Steven Helmer Publications

Synopsis: This non-fiction book shares details of the various gun battles that took place in the American West, focusing both on outlaws and lawmen that either become legendary or were largely forgotten. Review: I came across this book at our local library a couple weeks ago and, even though it was a subject I didn't have much interest in, decided to check it out anyway. As it turns out, I enjoyed this book a lot more than expected. The author does a good job of mixing historical fact with storytelling, making it seem almost as though he was watching the gunbattles in person and making the various participants seem very much alive. This made the book a lot easier to read than if it was just a bunch of facts being written out on the page. I found I was impressed with the way the author also managed to be mostly unbiased when discussing the outlaws, focusing on their actions without necessarily painting them as heroes (as a lot of movies and books will do). In other words, even whe...