The Gunfighters

How Texas Made the West Wild

De: Bryan Burrough

Narrado por: Fred Sanders

“One hell of a good read.”—The New York Times

"One of the most important books written on the American West in many years."—True West Magazine

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Big Rich and Forget the Alamo comes an epic reconsideration of the time and place that spawned America’s most legendary gunfighters, from Jesse James and Billy the Kid to Butch and Sundance

The “Wild West” gunfighter is such a stock figure in our popular culture that some dismiss it all as a corny myth, more a product of dime novels and B movies than a genuinely important American history. In fact, as Bryan Burrough shows us in his dazzling and fast-paced new book, there’s much more below the surface. For three decades at the end of the 1800s, a big swath of the American West was a crucible of change, with the highest murder rate per capita in American history. The reasons behind this boil down to one word: Texas.

Texas was born in violence, on two fronts, with Mexico to the south and the Comanche to the north. The Colt revolver first caught on with the Texas Rangers. Southern dueling culture transformed into something wilder and less organized in the Lone Star State. The collapse of the Confederacy and the presence of a thin veneer of Northern occupiers turned the heat up further. And the explosion in the cattle business after the war took that violence and pumped it out from Texas across the whole of the West. The stampede of longhorn cattle brought with it an assortment of rustlers, hustlers, gamblers, and freelance lawmen who carried a trigger-happy honor culture into a widening gyre, a veritable blood meridian. When the first newspapermen and audiences discovered what good copy this all was, the flywheel of mythmaking started spinning. It’s never stopped.

The Gunfighters brilliantly sifts the lies from the truth, giving both elements their due. And the truth is sufficiently wild for any but the most unhinged tastes. All the legendary figures are here, and their escapades are told with great flair—good, bad, and ugly. Like all great stories, this one has a rousing end—as the railroads and the settlers close off the open spaces for good, the last of the breed, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, really do get on a boat for South America, ending their era in a blaze of glory. Burrough knits these histories together into something much deeper and more provocative than simply the sum of its parts. To understand the truth of the Wild West is to understand a crucial dimension of the American story.

©2025 Bryan Burrough (P)2025 Penguin Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“A captivating exploration of the Wild West, delving into the era of gunfighters with literary flair and historical depth . . . Burrough expertly separates fact from folklore . . . A fascinating work of history that challenges readers to reconsider the role of the West’s legendary gunfighters in shaping the identity of the United States.”—Library Journal (starred review)

“A treat for Western history buffs who don’t mind plenty of debunking along the way.”—Kirkus

“The Gunfighters has all the propulsive energy and high tension of a Wild-West yarn. But it has the distinction of being (mostly) true. Burrough takes on the mythic characters of the West with his characteristic wit, thoughtfulness, and eye for the absurd. He tells this story as only a loving—but conflicted—son of Texas could.”—Beverly Gage, John Lewis Gaddis Professor of History at Yale and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century

Lest we forget the things we did not remember.

Loved the footnotes and references. Big plus for the pace and enunciation making it a pleasurable listen for a septuagenarian.

Real history vs sugar coated history

I’ve read more books on the “old west” and been to the actual locations than most folks. I’m an avid western pulp artist Texan and I consume historical lore of that era constantly over my 53 years. I prefer my history without the sugar coating as many in these comments seem to prefer. This book separates the fact from myth and pulls NO punches with the truest accounts of what we know and what is assumed. There’s a lot we will never know and it does a fine job stating that fact.
The folks in the reviews bashing this book likes their myths Kentucky fried and Disney’d up. If you ain’t scared of the facts and logic you’ll like this book. The narrator does a fine job too.
Bravo Zulu

Pretty Good

It's a pretty good survey of the gunfighters in the "Wild West." It's generally well-written, but has a tendency at times to double back on itself. It also reads at times like a bibliography, with the author making book recommendations. Clearly, he borrows heavily from sources he finds reliable, and he seems to be a pretty good judge of that.

The narration is quite good.

Great read!

Loved the detailed versions of actual gun fights and the people involved. Highly recommend reading if you’re a history buff.

Hits the target

A very compelling book. The author tells the stories in an entertaining and informative way. Plus, Mr Burrough candidly describes his search for facts and gives credit to his sources. A refreshing approach to historical writing.

The debunking of romantized gunfighter stories

A great book, we'll written and engaging. I found the stories informative and eye opening.

Wasted my money on this one.

I purchased this book on the recommendation of the meateater podcast. I should not have. Rinella must have been in a deal to push this book by his publisher or something. I just can’t think of any other reason why he would say this book is good. It is chock full of anti southern and politically correct nonsense. I don’t want a lecture on how terrible the south and it’s citizens are. Nothing is new and the stories really are not that interesting. Lackluster storytelling I’d say. The reader is fine. That’s not the problem. The book is just not good.

Let's Blame the South

Many of his conclusions are a reach at best. Does tell some history that we seldom hear. One example, he claims Jesse James was not a good shot. I'v heard direct statements from Great Grandparents who lived close to a place where Jesse and Frank James suspended gourds as targets to shoot while riding horseback. His opinion is like noses, everyone has one. Not a bad listen all in all. Why I gave it a three. Take it with a grain of salt.

Its all Texas’ fault

The author doesn’t appear to care for anything southern or for most things Texan. Everything bad about Texas or Texans is because of Southern heritage. The reader does have a nice montone