A lively history of the nineteenth-century American West from the #1 New York Times –bestselling author of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee . "Glorious . . . Do not miss a page." — Rocky Mountain News Frontier life, Dee Brown writes, "was hard, unpleasant most of the time," and "lacking in almost all amenities or creature comforts." And yet, tall tales were the genre of the day, and humor, both light and dark, was abundant. In this historical account, Brown examines the aspects of the frontier spirit that would come to assume so central a position in American mythology. Split into sections—"Gambling, Violence, and Merriment," "Lawyers, Newsmen, and Other Professionals," and "Misunderstood Minorities" —it is mindful in its correction of certain stereotypes of Western life and is a mesmerizing account of an untamed nation and its wild, resilient settlers. "An entertaining social history and a useful reminder of the merriment and amusement that existed, at least in small part, alongside the better-known frontier facts of loneliness, disease, and fear." — Milwaukee Journal Sentinel This ebook features an illustrated biography of Dee Brown including rare photos from the author's personal collection.