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The most famous cattle town of the trail-driving era, Dodge City, Kansas, holds a special allure for western historians and enthusiasts alike. Wm. B. Shillingberg now goes beyond the violence for which the town became notorious, more fully documenting its early history by uncovering the economic, political, and social forces that shaped Dodge.
The author cuts through legend and myth to depict a Dodge City that few people really know. He takes readers back to the southwestern Kansas frontier and traces a town's evolution from a military site for protecting Santa Fe commerce, to a wild and lawless buffalo hunters' rendezvous, to a regional freighting center and the primary shipping point for Texas cattle on the central plains. Amid all this activity a community sprang up in 1872 and was still stumbling toward maturity fourteen years later when the great herds no longer came. Shillingberg describes this transformation of place and purpose, along with its attendant political machinations and business fervor, revealing singular personalities, social turmoil, and a local economy in flux. Along the way, the book offers new perspectives on the Battle of Adobe Walls, the constant maneuvering of railroad moguls and cattle barons, and the exploits of such legendary figures as Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp.
Drawing on a wide range of primary sources, from city records to personal papers, Dodge City: The Early Years, 1872–1886 surpasses previous accounts of the town by depicting complex individuals and events in greater depth and detail. It shows us a community concerned with more than brothels, saloons, and gunplay. It will stand as the authoritative history of this quintessential western town.
| Price | Condition | Delivery | Seller | Action |
| $99.99 | Digital |
| WonderClub |
Victoria Dunn
reviewed Dodge City: The Early Years, 1872-1886, Vol. 23 on June 11, 2020
Dodge City: The Early Years, 1872-1886, Vol. 23
I decided to read this history after running across Mr. Shillingberg's demolition of the Buntline Special myth in the magazine of the Kansas Historical Society (originally published in 1976). This book lived up to my expectations. It's a careful, thorough examination of life in the 'Queen of the Cow Towns' during the short period of the Texas cattle drives. This is excellent example of good history written from primary sources. It's often exciting but also conveys that there was far more of the other realities of frontier life- hard work, boredom and drink, than gun play and pretty saloon girls. This is a fascinating look at the West as it was. The seeds of all the ideas and images that would be mythologized to create the Wild West are there, and they are often more interesting then their fictional imitations.
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Add Dodge City: The Early Years, 1872-1886, Vol. 23, The most famous cattle town of the trail-driving era, Dodge City, Kansas, holds a special allure for western historians and enthusiasts alike. Wm. B. Shillingberg now goes beyond the violence for which the town became notorious, more fully documenting its, Dodge City: The Early Years, 1872-1886, Vol. 23 to the inventory that you are selling on WonderClubX
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Add Dodge City: The Early Years, 1872-1886, Vol. 23, The most famous cattle town of the trail-driving era, Dodge City, Kansas, holds a special allure for western historians and enthusiasts alike. Wm. B. Shillingberg now goes beyond the violence for which the town became notorious, more fully documenting its, Dodge City: The Early Years, 1872-1886, Vol. 23 to your collection on WonderClub |