The Old West has had a powerful impact on the concept of gentlemanly masculinity among Americans. To behave like a gentleman may mean little or much. To spend large sums of money like a gentleman may be of no great praise, but to conduct ones self like a gentleman implies a high standard even for those without financial means. For almost two centuries, the frontiersman has been a standard of rugged individualism and stoic bravery for the American male. Provider, protector, counselor, and knight errant to the weak or helpless, men on the frontier stood apart. Newspapers, Dime Novels, and Wild West Shows helped to form the popular view of Old West masculinity in the later 19th century. Novels and short stories served this purpose in the first half of the 20th century, but it was films and TV that cemented the image of the Old west that most post WWII Baby Boomers have today. The study of film and other media representations has been a particularly energetic field for masculinity research. However, western films are not so much about the West as they are about the Westerner. He stands alone, heroic, powerful, and seeking justice and order. The Westerner is the "last gentleman" and Westerns are "probably the last art form in which the concept of honor retains its strength." Directors and screenwriters, ultimately having overcome the simplistic shoot-em-up, used the genre to explore the pressing subjects of their day like racism, nationalism, capitalism, family, and honor, issues more deeply meshed with the concept of manliness than simply wearing a gun belt and Stetson hat. Fear not, Old West purists! For those traditionalists among you, these pages are filled with authentic designs, facts, weapons, and tales from the mid 1800s to the turn of the century and slightly beyond. Here are some of the roots of the most popular holsters, fashions, weapons, cartridges, and myths preferred by collectors and reenactors. So-called Cowboy Action enthusiasts, NRA members, and armchair generals will find sections of this work devoted to their hobbies, and while stodgy academics might cringe, Old West historians will have their obsessions somewhat mollified. Nonetheless, the current author grew up in the days of Shoot'em-up Saturdays at the movies, prime time TV Westerns, and those wondrous sights and sounds of Cowboy gunfights with cap guns on a hillside and Indian encounters on the pavement during a childhood when neither activity was considered politically incorrect. Few other authors in this genre have a resume that includes formal training in science, weapons, and horsemanship; nor have they actually been a horse wrangler, ridden in a troop of cavalry, and reenacted a mounted charge with dozens of others, Hollywood cameras running, revolvers or swords in hand. Nonetheless, there comes a time when we are all "too old and too fat to jump rail fences with horses" (True Grit) and must retire to our easy chairs to write. What follows is a serious (if a bit nostalgic) effort at history by a critically noted author and widely published historian with the proper credentials and practical experience to attempt to carry it off. Cling to your Bibles and to your guns, partner! Dudes need not apply.

This 19th-century self-defense manual—written by a master swordsman—will appeal to fencers and martial artists as well as fans of Victorian-era culture, steampunk, and American history Colonel Thomas Hoyer Monstery was a master swordsman who participated in more than fifty duels, fought under twelve flags, battled gangsters, and was constantly involved in the great conflicts and upheavals of his time. In the 1870s, he began writing his magnum opus—a series of newspaper articles that are now collected here for the first time in Self-Defense for Gentleman and Ladies. In this book, Colonel Monstery presents a unique look into the Victorian-era fighting world. He describes styles such as British “purring” (shin-kicking), Welsh jump-kicking, and American rough-and-tumble fighting, in addition to providing illustrated instruction in the art of gentlemanly self-defense with a cane, staff, or one’s bare hands. Fifty rare drawings and photographs from the period illuminate Monstery’s world, while an extensive glossary of terms and an introductory biography of Colonel Monstery—including fascinating details of his many duels as well as his groundbreaking devotion to teaching fencing and self-defense skills to women—update his text to make it accessible and useful to gentlemen and ladies of any era. Contents Colonel Thomas Hoyer Monstery: The Unknown American Martial Arts Master I. Introduction. II. The Logic of Boxing. III. Standing and Striking. IV. Advancing to Strike and Feinting. V. Simple Parries in Boxing. VI. Parries with Returns. VII. Effective or Counter Parries in Boxing. VIII. Offence and Defense by Evasions. IX. Trips, Grips, and Back-Falls. X. Rules for a Set-to with Gloves. XI. Observations on Natural Weapons. XII. The Use of the Cane. XIII. The Use of the Cane (continued). XIV. The Use of the Staff. XV. The Use of the Staff (continued). Appendix: Monstery's Rules for Contests of Sparring and Fencing Glossary

This is a practical self-defense guide targeted towards the untrained individual who desires to embody a warrior mentality, and learn how to survive vicious life and death situations with the principles and strategies of close quarters fighting. It was written by former Marine Corps infantry machine gunner and martial arts instructor Kyle Swinehart. The sole purpose of his self-defense guide is to increase your chances of surviving a violent assault to the maximum potential. This is not a style of martial arts; these fighting tactics are extremely violent in nature because they were born on the battlefield, and designed for combating the most savage and deadly encounters in real world scenarios. It combines human biological instincts with self-control to form a completely fluid fighting strategy that is perpetually changing based on your threat and the environment around you. In this warrior's manual, you will learn how your body responds in an emergency, and what you can do to prepare yourself for violent combat. Kyle will describe the advantages of embracing the chaos, and how to respond to being assaulted. You will learn about the systems that allow your body to function, and the most effective way to target these systems on your enemy and successfully shut them off during a physical confrontation. Kyle will use simple physics to demonstrate the importance of speed in motion, and how to produce these effects with your body in the most efficient way. You will learn about his Spartan Defense, a close quarters maneuver that will maximize your offensive and defensive capabilities. He will also cover the various ranges of fighting in combat, and the safest way to traverse between them. You will also read about several of the most quick and effective methods of quickly taking your opponent down in close quarters, and the best strategies for fighting multiple opponents. This self-defense guide also contains numerous escape and evasion tactics Kyle learned in the Marine Corps infantry. You will learn how to be a hard target, what to do when someone is following you, and how to survive being kidnapped. It also includes various methods of escaping the most common enemy restraints. Kyle also teaches what your objectives are when you are assaulted with a deadly weapon, and how you must respond to being seriously injured by your attacker. This incredibly informative self-defense guide is packed full of tactics and knowledge that can potentially save your life, and should be available to everyone. author_bio: Kyle Swinehart grew up in Elkhart, Indiana, where he would discover an affinity for martial arts and physics. Deciding at a very early age to enlist in the Marine Corps infantry, Kyle graduated from high school in 2008 and did just that. He served for five years as a Marine Corps infantry machine gunner and martial arts instructor, and fought in Afghanistan twice in the Battle for Marjah. It was his experience on the battlefield that developed and shaped his tactics and principles for surviving violent combat, and would become the foundation of his close quarters fighting strategy. Since leaving the Marine Corps, he has dedicated himself to sharing his unique perspective on combat operations, and teaching practical self-defense tactics and principles that will actually be helpful in real world scenarios. www.KyleSwinehart.com keywords: Self Defense, Attacker, Protection, Assault, Deadly Weapon, Warrior, Mentality, Life, Death, Survival, Marine, Fighting, Tactics "

A Coward's Guide to Self-Defense by David I. Marshall

The “fascinating” #1 New York Times bestseller that awakened the world to the destruction of American Indians in the nineteenth-century West (The Wall Street Journal). First published in 1970, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee generated shockwaves with its frank and heartbreaking depiction of the systematic annihilation of American Indian tribes across the western frontier. In this nonfiction account, Dee Brown focuses on the betrayals, battles, and massacres suffered by American Indians between 1860 and 1890. He tells of the many tribes and their renowned chiefs—from Geronimo to Red Cloud, Sitting Bull to Crazy Horse—who struggled to combat the destruction of their people and culture. Forcefully written and meticulously researched, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee inspired a generation to take a second look at how the West was won. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Dee Brown including rare photos from the author’s personal collection.