The Old West by Stephen G. Hyslop
Two different attempts at finding reality in the Old West legends by National Geographic and Bill O’Reilly
Is The Old West legends reference by National Geographic, or Bill O’Reilly’s Legends and Lies, written more for a popular audience only? Or can a serious researcher find value too? Do either of them get it right? Entertaining, informative, but which proves factual? Or do they follow the creed, never let the truth interfere with a good story? Find out for yourself.
The Old West legends by National Geographic reveals how a variety of people seized the opportunities presented by untamed land, lawless towns, and new-found riches.
“We go westward as into the future, with a spirit of enterprise and adventure.” — Henry David Thoreau
Astor, Morse, Carson
Fur trader John Jacob Astor made his fortune by expanding to the Pacific, dealing beaver and sea otter pelts from the fort his company founded on the Columbia River. American inventor Samuel Morse demonstrated his electromagnetic telegraph in 1844. By 1860, nearly 50,000 miles of telegraph wire stretched the United States between the east and west coasts.
Kit Carson worked as a saddle maker and laborer before heading west. He became a legendary trapper, guide and United States Army Officer. Though an advocate for native peoples and married to an Arapahoe woman, he helped wage a United States campaign against the Navajo.
And Others
Martha “Calamity Jane” Canary posed as a man and earned respect for her horseback riding, hunting, and shooting skills, which led to her role in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. After the discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill, merchant Samuel Brannon bought all the pickaxes, pans, and waders he could find and sold them by shouting, “Gold! Gold! Gold from the American River!” on the streets of San Francisco.
The Old West Legends
Legends include gunslingers, gold diggers, and the opening of the American West. This book depicts their lives and epic adventures. Revisit The Old West legends with National Geographic. Find out what really happened at these and other historical moments in the annals of American history.
“I am persuaded no constitution was ever before so well calculated as ours for extensive empire and self government.” — Thomas Jefferson
In The Old West legends, read accounts of the westward expansion, the War for the Plains, the gold rush, law and disorder. The Old West chronicles the early explorers, from the first wagon train to the last golden spike.
“The last rail is laid, the last spike is driven, the Pacific Railroad is finished.” – telegram to President Ulysses Grant, May 10, 1869
Shootouts and Revolts
The Bear Flag Revolt, when a small group of American settlers in California rebelled against Mexico and proclaimed California an independent republic. “Bloody Kansas,” an attack on pro-slavery men living along Pottawatomie Creek led by abolitionist John Brown.
The Sand Creek Massacre, an attack by United States troops on Chief Black Kettle and the Cheyenne. The Fetterman Ambush, inspired by Chief Red Cloud and led by the warrior Crazy Horse, when Lakotas lured eighty soldiers off the Bozeman Trail and annihilated them.
At the shootout at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona, the Earp brothers faced down cattle rustlers Ike and Billy Clanton, Tom and Frank McLaury, and Billy Claiborne.
The Old West Legends
The Old West legends include 320 pages and five chapters spanning the early 1800s to 1900s. There are 450 color and black-and-white photographs from the National Geographic archives. Historical and custom maps show the ever-changing states and territories, battle sites and conflicts. Little known facts revealed of United States history. Sidebars focus on social history, technology, biographies, natural history, eyewitness accounts, and historic sites.
The Old West by Stephen G. Hyslop … Amazon http://amzn.to/1PdHqM4 … Barnes and Noble http://bit.ly/1O9FglM
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Legends & Lies / The Real West
Legends and Lies / The Real West by Bill O’Reilly, an American TV series of the Old West legends, and companion book written by David Fisher
How did Davy Crockett save President Jackson’s life only to end up dying at the Alamo? Was the Lone Ranger based on a real lawman and was he an African American? What amazing detective work led to the capture of Black Bart, the “gentleman bandit” and one of the west’s most famous stagecoach robbers?
Did Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid really die in a hail of bullets in South America?
What Really Happened?
Generations of Americans have grown up on TV shows, movies and books about these western icons. However, what really happened in the Old West? This book claims to get history back on track. Provides an introduction for readers wanting to know more about a history that grew out of campfire tales and oral mythology.
Included in the book of the Old West Legends and Lies / The Real West are ten legends featured in Bill O’Reilly’s Legends and Lies docu-series. Kit Carson to Jesse James, Wild Bill Hickok to Doc Holliday, plus bonus chapters on Daniel Boone, Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley. The book aims to give realistic depictions and purports to debunk the myths. Therefore, it corrects the mis-truths attached to these famous Old West legends.
Instinct Mattered
According to this account of the Old West legends, instinct mattered more than education in frontier America. And courage often meant survival. Luck made a difference and legends were made. Artwork further brings this history to life. The stories are told in fast-paced, immersive narrative. Old West Legends and Lies is an irresistible, adventure-packed ride back into one of the most storied eras of the United States nation’s rich history.
Legends and Lies / The Real West on Amazon – http://amzn.to/1VGKKGv
Legends and Lies / The Real West at Bill O’Reilly’s website – http://bit.ly/1TVKjZt
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Bill O’Reilly was the anchor and political commentator for The O’Reilly Factor, the highest-rated cable news show in the country. He is the author of the mega-bestsellers Killing Lincoln, Killing Kennedy, Killing Jesus, and Killing Patton.
David Fisher is the author of eighteen New York Times bestsellers. His work appears in many major magazines and newspapers. He lives in New York with his wife, two sons, and a Chihuahua, Willy.
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Movie Recommend
A recommend on the Box Office Revolution site that Stephen Bly novels be made into movies. See it here: https://boxofficerevolution.wordpress.com/2017/08/10/an-introduction-to-stephen-bly/
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