'Hickok apeared from the southern side. They advanced upon each other and, when about fifty yards apart, drew their pistols and opened fire. Tutt missed, but Wild Bill's ball struck him in the heart. Hickok then turned on his heel and offered to fight Tutt's friends.' From Joseph G. Rosa, Wild Bill Hickok: The Man and His Myth, decribing the gunfight between James Butler Hickok and fellow-gambler Davis K. Tutt in Springfield, Missouri, in July 1865. The new book The Guns that Won the West by John Walter presents detailed performance evaluations of all the leading firearms then in use, and is an essential reference guide which cuts away the myth and legend and reveals the truth behind the guns, and the men who used them, in the heyday of the West. The Guns that Won the West tells the colourful story of the wide range of firearms – from the smallest pistol to the rifles of the buffalo hunters – used by plainsmen and settlers, gamblers and engineers, native Americans and the soldiers of the United States Army. This is an indispensable and authoritative guide to the opening of the American West, and covers the period from 1848 to 1898. John Walter examines pre-Civil War mass production and technical advances, and the effect of readily available post-war surplus weapons on life in the mid-West. He traces the swift expansion of the West, by settlers, railroaders, and cattle-men, which led to a perpetual struggle against the native Americans and brought the United States Army in its wake. It also led to the virtual extinction of the buffalo by hunters wielding the Sharps, Remington, Colt and Winchester. Considering the growth of townships, from the California Gold Rush to the battle of Wounded Knee in 1890, John Walter also examines whether law was dispensed at the point of a gun and whether the Colt or the Winchester reigned supreme at the O.K. Corral and in the hands of the James–Younger Gang. Describing particular Western 'desperadoes' and the most popular Wild West firearms, he goes on to investigate how gun design influenced use and use influenced design. The chapters of The Guns that Won the West are: FIELDS OF GOLD Opening the Frontier, 1849–61 TO HELL AND BACK The Civil War, 1861–6 INTO THE UNKNOWN From Civil War to Centennial Exposition, 1865–76 BANK, BAWDY-HOUSE AND BOOT HILL From Centennial Exposition to Wounded Knee, 1876–90 A MANTLE OF GREATNESS From Isolation to the War with Spain, 1890–98 APPENDICES Ammunition Gun Performance: Myth and Reality Index John Walter is a respected authority on all aspects of weaponry and is the author of numerous books including The Luger Story and Rifles of the World. Back to Greenhill Military Book News No. 88 Table of Contents Back to Greenhill Military Book News List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1999 by Greenhill Books This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com