Bryan Burrough's 6 favorite books about Old West gunfighters
The Texas-raised author recommends works by T.J. Stiles, John Boessenecker, and more

When you make a purchase using links on our site, The Week may earn a commission. All reviews are written independently by our editorial team.
Bryan Burrough's new book is The Gunfighters: How Texas Made the West Wild. Below, the Texas-raised author of Barbarians at the Gate, Public Enemies, and two other nonfiction national best-sellers names six of his favorite books about Old West gunfighters.
'I'll Die Before I'll Run' by C.L. Sonnichsen (1951)
Sonnichsen was a Harvard-trained historian teaching in El Paso who almost single-handedly recovered the stories of the great feuds that wracked Texas for a decade after the Civil War. If you believe, as I do, that the hyper-violent ethos of the postwar frontier first rose in Texas, this book is the story of how it happened. Buy it here.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
'The Gunfighters' by Paul Trachtman (1977)
Lavishly illustrated and leather-bound, this entry in the Time-Life Old West series is a classic that found its way onto the bookshelves of many teenage boys like me during the 1970s. I still run into men of a certain age who rhapsodize about it. Buy it here.
'Southern Honor' by Bertram Wyatt-Brown (1982)
This pioneering study of Southern honor codes is not an easy read, but it is a crucial one— the final word on why honor mattered so much in the antebellum South that men stood ready to kill one another in defense of it. Buy it here.
'Wyatt Earp' by Casey Tefertiller (1997)
History has been kind to Earp, a onetime pimp and escaped federal prisoner who, in the Hollywood films of the past 75 years, has found the widespread adulation that eluded him in life. Tefertiller's book, a definitive biography, is a reminder that Earp's career is open to wide interpretation, not all of it favorable. Buy it here.
'Jesse James' by T.J. Stiles (2003)
Putting aside the argument whether James could be called an Old West gunfighter—I say no, he was a Mid-western bank and train robber—this book is a cut above almost everything else in the genre. In fact, it may be the single best biography of an American criminal I've read. It brings an enveloping academic rigor and a propulsive drive to a field of study that too often lacks both. Buy it here.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
'Ride the Devil's Herd' by John Boessenecker (2020)
Earp's battle against outlaws in and around Tombstone, Ariz., gets a new book almost every year or two. This is the best I've read, which isn't surprising. Boessenecker is by far the most talented author writing about gunfighters today. His encyclopedic knowledge is evident here on almost every page. Buy it here.
-
Brian Wilson: the troubled genius who powered the Beach Boys
Feature The musical giant passed away at 82
-
'HBCUs have always had to think more strategically'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Media: Warner Bros. kicks cable to the curb
Feature Warner Bros. Discovery is splitting into two companies as the cable industry continues to decline
-
Brian Wilson: the troubled genius who powered the Beach Boys
Feature The musical giant passed away at 82
-
Grilled radicchio with caper and anchovy sauce recipe
The Week Recommends Smoky twist on classic Italian flavours is perfect to grill, drizzle and devour
-
Echo Valley: a 'twisty modern noir' starring Julianne Moore and Sydney Sweeney
The Week Recommends This tense thriller about a mother and daughter is 'American cinema for grown ups'
-
Larry Lamb shares his favourite books
The Week Recommends The actor picks works by Neil Sheehan, Annie Proulx and Émile Zola
-
Stereophonic: an 'extraordinary, electrifying odyssey'
The Week Recommends David Adjmi's Broadway hit about a 1970s rock band struggling to record their second album comes to the West End
-
Shifty: a 'kaleidoscopic' portrait of late 20th-century Britain
The Week Recommends Adam Curtis' 'wickedly funny' documentary charts the country's decline using archive footage
-
Lollipop: a single mother trapped in a 'hellish catch-22'
The Week Recommends Daisy May Hudson's moving debut feature is a gut puncher in the Ken Loach tradition
-
Marfa, Texas: Big skies, fine art, and great eating
Feature A cozy neighborhood spot, a James Beard semifinalists, and more