The Calamity Papers: Western Myths and Cold Cases

By Dale L. Walker

Book Overview

Spur Award-winning author, Dale L. Walker continues what he started in Legends and Lies , by uncovering the truth around some of the American West's most famous and infamous figures. Leaving no figure sacred and no stone unturned, Walker dives deep into some of the most enduring myths and legends of the Old West:*What was the real story behind the death of Meriwether Lewis - suicicide or homicide?*Did Pat Garrett really kill Billy the Kid, or did the Kid fake his own death and live to a ripe old age?*What was the real relationship between Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane?*And who was the woman who claimed to have proof that she was their daughter?*Was Jack London killed or did he take his own life?*Who burned Wolf House to the ground?Asking these and many more questions, The Calamity Papers sheds some necessary light on our history by taking a closer look at some its heroes.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0765308312
• ISBN13: 9780765308313
• Release Date: December 2004
• Publisher: Forge Books
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 1.0" x 5.3"

Customer Reviews

Piercing to the heart of some mysteries

Dale L. Walker probes a number of western mysteries in this highly readable and absorbing collection. Most of these matters have never been resolved and continue to fascinate those who enjoy the American West and its unique history. One of the joys of this book is that we come away from it with new clues, new possibilities. There are examinations of Meriwether Lewis's death and the question of murder or suicide; why Sam Houston's marriage apparently blew apart on his wedding night; the question of whether Montana's acting territorial governor Thomas Francis Meagher fell off a riverboat or was murdered; the enduring mystery of the murder of New Mexico attorney Albert Fountain and his son, and the unusual death of Pat Garrett, the man who shot Billy the Kid. There is also an examination of Calamity Jane and her alleged relationship to Wild Bill Hickok, and the strange case of the woman who claimed to be her daughter, and not least, the questions of whether Jack London's death was suicide or the result of an overdose of morphine and whether his great California home was torched by an arsonist. Walker is the best historical researcher in the business, and probes all these cases with a bulldog determination, which takes him into realms scarcely touched by other researchers. Add to that his judicious and careful construction of events, his avoidance of inserting his own intuitions into the narrative, and his remarkable gifts of narrative prose, and you have here a book of uncommon power and depth, written by a master detective and historian. This is absorbing literature, and strongly recommended.