The Dark History of America's Old West (Dark Histories)

Callery, Sean

ISBN 10: 1608700860 ISBN 13: 9781608700868

Publisher: Cavendish Square, 2011

Synopsis

Highlights dark deeds from America's Old West, including Indian removal, environmental damage, travel hardships, gold rushes, crime, and the difficulties of establishing law enforcement.

About this title

From Booklist:

Forget any fantasies of white hats versus black hats—everything in the Old West was gray. And confusing. And violent. This sobering overview breaks down the low points of the storied mid-1800s–late 1900s into six chapters: the decimation of the Native peoples (the section headings say it all: “The Grattan Massacre,” “The Sand Creek Massacre,” “Little Bighorn”); the overhunting of bison and pigeons (the latter used to feed slaves); hard life on the westward trails; the mad free-for-all that was the gold rush; and two chapters on gun-happy vigilantes (the postmortem dissection of Big Nose George to see if he had “criminal brains” is especially gruesome). The handsome design is packed with paintings, photos, and vintage flyers, while terms like “claim jumping” bring the era to greater life. The through line is a bit jumbled; then again, the mission of the Dark Histories series (which includes entries on ancient Rome, ancient Greece, and the Aztec Empire) is not to give a full overview. Just the dark stuff—and that it does very well. Grades 5-8. --Daniel Kraus

About this edition

• Publisher: Cavendish Square
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1608700860
• ISBN 13: 9781608700868
• Binding: Library Binding
• Number of pages: 64