Examines the ways in which the frontier myth influences American culture and politics, drawing on fiction, western films, and political writing

A fascinating new account of the life and legend of the Wild West's most notorious woman: Calamity Jane Martha Jane Canary, popularly known as Calamity Jane, was the pistol-packing, rootin' tootin' "lady wildcat" of the American West. Brave and resourceful, she held her own with the men of America's most colorful era and became a celebrity both in her own right and through her association with the likes of Wild Bill Hickok and Buffalo Bill Cody. In this engaging account, Karen Jones takes a fresh look at the story of this iconic frontierswoman. She pieces together what is known of Canary's life and shows how a rough and itinerant lifestyle paved the way for the scattergun, alcohol-fueled heroics that dominated Canary's career. Spanning Canary's rise from humble origins to her role as "heroine of the plains" and the embellishment of her image over subsequent decades, Jones shows her to be feisty, eccentric, transgressive--and very much complicit in the making of the myth that was Calamity Jane.

An Omnibus of Dime Novels from the Nineteenth Century. Once avidly devoured by youth across the States, these short novels are home to one of the greatest heroes in American literature, though his thrilling exploits are now sadly largely lost to time. Once upon a time, the adventures of Deadwood Dick, outlaw and Prince of the Road, were read by millions of boys, who awaited his next adventure hungrily. Originally published as weekly dime novels, these short novels are now being republished in a series of volumes, each containing 4 works by Edward L. Wheeler from the Deadwood Dick Library. The eponymous hero makes an appearance in many of the stories, though quite a few star other weird and interesting characters. Now you can own a piece of American literary history. This Volume, the fourth in the series, contains the dime novels: Buckhorn Bill; Or, The Red Rifle Team. A tale of Prairie Pirates, bootleg whisky, and one young man's quest to avenge his sister. Gold Rifle, The Sharpshooter; Or, the Boy Detective of the Black Ranch. A daring tale of rescue against the forces forces of the Black Ranch. Deadwood Dick on Deck; Or, Calamity Jane, the Heroine of Whoop-Up. Intrigue, revenge, and treachery in the mining town of Whoop-Up. Corduroy Charlie, the Boy Bravo; Or, Deadwood Dick's Last Act. In search of his treacherous wife, Deadwood Dick teams up with Old Avalanche and a cast of other interesting characters to take on the evil members of a cult that wishes to sacrifice them to its god. This work is not a cheap scan or the result of copying and pasting; It contains no missing pages, areas of blurred or missing text, photocopier's fingers, coffee stains, or other scanning artifacts. It has all of the original text , reformatted in an easy to read format. Note that this work contains terms and language in common use in the 19th century that some people may find offensive.