Ben Johnson knew how to set a horse. In our universe there are numerous classic cowboy stars, and then there is one true cowboy who also became a...
Poetry in Motion
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To the Point
Wider Herd
Long may our stories be told. When my Illustrated Life and Times of Wyatt Earp book was first published (1993), I did a book-signing at the...
Edward S. Curtis Redeemed
An underdog gets his due. All my life I have heard criticism of Edward Sheriff Curtis. He faked his photos, he didn’t do this, he had no business...
Here’s Looking at You, Kid
The Class of 2021 has turned in their research and—boy, howdy—there are some eyebrow-raisers here. When I was first diving deep into all the Billy...
Horseman, Pass By, Again
The long and circuitous road from the Hayloft Bar to Larry McMurtry’ s typewriter and back again. Back in my Honkytonk Days (and Nights!), I played...
The Tom Jonas Map Quest
Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at what it took to get a map of the location of Doc Holliday’s Saloon in Las Vegas, New Mexico (“Classic Gunfights,”...
Here’s to Hitting the Trail – Again!
Is it my imagination, or can we see some daylight on the horizon from here? Dare I say, some of us are even making plans for hitting the road...
Black and Blue
Some things just have to be said. In this time of renewed racial contention, it is somehow fitting—and timely—that one of the unsung heroes of the...
Seeking Common Ground
The good news first: the end of the 1918 influenza pandemic in 1920 led almost directly to the Roaring Twenties because everyone in the country was so ready to kick out the jams after all the death and depressing times. So let’s hope that history repeats itself this year.
The Kids Return
This issue marks the return of two of my favorite “Kids.” One is the legendary outlaw who sparked in me a lifetime of research on his short and violent life, and the other is the legendary scholar who, so far, has had a long and peaceful life, interrupted by eloquent tirades against the machine.
Assassination Nation
Get ready to tangle with epic events and tragic stats on the revolution road.
A New Chapter Has Begun
Saying goodbye to the True West World Headquarters.