of Abraham Lincoln provides a superb introduction for young readers to one of our nation’s most revered presidents. While it summarizes the life of Lincoln from his humble birth, through his early struggles, to his tragic death, it concentrates on the years of his youth. Much of the narrative is in the form of anecdotes, stories told by those who knew him best. In their voices we glimpse the eager student, the hopeful young lawyer, and the courageous, resourceful president.

AN OLD WEST CLASSICS from Grindl Press "This is Lost Valley—and Lost Valley isn't on the map. Men make their own law here." A lone Texas Ranger follows his prey, an escaped convict–a murderer, to Wyoming. Falsely accused, himself of murder, he flees to Lost Valley, a mysterious land of honest folk–of fugitives from justice–of lawless, scheming men who make their own rules. There, the young ranger is faced with a moral dilemma. Is his first duty his sworn obligation to obey and enforce the law, or is it to be true to his newfound friends?

Cole Younger’s story, written after almost twenty-five years imprisonment for an admitted crime—the attempted robbery of a Northfield, Minnesota bank—is a plea of innocence to the many other crimes for which he was blamed. He had indeed led a violent life, for which he expresses regret. Obviously innocent of some of the wild claims of political enemies and dime novelists, Younger admits only to the above crime. Fortunate in being born into a prosperous and respected family, Thomas Coleman Younger had the misfortune of coming of age in Civil War era Missouri. No other state was so torn apart by pro-secessionist and pro-Union sentiments. And no other state so harshly endured its legacy in the aftermath. As a prominent figure among William Clarke Quantrill’s guerilla forces, Cole Younger incurred the wrath of the final victors of the war. THE STORY OF COLE YOUNGER, BY HIMSELF is his written response.

At an age when most men are still “wet behind the ears,” Pecos Dalhart, broad-shouldered, unflinching, experienced in the cowboy craft demanded the respect of older men. Fresh from Texas, arriving in Geronimo County, Arizona, he found himself caught up in a cross-branding feud between former cattlemen friends. And branding just happened to be a cowboy craft at which Pecos was especially adept. Was double-crossing a double-crosser or stealing from a thief really wrong? He made his choice—one of many from which he would learn. Two chance occurrences altered his directions. The first was the sight of Marcelina García. His Texas cowboy disdain for those with Hispanic surnames faced its first of several coming challenges, from which he would emerge a better man. The second was a surprise gift subscription to a radical newspaper, one charging the common man to rise up against his wealthy suppressors and their established order—heady fare for a barely-schooled cowboy. And then an occurrence that was not chance saw Pecos arrested and falsely charged with cattle rustling. His broad shoulders, his fearlessness, nor his cowboy skills could win this fight. He would need help.

Billie Prince is a man who can be counted on. A cowpuncher—later lawman—who stands by his friends and his employer Homer Webb. When Webb is murdered, Prince’s life takes a sudden turn. Billie Prince’s best friend is Jim Clanton, slight of build but fast on the draw. When they meet Clanton is on a quest to right a tragic wrong committed against his family. Each comes under the spell of two women on opposite sides of a deadly range war. A MAN FOUR-SQUARE, by William MacLeod Raine is a story inspired by the times of Billy the Kid and the Lincoln County Wars. Its setting is Washington County, New Mexico. It was a time and place when “To kill a man on the frontier then in fair fight was a misdemeanor. To steal a horse was a capital offense.” The story is fiction, but the telling is authentic. This is one of the better of many fine stories of the old west by the master storyteller William MacLeod Raine.

HIDDEN WATER is the cattleman vs. sheepherder confrontation with a classic twist. In Dane Coolidge’s explosive tale, it is the cattlemen who are vastly outnumbered and have powerful political interests out to destroy their livelihood. Enter Rufus Hardy, a wanderer, spurned by his career military father because he does not qualify for West Point and by the one woman he adores. He may not look like a soldier, but looks can be deceiving. He is tough as nails when the situation demands it, but he is also smart. The latter quality inspires the naïve, peace-loving Judge Ware to hire “Rufe” as superintendent of his ranch, convinced that with his intelligence and gentle manners, he might persuade the sheepherders to bypass his grazing range. Jeff Crede, boss of the ranch workers disagrees. In spite of their differences, however, Rufe and Jeff become the best of friends. Each understands the other and has the other’s back, especially at the unavoidable and deadly final showdown. Dane Coolidge is a master of suspense. His descriptive writing is remindful of John Steinbeck. His knows his subject matter, and he knows how to tell a story. This is a good read!