Inspired by the shocking true story of the Gunfight at Hide Park, this blazing Western novel by Spur Award–winner Johnny D. Boggs takes readers back to that fateful summer in 1871—when Newton, Kansas, became “the wickedest town in the west” . . . BLOODY NEWTON A decade before the legendary Gunfight at OK Corral, there was a much bloodier showdown with a much bigger body count—and Wichita Herald reporter Cindy Bagwell was there to see it all. At first, the fledgling journalist had no idea why her boss would send her to what hardly even passes for a town. But Texans, including trail boss Gary Hardee and his sons, are bringing longhorns to Kansas. And Newton aims to take over the cattle market. Hardee has his hands full—and that’s before he reaches Newton, where Texans and Kansans don’t get along. Tensions escalate from fisticuffs to brawling to fatal shootings in short order. But that’s just a warm-up. On August 19, 1871, in a gambling room at Tuttle’s dance hall in Hide Park, this powder keg of bad blood and bitterness between two rival groups explodes—with one young reporter, a restaurant owner, and Hardee’s sons caught in the middle . . . This is the story of the deadliest gunfight in the American West. Of the passionate men and women who fought for a piece of the American Dream. And of the ultimate price they’d have to pay . . .
From nine-time Spur Award–winning Western author Johnny D. Boggs comes the incredible story of the biggest, longest, wildest cattle drive in America’s history—from the heart of Texas to New York City. . . . LONGHORNS EAST Tom Candy Ponting was no ordinary trail boss. He didn’t smoke, chew, cuss, or even carry a gun. Unlike his competitors, he learned how to herd cows on a farm back in England—and how to handle cowboys in bareknuckle prizefights. But his skills and know-how were really put to the test when he accepts a bet he might live to regret: lead a cattle drive from Texas to New York City. Not one to back down on a dare, Ponting assembles the motliest crew of cowboys ever seen—Texans, Englishmen, Mexicans, Freemen, Cherokee—and charts a course through the unfriendliest country to move seven hundred head of cattle, never easy in the best of times. Along the way, they’ll cross railroads and rustlers, hucksters and hustlers, with detours and dead ends aplenty. But if they succeed, the team will make more than just a whole lot of money. They will make history. . . . Inspired by the real-life adventures of legendary cattleman Tom Candy Ponting, Longhorns East takes readers on an unforgettable journey as big and bold as the America itself. “Boggs is unparalleled in evoking the gritty reality of the Old West.” —The Shootist “Johnny Boggs has produced another instant page-turner. . . . Don’t put down the book until you finish it.” —Tony Hillerman on Killstraight “Johnny D. Boggs tells a crisply powerful story that rings true more than two centuries after the bloody business was done.” —The Charleston (S.C.) Post and Courier on The Despoilers
After a priest is lynched, gunfighter Britton Wade is the only one left who can guarantee justice! In Santa Fe, Jeremiah Cole has been convicted and sentenced to hang for the lynching of a priest. Still, most people believe Cole will never be executed. He is the son of Senator Roman Cole, a man with both the wealth and political power to stop the hanging. The odds are so good that Jeremiah Cole will escape execution at Chama, where he must be taken to be hung, that a reward is offered to anyone who will successfully transport the prisoner. Britton Wade, a gunfighter and gambler, accepts the challenge. Wade’s reputation as a gunfighter might stop most people dead in their tracks, but that’s not likely to deter Senator Cole’s riders. To further complicate his mission, Britton Wade is in dire health, and doesn’t know just how much longer he has to live. The greatest mystery of all is that Wade doesn’t seem the least interested in the money. Why has Wade accepted such a dangerous challenge? What is he hiding from? Will he make it to Chama with the prisoner in tow alive? Río Chama is a nail-biting classic Western from a modern master of the genre. Skyhorse Publishing is proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in fiction that takes place in the old West. Westerns—books about outlaws, sheriffs, chiefs and warriors, cowboys and Indians—are a genre in which we publish regularly. Our list includes international bestselling authors like Zane Gray and Louis L’Amour, and many more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.
The South Carolina backcountry is no place for a young girl to grow up in the 1760s, but sixteen-year-old Emily Stewart wouldn’t have it any other way. She loves the settlement of Ninety Six where her father Breck Stewart runs a tavern with his family, including Emily’s embittered older brother, Donnan. But there’s much to fear, too. Gangs of murderers, thieves, and robbers terrorize the country with impunity. Pleas to the government in Charlestown fall on deaf ears. As the savagery continues, Breck Stewart is finally forced to take a stand, forming a vigilante group called the Cane Creek Regulators. The settlers take the law into their own hands—even though such an act will be considered treason and could land everyone riding with the vigilantes in a colonial prison—or on the gallows.
Sam Houston is a living legend in 1861. The hero of the Battle of San Jacinto, he had defeated Santa Anna to win independence for Texas back in 1836. He had twice served as president of the Republic of Texas, helped Texas join the Union, and served as senator and governor of Texas. Before settling in Texas, he had been a hero of the Creek War and governor of Tennessee. He had been friends with Andrew Jackson and Davy Crockett, and had been adopted into the Cherokee tribe, whose rights he had often defended and who had named him the Raven. Yet now, approaching seventy years of hard living, he finds everything he has fought for being torn asunder. Texas is joining the Confederacy, and Houston, a Unionist who has been cast out as governor, quickly loses power, prestige, and friends. He could hide in retirement, but such is not the way of a warrior. The Raven prepares for his most important fight yet. He knows this battle will test his endurance and faith. He knows he will need his wife, Margaret, to save him from his own worst enemy—himself. And he knows this war, which will pit brother against brother, will also try to divide Houston’s family. What he doesn’t know yet is that he will find help from long-dead friends and enemies to help him sort out his life and restore his honor. Johnny D. Boggs, among the most honored Western writers of the twenty-first century, brings one of Texas’ greatest heroes to life, warts and all, in a character study and love story of a man fighting for his country and legacy—but mostly for his family.
Fifteen-year-old Evan Kendrick has traveled from New Mexico Territory to Galveston with his father, Edward, who will be competing in a horse race that’s offering a $3,000 prize to the winner. But a terrible accident seriously injures Evan’s drunken father, forcing Evan to saddle up instead. This is no ordinary race. Running from Texas to New England, its course is eighteen hundred miles—maybe even longer—and Evan will be riding a barely half-broke mustang stallion that he and his father caught. He’ll be competing against all breeds of horses, ridden by professionals and amateurs from across the world. Although Evan has learned a lot about horses from his father, Edward has also taught his son that horses are good for nothing—“You ride one to death, you get another and do the same.” Luckily, but somewhat reluctantly, the race’s chief veterinarian, Patrick Jack, takes Evan under his wing. But a horse doctor can teach a hot-headed teenager only so much. For six weeks, Evan Kendrick will learn a lot about horses, riding, friendship, life—and himself. He’ll form alliances with two of his competitors, a Negro Seminole Indian scout named Dindie Remo and a hard-drinking young woman, Arena Lancaster, whose life has been harder than even young Evan’s. Evan will make enemies, too. He’ll see new country, and he’ll discover what America can offer, both good and bad. But to win this race—to even survive it—Evan will have to put his trust in a tough stallion the color of trader’s whiskey: a mustang named Taos Lightning.
Tormented by Southern partisans, Missouri farm boy Caleb Cole joins the Union’s Eighteenth Missouri. About the same time, down on the Texas coast, violin-playing Ryan McCalla, from a well-to-do family, enlists in the Confederacy’s Second Texas—mainly in the spirit of adventure—with some friends. The two teenagers are about to grow up quickly. Fate will bring the two together—along with a teenage girl from Corinth, Mississippi, when the Confederate and Union armies clash at Shiloh, Tennessee, and then again in the town of Corinth. They will learn that war is far from glorious.
From a Spur Award–winning author of the Five Star Western Series comes a thrilling tale of James clan. Outlaws Frank and Jesse James eluded capture for 16 years and became folk heroes. In 1882, after Jesse was killed by Bob, Frank surrendered and faced trial for murder. How could Missouri convict a man so popular that the governor almost needed an appointment to visit him in jail? William Wallace had already imprisoned one member of the untouchable James Gang. Now his case rested on the word of a scoundrel and defied those who would kill to protect Frank James. The defense would paint the Shakespeare-quoting robber as an honorable family man and victim of mistaken identity, endlessly persecuted by the hated railroads. Inside an opera house, the circus like trial would decide if James senselessly murdered a young stonemason during the 1881 Winston train robbery. Perhaps the larger question was if Missouri was ruled by the arm of the law—or the arm of the bandit.
Seventeen-year-old Silver King dreams of becoming a working cowboy. His mother, however, has pushed him to be a baseball player—and King certainly has the arm to be a star pitcher. When the National League forms a team in Kansas City in 1886, both mother and son get their wishes.
Sports on Film takes readers behind the scenes of how movies get made and puts them in the stands for some of the key moments in sports in America. Sports on Film documents key events in American sports history through the films that depict them, starting with the integration of major-league baseball when Jackie Robinson signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Other significant events and personalities examined include the college basketball point-shaving incident of the 1950s; journalist George Plimpton's attempt to go through the Detroit Lions' NFL training camp in the early 1960s; the originations and popularity of rodeo; the brief run of women's professional baseball during World War II; the underdog racehorse Seabiscuit during the Great Depression; the rise of African American boxer Muhammad Ali; the unique 1970s "Battle of the Sexes" tennis event between Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King; and Ford Motor Company's run in the 1960s to take motorsports to Europe's premier event in Le Mans, France.
“Boggs is among the best Western writers at work today. He writes with depth, flavor, and color.” —Booklist Young Comanches Daniel Killstraight and Charles Flint have been called to Texas. Captain Pratt will be giving a talk on the transformations brought about by the Carlisle Industrial School, of which Killstraight and Flint are shining examples. They’ll be joining a Comanche delegation led by Quanah Parker, who will be negotiating grasslands leases—until blown-out gas lamps in Quanah Parker’s room kill a Comanche chief and put Parker in a coma. But the question of who tried to murder Quanah Parker is not an easy one. He had many enemies among both native and white men. Daniel attempts to unravel the mystery while fulfilling his original purpose in Texas—to support Captain Pratt’s talk. But he doesn’t know who to trust, especially as the list of suspects begins to dwindle. Will Killstraight figure out who is after Quanah Parker? Can the land disputes of the People be resolved? And will justice be served by the anti-Indian townspeople? Find out in Johnny D. Boggs’s novel Kill the Indian.
In 1913, on the fiftieth anniversary of the Lawrence, Kansas, Massacre, former bushwhacker Cole Younger stands before a preacher at a tent revival. “I was, I remain, and I will always be a wicked man,” Younger states, taking a step toward salvation. And for a man like Cole Younger, there is much to confess.
Saddle tramp Sam MacKinnon is in trouble. Double-crossed by his partners after robbing a saloon and gambling hall, MacKinnon has been left behind in the mountains of southern New Mexico with busted ribs, a banged-up head, no gun, and no horse. And no chance—because aging lawman Nelson Bookbinder and his Mescalero Apache scout, Nikita—both made legendary by dime novels MacKinnon has read—are leading a small posse hot in pursuit of the bandits. Miraculously, MacKinnon escapes the law, finds his horse and rifle, and, despite his injuries, sets out on the vengeance trail. But fate has something else in mind for Sam MacKinnon. Miles away in the desert furnace between Ruidoso and Roswell, nineteen-year-old Katie Callahan has troubles of her own. Her mother has died of tuberculosis, and her worthless stepfather has abandoned the family, leaving Katie with her younger sister and five-year-old stepbrother, a busted wagon, a blind mule, little water and food, and her mother’s body that needs to be buried. When the wounded MacKinnon rides into that camp, he’s faced with a choice. Fate, however, still has a few other surprises in mind for the saddle tramp, the young woman, MacKinnon’s partners, and even that aging New Mexico lawman. Inspired by Pasó Por Aquí, the classic 1926 novella written by Eugene Manlove Rhodes—“The Bard of the Tularosa”—and filmed as Four Faces West (1948), seven-time Spur Award winner Johnny D. Boggs tells a story of the detours, road blocks, and sidetracks along the journeys to justice, love, vengeance, and redemption.
William Clarke Quantrill was a hated name during the War between the States by the Federals of the Union Army as well as by many non-combatants. Even the high command of the Confederacy distrusted him. But there were others who were passionate sympathizers. He was both friend and mentor‚ but also manipulator and opportunist. Alistair Durant was someone who came to know him in all these guises. Durant was a young Confederate soldier‚ captured by the Yankees‚ and released when he took an oath never again to bear arms against the Union. He had a long walk back to his home in Clay County, Missouri. It is on this trek that Alistair meets another youngster‚ Beans Kimbrough. The two become companions and then friends on the way to Clay County, and it is there that Beans will introduce Alistair to a man calling himself Charley Hart. Hart has a fantastic plan—to organize a militia to fight against the Federals.
A powerful, trailblazing adventure inspired by the harrowing true story of the1866 cattle drive from Texas to Montana—and the legendary man who dared the impossible . . . A THOUSAND TEXAS LONGHORNS The Civil War is over. The future of the American West is up for grabs. Any man crazy enough to lead a herd of Texas longhorns to the north stands to make a fortune—and make history. That man would be Nelson Story. A bold entrepreneur and miner, he knows a golden opportunity when he sees one. But it won’t be easy. Cowboys and bandits got guns, farmers got sick livestock, and the Army’s got their own reasons to stop the drive. Even worse, Story’s top hand is an ornery Confederate veteran who used to be his enemy. But all that is nothing compared to the punishing weather, the deadly stampedes—and the bloodthirsty wrath of the Sioux… This is the incredible saga of a man named Story. A true legend of the Old West. And the ever-beating heart of the American Dream. “Boggs is unparalleled in evoking the gritty reality of the Old West.” —The Shootist “Johnny Boggs has produced another instant page-turner. . . . Don’t put down the book until you finish it.” —Tony Hillerman on Killstraight “Johnny D. Boggs tells a crisply powerful story that rings true more than two centuries after the bloody business was done.” —The Charleston (S.C.) Post and Courier on The Despoilers
Boggs is unparalleled in evoking the gritty reality of the Old West." --The Shootist An Unholy Alliance Micah Bishop doesn't believe in miracles--until a derringer-packing nun busts him out of jail. But it's not Christian charity that's driving Sister Genevieve--she wants Micah to take her to a place called the Valley of Fire, deep in the most lawless and perilous part of New Mexico Territory. It was here where an order of nuns met their Maker, and it's Sister Genevieve's mission to see that they are given a proper funeral. Or so she claims. Micah's not in the habit of helping nuns, but it turns out the only true vow Genevieve ever took was to get rich--and there's a fortune in gold buried along with the sisters. With kill-crazy bandits and blood-hunting bounty hunters after them, it'll take a miracle to reach the Valley of Fire, let alone get the gold. But sometimes, the Almighty does work in mysterious ways. . . "Johnny Boggs has produced another instant page-turner. . .don't put down the book until you finish it." --Tony Hillerman on Killstraight "Johnny D. Boggs tells a crisply powerful story that rings true more than two centuries after the bloody business was done." --The Charleston (S.C.) Post and Courier on The Despoilers Raves For The Westerns Of Johnny D. Boggs "Another dramatic story by a finalist for the Spur award of Western Writers of America." --Amarillo Globe-News (on Once They Wore the Gray) "An entertaining western in the classic mold. The characters possess enough human frailty to be believable, the author includes interesting stuff on the weaponry of the times, and there is enough gunplay to satisfy genre purists." --Booklist on Ten and Me "Boggs has once more written a humdinger of a book with wonderful characters, even the villains. The Despoilers tears at one's heart, which is what really good fiction should do." --Roundup on The Despoilers "Boggs' unique approach to the Lincoln County War's legal skirmishing is both eye-opening and memorable." --True West on Law of the Land ". . . a finely crafted historical novel with fully developed characters playing out their lives against the backdrop of early Texas settlement." --American Cowboy on Spark on the Prairie "Boggs delivers a colorful, clever and arresting tale." --Santa Fe New Mexican on Camp Ford
Boggs is among the best western writers at work today." --Booklist "Boggs is unparalleled in evoking the gritty reality of the Old West." --The Shootist ‘Til Death Do Us Part Stranded in the Mojave Desert, Micah Bishop is about to cash in his chips for good when he's rescued by an unlikely savior. Whip Watson is hand-delivering two dozen brides to the silver boom town of Calico, where miners are going loco for companionship. Better still, Watson asks Micah if he'd help escort the wagons--and far be it for Micah to pass up both cash and some very pretty faces. But Micah doesn't know that Whip Watson has some killer competition. Candy Crutchfield is racing to get to Calico first with her own maids-in-waiting. Neither Watson or Crutchfield are going to back down. Both are willing to kill to beat the competition. Now, Micah is going to find out just how far he'll go for a buck. Because these "wives" aren't what they seem. And they're all about to be delivered straight into a living hell. . . "Johnny Boggs has produced another instant page-turner. . .don't put down the book until you finish it."--Tony Hillerman on Killstraight "Johnny D. Boggs tells a crisply powerful story that rings true more than two centuries after the bloody business was done."--The Charleston (S.C.) Post and Courier on The Despoilers Raves For The Westerns Of Johnny D. Boggs "Another dramatic story by a finalist for the Spur award of Western Writers of America." --Amarillo Globe-News (on Once They Wore the Gray) "An entertaining western in the classic mold. The characters possess enough human frailty to be believable, the author includes interesting stuff on the weaponry of the times, and there is enough gunplay to satisfy genre purists." --Booklist on Ten and Me "Boggs has once more written a humdinger of a book with wonderful characters, even the villains. The Despoilers tears at one's heart, which is what really good fiction should do." --Roundup on The Despoilers "Boggs' unique approach to the Lincoln County War's legal skirmishing is both eye-opening and memorable." --True West on Law of the Land "A finely crafted historical novel with fully developed characters playing out their lives against the backdrop of early Texas settlement." --American Cowboy on Spark on the Prairie "Boggs delivers a colorful, clever and arresting tale." --Santa Fe New Mexican on Camp Ford
More than a history of Western movies, The American West on Film intertwines film history, the history of the American West, and American social history into one unique volume. The American West on Film chronicles 12 Hollywood motion pictures that are set in the post–Civil War American West, including The Ox-Bow Incident, Red River, High Noon, The Searchers, The Magnificent Seven, Little Big Man, and Tombstone. Each film overview summarizes the movie's plot, details how the film came to be made, the critical and box-office reactions upon its release, and the history of the time period or actual event. This is followed by a comparison and contrast of the filmmakers' version of history with the facts, as well as an analysis of the film's significance, then and now. Relying on contemporary accounts and historical analysis as well as perspectives from filmmakers, historians, and critics, the author describes what it took to get each movie made and how close to the historical truth the movie actually got. Readers will come away with a better understanding of how movies often reflect the time in which they were made, and how Westerns can offer provocative social commentary hidden beneath old-fashioned "shoot-em-ups.
Micah Bishop is busted out of jail by a gun-toting nun who wants him to travel with her into the most lawless part of New Mexico Territory, in order to give some of her fellow nuns a proper burial--and find the gold that they share the ground with. Original.
Inspired by the shocking true story of the Gunfight at Hide Park, this blazing Western novel by Spur Award–winner Johnny D. Boggs takes readers back to that fateful summer in 1871—when Newton, Kansas, became “the wickedest town in the west” . . . BLOODY NEWTON A decade before the legendary Gunfight at OK Corral, there was a much bloodier showdown with a much bigger body count—and Wichita Herald reporter Cindy Bagwell was there to see it all. At first, the fledgling journalist had no idea why her boss would send her to what hardly even passes for a town. But Texans, including trail boss Gary Hardee and his sons, are bringing longhorns to Kansas. And Newton aims to take over the cattle market. Hardee has his hands full—and that’s before he reaches Newton, where Texans and Kansans don’t get along. Tensions escalate from fisticuffs to brawling to fatal shootings in short order. But that’s just a warm-up. On August 19, 1871, in a gambling room at Tuttle’s dance hall in Hide Park, this powder keg of bad blood and bitterness between two rival groups explodes—with one young reporter, a restaurant owner, and Hardee’s sons caught in the middle . . . This is the story of the deadliest gunfight in the American West. Of the passionate men and women who fought for a piece of the American Dream. And of the ultimate price they’d have to pay . . .
Boggs is among the best western writers at work today." --Booklist "Boggs is unparalleled in evoking the gritty reality of the Old West." --The Shootist ‘Til Death Do Us Part Stranded in the Mojave Desert, Micah Bishop is about to cash in his chips for good when he's rescued by an unlikely savior. Whip Watson is hand-delivering two dozen brides to the silver boom town of Calico, where miners are going loco for companionship. Better still, Watson asks Micah if he'd help escort the wagons--and far be it for Micah to pass up both cash and some very pretty faces. But Micah doesn't know that Whip Watson has some killer competition. Candy Crutchfield is racing to get to Calico first with her own maids-in-waiting. Neither Watson or Crutchfield are going to back down. Both are willing to kill to beat the competition. Now, Micah is going to find out just how far he'll go for a buck. Because these "wives" aren't what they seem. And they're all about to be delivered straight into a living hell. . . "Johnny Boggs has produced another instant page-turner. . .don't put down the book until you finish it."--Tony Hillerman on Killstraight "Johnny D. Boggs tells a crisply powerful story that rings true more than two centuries after the bloody business was done."--The Charleston (S.C.) Post and Courier on The Despoilers Raves For The Westerns Of Johnny D. Boggs "Another dramatic story by a finalist for the Spur award of Western Writers of America." --Amarillo Globe-News (on Once They Wore the Gray) "An entertaining western in the classic mold. The characters possess enough human frailty to be believable, the author includes interesting stuff on the weaponry of the times, and there is enough gunplay to satisfy genre purists." --Booklist on Ten and Me "Boggs has once more written a humdinger of a book with wonderful characters, even the villains. The Despoilers tears at one's heart, which is what really good fiction should do." --Roundup on The Despoilers "Boggs' unique approach to the Lincoln County War's legal skirmishing is both eye-opening and memorable." --True West on Law of the Land "A finely crafted historical novel with fully developed characters playing out their lives against the backdrop of early Texas settlement." --American Cowboy on Spark on the Prairie "Boggs delivers a colorful, clever and arresting tale." --Santa Fe New Mexican on Camp Ford
An American original, the great Johnny D. Boggs weaves a Texas-sized tale of an 1880s badlands--under the grasp of a lawman gone rogue. . . In For Justice In For The Kill Between the Pecos River and Rio Grande a vast, harsh land was ruled by Texas Rangers Captain Hector Savage. Savage's motive wasn't duty, it was money; he's turned this desolate place into a bloodied, terrorized kingdom. Now, a protégé of Savage, Sergeant Dave Chance, has come with a prisoner--a big-talking murderer in his own right--shackled at his side. A decent, honest Ranger, Chance cannot stand idly by while Savage runs roughshod over the territory. Now, to save a traumatized people, he must turn his prisoner loose and give him a gun. Only their combined firepower can penetrate Savage's fortress and kill him. That is, if they don't kill each other first. . . "Johnny Boggs has produced another instant page-turner. . .don't put down the book until you finish it." --Tony Hillerman on Killstraight "Johnny D. Boggs tells a crisply powerful story that rings true more than two centuries after the bloody business was done." --The Charleston (S.C.) Post and Courier on The Despoilers "Boggs is unparalleled in evoking the gritty reality of the Old West." --The Shootist
Three 12-year-olds, two notorious gunfighters, a half-crazed albino, and a grieving widow vie for $30,000 in gold coins, buried 20 years ago in treacherous Doubtful Caon. Winner of the 2008 Spur Award.
Weather and creaking joints permitting, Jim Hawkins could be found every weekend sitting in that rocker right outside the Manix Store in Augusta, whittling and spitting. But Jim Hawkins didn’t say much. Few knew what age Jim Hawkins might own up to, but Big Clem Ellis said he’d heard that Jim Hawkins was fifty years old, which might explain why his hair was so gray, or why he needed a scarred hickory cane to push himself out of that rocking chair, especially when it got cold, and it got bitter cold in Augusta. Especially the past winter. Folks figured the Chinooks would never get there, and the warm winds didn’t arrive in time for many farmers. Come spring, homesteaders by the score gave up, saying good-bye to their mortgages, the unforgiving wind, and forlorn dreams. Still, Jim Hawkins said hardly anything. Ever. That’s how Henry Lancaster felt. That all changed when Jim Hawkins took Henry along on a scouting trip. The man who so rarely talked told his grandson how it was during that winter he could so clearly remember, the winter of 1866. Now that was a hard winter, harder than anyone living could remember, and harder than any winter since
Winner of the 2017 Spur Award for Best Paperback Western “Boggs is unparalleled in evoking the gritty reality of the Old West.” —The Shootist Red River is one of the greatest westerns ever told, a novel that that became the classic John Wayne movie in 1948. Now award-winning Johnny D. Boggs presents a powerful follow-up—destined to be a western masterpiece in its own right. RETURN TO RED RIVER Mathew Garth was orphaned in a savage wagon train ambush and adopted by Red River hero Thomas Dunson. Twenty years later Matt has two strapping sons of his own and is undertaking a desperate cattle drive from Texas to Dodge City, the new queen of frontier cattle towns. While the deadly dangers of storms and rustlers gather around them, an act of passion and violence from within the drive—and from within the Garth family—leaves Matt fighting for his life, close to where his father was buried by the Red River. When Matt gets back up, he must finish the drive and fight his worst enemies—and even his own blood kin before it ends in a battle of guns, tears, and justice. “Johnny Boggs has produced another instant page-turner...don’t put down the book until you finish it.” —Tony Hillerman on Killstraight “Johnny D. Boggs tells a crisply powerful story that rings true more than two centuries after the bloody business was done.” —The Charleston (S.C.) Post and Courier on The Despoilers
An American original, the great Johnny D. Boggs weaves a Texas-sized tale of an 1880s badlands--under the grasp of a lawman gone rogue. . . In For Justice In For The Kill Between the Pecos River and Rio Grande a vast, harsh land was ruled by Texas Rangers Captain Hector Savage. Savage's motive wasn't duty, it was money; he's turned this desolate place into a bloodied, terrorized kingdom. Now, a protégé of Savage, Sergeant Dave Chance, has come with a prisoner--a big-talking murderer in his own right--shackled at his side. A decent, honest Ranger, Chance cannot stand idly by while Savage runs roughshod over the territory. Now, to save a traumatized people, he must turn his prisoner loose and give him a gun. Only their combined firepower can penetrate Savage's fortress and kill him. That is, if they don't kill each other first. . . "Johnny Boggs has produced another instant page-turner. . .don't put down the book until you finish it." --Tony Hillerman on Killstraight "Johnny D. Boggs tells a crisply powerful story that rings true more than two centuries after the bloody business was done." --The Charleston (S.C.) Post and Courier on The Despoilers "Boggs is unparalleled in evoking the gritty reality of the Old West." --The Shootist
In their sixth adventure, Hannah Scott and Pete Belissari travel to Marfa so that orphan Cynthia can go to a "real" dentist and if Pete has his way, he and Hannah can have a nice spin and maybe share a kiss at the fall dance. But nothing ever goes according to plan for these reluctant heroes. Cynthia is kidnapped by an escaped Apache prisoner--He Who Chops Off The Heads Of His Enemies, "Hector" for short--and Hannah and the horseman join a motley posse in hot pursuit. This odyssey takes Pete and Hannah across Texas and high into the mountains of western New Mexico, where Pete is left for dead and Hannah is captured by Hector as he seeks to join a fleeing band of Apaches.
The rancher, Hannah Scott, who also operates an orphanage, starts a stagecoach business with her fiance, the cultured cowboy, Pete Belissari. But a woman gambler launches a rival operation and guns blaze.
Boggs is unparalleled in evoking the gritty reality of the Old West --The Shootist Johnny D. Boggs is one of America's great Western writers--mixing adventure and realism with a torrid storytelling style all his own. In 1880's Arizona Territory, a good man goes bad--but for the best of all reasons. . . He's Got One Chance To Live. . .And A Hundred Ways To Die Deputy U.S. Marshal Reilly McGilvern is hauling criminals to Yuma when his prison wagon is attacked, and McGilvern is left locked inside to die. When another outlaw gang comes upon the scene, Reilly McGilvern thinks he's lived to see another day. . .but his problems are just beginning. Bloody Jim Pardo wants to avenge the Civil War--and to steal the kind of weapons that will let him do it. Riding with his mother, his trusted killers and two hostages, Pardo thinks McGilvern is a fearsome criminal. Now, to stop Jim Pardo's bloody madness, McGilvern needs to play his part perfectly. And when the time comes, make every shot a killing shot. . . "Johnny Boggs has produced another instant page-turner. . .don't put down the book until you finish it." --Tony Hillerman on Killstraight "Boggs is among the best western writers at work today." --Booklist
For Sergeant Gil Metairie and other Confederate prisoners during the War Between the States, life in captivity was more dangerous than fighting in the front lines. Every day brought more casualties from weakness or disease. The deplorable conditions forced many prisoners--including Gil--to become "Galvanized Yankees," former Confederate soldiers who joined the Union Army to fight Indians out west. But life on the frontier was no easier for Gil and the others. They soon learned that no one there was glad to see them.
Charles Dennis Tenedore Keough, a hard-drinking, compulsive dentist, gambler, lawman, and outlaw, who sounds a little like a Doc Holliday clone. Western.
A Spur Award-winning AuthorThe side-wheel steamboat Mittie Stephens was lost on a dark night in February 1869 on Caddo Lake near the Texas-Louisiana border. Of the 107 people on board, sixty-one perished. Unbeknownst to almost all of them, the Mittie Stephens had been selected by the army to secretly transport a payroll in gold. In pursuit of its cargo, a group of ex-Confederates worked out an elaborate strategy to seize the boat.
Western Heritage Wrangler Award-winning author. Spur Award-winning author. "Boggs's narrative voice captures the old- fashioned style of the past and reminds a reader of the derring-do of western legends of yesteryear." – Publishers Weekly. "Boggs is among the best western writers at work today." – Booklist. On September 15, 1881, a general court-martial was convened at Fort Davis, Texas, to try Second Lieutenant H. O. Flipper, an officer in the 10th Cavalry of the U.S. Army, with charges of embezzlement and conduct unbefitting an officer. Flipper was a former slave, and the only black man to graduate from West Point. He had always conducted himself with honor as an officer and a gentleman. Army attorney Captain Merrit Barber, believes that the charges brought against Lt. Flipper are nothing but a conspiracy on the part of a small group of officers whose purpose is to remove from their midst the only black officer in the U.S. Army. Johnny D. Boggs, winner of the most prestigious awards in Western fiction, has written more than 25 books, and is considered one of the top writers of frontier fiction today.
Winner of the 2017 Spur Award for Best Paperback Western “Boggs is unparalleled in evoking the gritty reality of the Old West.” —The Shootist Red River is one of the greatest westerns ever told, a novel that that became the classic John Wayne movie in 1948. Now award-winning Johnny D. Boggs presents a powerful follow-up—destined to be a western masterpiece in its own right. RETURN TO RED RIVER Mathew Garth was orphaned in a savage wagon train ambush and adopted by Red River hero Thomas Dunson. Twenty years later Matt has two strapping sons of his own and is undertaking a desperate cattle drive from Texas to Dodge City, the new queen of frontier cattle towns. While the deadly dangers of storms and rustlers gather around them, an act of passion and violence from within the drive—and from within the Garth family—leaves Matt fighting for his life, close to where his father was buried by the Red River. When Matt gets back up, he must finish the drive and fight his worst enemies—and even his own blood kin before it ends in a battle of guns, tears, and justice. “Johnny Boggs has produced another instant page-turner...don’t put down the book until you finish it.” —Tony Hillerman on Killstraight “Johnny D. Boggs tells a crisply powerful story that rings true more than two centuries after the bloody business was done.” —The Charleston (S.C.) Post and Courier on The Despoilers
Pity Hannah Scott and Pete Belissari. Just when things should be settling down for our young heroes, along comes befuddled dime novelist L. Merryweather Handal with a job proposition too good to be true. So Hannah and Pete, along with sharpshooting Buddy Pecos, hire on to show Handal's group of European visitors the Wild West. And things certainly get wildÑbecause no one in this troupe is whom he or she appears to be and soon tempers are flaring, fists are swinging, bullets are flying, and Pete is charged with murder. Of course, fans of this fanciful comedy-western series know that when things get rotten, when bad guys look to be winning, and when all appears hopeless...this is a job for Hannah and the horseman.
“Boggs is among the best Western writers at work today. He writes with depth, flavor, and color.” —Booklist “Boggs' narrative voice captures the old-fashioned style of the past.” —Publishers Weekly Against the backdrop of the War for Independence, two intriguing storylines emerge. Stuart Brodie is a black freedman from Charles Town who owns a tavern in the backcountry of South Carolina. On his return from the war, he finds his younger brother, Ezekiel, hanging from the limb of a tree, his tavern burned to the ground, and a note warning any passerby that this is what lies in store for all Tories. Knowing that the guilty party was allied with the Colonial Patriots, Brodie decides to join the British Army under the command of Major Patrick Ferguson to exact his revenge. Marty McKidrict, born Martha Anne Sinclair, is often abused by her drunk husband, Sebastian McKidrict. One day, she is raped by him and his friend, and left to recover alone. While dressed in men's clothing, Marty is mistaken for Sebastian by a recruiter for the Patriots’ army, and promptly uses this to her advantage to join the colonial forces and escape. Meanwhile, the Patriots are gathering backcountry fighters for an open confrontation with the British troops under Major Patrick Ferguson. This Ghost Legion is growing steadily, and because the British do not believe the legion exists or refuse to acknowledge their strength, a bloody conflict looms on the horizon. Skyhorse Publishing is proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in fiction that takes place in the old West. Westerns—books about outlaws, sheriffs, chiefs and warriors, cowboys and Indians—are a genre in which we publish regularly. Our list includes international bestselling authors like Zane Gray and Louis L’Amour, and many more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.
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