The way these people had to live is almost unbelivabl.The hardships and the frustrations were real.

In The Hollywood West: Lives Of Film Legends Who Shaped It, Richard Etulain and Blenda Riley have collaboratively assembled informative commentaries by eleven historians which dramatize the past century of "Hollywood Westerns" to reveal the real individuals behind the Western's greatest film heroes and heroines. Ranging from the Bronco Billy Anderson, William S. hart, and Tom Mix silent Westerns of heroic men on horseback with six-guns in their hands, to Gene Autry and Roy Rogers (the singing cowboys of the 1930s), to John Wayne and Gary Cooper style larger-than-life Western heroes of the 1940s, to female Western movie role models Barbara Stanwyck and Katy Jurado, and the Native American actors Jay Silverheels, Iron Eyes Cody, and Chief Dan George, The Hollywood West magnificently showcases some of the most influential characters and themes to have a lasting impact on American culture and popular imagination.

Wyatt Earp, Will Bill Hickok, Pat Garrett, Doc Holliday, Billy the Kid, and Jesse James are but a few of the legends of the Old West. With Bullets and Badges they come to life and the stories are remarkable and fascinating.

History has a way of distorting the truth and legends make the truth hard to find, this book takes out the legend and myth and bring you the story of some of the most famous and infamous men and women who have ever lived/

You'll read the way that lawmen "crossed" over the line to catch the "bad" guys, See how the Tombstone really was and how Wild Bill Hickok dies playing poker. The amazing thing about this book is how easy to read it was.

The style of the author makes this book a real pleasure to read. The book cleared up many misconceptions I had about the way the old west was run and those that lived during that time. A first class job and a must have for those interested in history.

The diaries published gave me some insight into how the pioneer women stabilized the home. Their lives were full of dreary mundane daily tasks that had to be done for survival. These women often looked at the migration to Iowa as a family opportunity to make a new life. Having grown up in Iowa, I can visualize Iowa as a new frontier and remember the culture I grew up with. The culture in Iowa of pitching in and helping the community grow has not changed.

The facts in this book seem complete and accurate. We learn that Annie Oakley did not deliberately lose a shooting match to Frank Butler as she did in "Annie Get Your Gun," a product of the unfeminist fifties.

The information on the trials of Oakley's early life was especially interesting. I felt the book bogged down when the author began trying to fit Oakley into a feminist straitjacket, relating everything she did and didn't do to its connection with women's rights. I also grew tired of hearing how sweet, feminine, and ladylike Oakley was.

This was one of the sources that I used for my college term paper. Glenda Riley is concise and simple in her explanations; she does not "wander" in explaining and includes an extensive index which makes this an invaluable scholastic reference. I would recommend this book to anyone who would like to quickly sort out the fact from the ficition of Annie Oakley.

I've read many spurious versions of Annie Oakley's life. Now I don't have to read another, because I've seen the real story as documented by Riley. Her scholarship is outstanding, and she analyses Oakley's role as symbol of the showbiz Western myth as well as her quiet, hardworking life behind the scenes. If you like the dramatic lies, this book is not for you. If you want a portrait of Oakley as a woman and a symbol, read this.