Jack London, one of the most read and recognized figures in American literature, produced an immense body of work, including 22 novels, 200 short stories, memoirs, newspaper articles, book reviews, essays, and poems. A significant and revealing feature of London's literary life lies in his introspective observations on the craft of writing, brought together in this collection of essays, reviews, letters, and autobiographical writings. London's public role as a daring, carefree man of action has obscured the shrewd, disciplined, and methodical writer whose practical reflections and meditations on his profession provide a vivid portrait of the literary industry in turn-of-the-century America. For this edition, a significant amount of new material has been added.
"Reviews of the First Edition"
"Dale Walker has rendered a valuable service in his painstaking collection of London's writings about writers. He has included 43 selections, 20 of which are previously uncollected: 13 essays, and excerpts from London's two autobiographical works. The result is a remarkably comprehensive view of London 'the writer's writer.'"
--"American Literary Realism"
"An absorbing account of how hard the writer worked to learn his craft. . . . We find a master prose stylist concerned with problems of selectivity and concrete issues of tone, form, atmosphere, and point of view."
--"Modern Philology"
"A remarkable collection. . . . This is a firsthand look at a writer's honest and forthright opinions on his craft."
--"Los Angeles Times"

Jack London, one of the most read and recognized figures in American literature, produced an immense body of work, including 22 novels, 200 short stories, memoirs, newspaper articles, book reviews, essays, and poems. A significant and revealing feature of London's literary life lies in his introspective observations on the craft of writing, brought together in this collection of essays, reviews, letters, and autobiographical writings. London's public role as a daring, carefree man of action has obscured the shrewd, disciplined, and methodical writer whose practical reflections and meditations on his profession provide a vivid portrait of the literary industry in turn-of-the-century America. For this edition, a significant amount of new material has been added.
"Reviews of the First Edition"
"Dale Walker has rendered a valuable service in his painstaking collection of London's writings about writers. He has included 43 selections, 20 of which are previously uncollected: 13 essays, and excerpts from London's two autobiographical works. The result is a remarkably comprehensive view of London 'the writer's writer.'"
--"American Literary Realism"
"An absorbing account of how hard the writer worked to learn his craft. . . . We find a master prose stylist concerned with problems of selectivity and concrete issues of tone, form, atmosphere, and point of view."
--"Modern Philology"
"A remarkable collection. . . . This is a firsthand look at a writer's honest and forthright opinions on his craft."
--"Los Angeles Times"

Januarius MacGahan (1844-1878) had an incandescent career as a foreign correspondent, covering the Franco-Prussian, Carlist, and Russo-Turkish wars, a Russian incursion into Central Asia, and even an arctic expedition. His reports on the "Bulgarian Atrocities" of 1876 earned him the inscription on his grave marker in New Lexington, Ohio: "Liberator of Bulgaria."

"Dale Walker has done Januarius MacGahan all the honor that has long been due him." "The Smithsonian"]

"Mr. Walker's research is as impressive as his writing..." "Washington Times"]

"For those who enjoy narrative history, this is a book not to be missed." "Journalism Quarterly"]

Award-winning historian Dale L. Walker uncovers the truth about some of the American West's most famous and infamous figures. He delves deep into some of the most enduring myths and legends of the Old West to unveil the real stories beneath them, including:
*Who was the first American to make a transcontinental journey across the Western United States to the Pacific Ocean? Lewis and Clark or a Yazoo Indian who preceded them by more than sixty years
*What was the true relationship between Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane? And who was the woman who claimed to have proof she was their daughter?
Asking these and many more questions, "The Calamity Papers" sheds some necessary light on our nation's history by taking a closer look at some of its heroes.

For twenty years, grassroots historian C. L. Sonnichsen went door to door through the backcountry of east and south-central Texas to coax tales from reluctant informants and peruse county documents on the colorful feuds that bloodied the state's early history. From these human explosions emerged legendary gangs such as the Regulators, Moderators, Hoodoos, Heel Flies, and Boots. Personal vengeance righted intolerable wrongs and settled unbearable grievances. Sonnichsen notes, "The men who fought these battles were mostly pretty good people," but they harshly stamped their otherwise normal lives with bloody vengeance. Dale L. Walker, Sonnichsen's biographer, sketches the author's life, historical craft, and publishing and teaching career.

"All of history is mystery," Dale L. Walker says, and he proves his point in this lively, humorous--and rational--approach to the West's greatest puzzles. Did Davy Crockett, for example, go down swinging Ol' Betsy, defending the ramparts of the Alamo--or was he captured? Who is buried in Jesse James's grave? Was the man Pat Garrett shot that night really Billy the Kid? How did Black Bart, "the gentleman bandit," disappear? Did Sacajawea, the famous "Bird Woman" who scouted for Lewis and Clark, die twice? The possibilities unfold as Walker brings together little-known facts and the elusive connections that shed light on the biggest enigmas of the American West.

Buckey O'Neill was famous in Arizona Territory as a gambler, lawyer, newspaperman, miner, sheriff, and politician. This fast-moving narrative takes him from the streets of Tombstone all the way to Cuba, where he won Theodore Roosevelt's admiration as the wildest and bravest of the Rough Riders. 15 photos.