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Original Title:	The Pistoleer
ISBN:	0425154122 (ISBN13: 9780425154120)
Edition Language:	English

The Pistoleer Paperback | Pages: 397 pages

Description As Books The Pistoleer

THE PISTOLEER is a fantastic work of historical fiction. James Carlos Blake does a superb job of chronicling the life of John Wesley Hardin. Part outlaw and part folk hero, "Wes" Hardin was a legendary figure in the history of Texas and the Old West. Much of Blake's book corroborates with the known facts and people surrounding Hardin's life. It is also amazing to think of all that Hardin did and how respected and feared he was, all while he was still a very young man. He was only 23 years old when he was finally captured in Florida and sentenced to 25 years in Huntsville prison. The "man" had been a fugitive from the law since the age of 15.

Blake's account paints a picture of Hardin that is both respectful and romantic, and yet realistic. In THE PISTOLEER, Hardin mainly killed to defend himself, or to protect his family and friends. Early on, he crusaded against the murderous ways of the Yankee occupiers of Texas after the Civil War. Later, Wes Hardin was also part of the Taylor gang, and fought against the actions of the despised and corrupt State Police of Texas (not to be confused with the Texas Rangers).

THE PISTOLEER reads like high adventure, Old West style. The story is extremely thrilling and engaging, and James Carlos Blake is just an outstanding writer.

"True, it is almost as bad to kill as be killed. It drove my father to an early grave; it almost distracted my mother; it killed my brother Joe, and my cousins Tom and William; it left my brother's widow with two helpless babes...to say nothing of the grief of countless others. I do say, however, that the man who does not exercise the first law of nature--that of self preservation--is not worthy of living and breathing the breath of life."

-from THE LIFE OF JOHN WESLEY HARDIN
as Written by Himself

Present Based On Books The Pistoleer

Title	:	The Pistoleer
Author	:	James Carlos Blake
Book Format	:	Paperback
Book Edition	:	First Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 397 pages
Published	:	August 1st 1996 by Berkley (first published 1995)
Categories	:	Historical. Historical Fiction. Westerns. Fiction. Literature. 19th Century

Rating Based On Books The Pistoleer

Ratings: 3.92 From 323 Users | 33 Reviews

Judge Based On Books The Pistoleer

If you liked "Ride with the Devil". If you haven't read "Ride...", go there first.

I'm all for any novel that has at least one guy per chapter getting his brains knocked out the back of his head by a Colt .44 slug. This is one viscerally violent, action-packed "literary" western. James Carlos Blake uses the form of the oral history to tell the story of "the most feared mankiller in Texas," John Wesley Hardin. Each chapter takes on a different narrator and a different impression of Hardin. Some see him as a postwar hero, others as a vicious, rabid killer. Some admire him,

Blake's first novel, unless I'm much mistaken, and perhaps his most creative, its subject and delivery are as masterful and rough as a confident whiskey shot. A historical must, even for the most diligent and devoted historian.

John Wesley Hardin, In All His Bloody, Ugly GloryJohn Wesley Hardin was not, by any stretch of the imagination, a 'good person'. As part of a generation of young southern males who were too young to join the Confederate Army, but old enough to strap on a gun when the insults and injustices of Reconstruction became too much to bear. Jesse James was another one of these Rebels-born-too-late; for many of them, guilt over missing the War - while older brothers, cousins, fathers, and friends fought

a very interesting read, and while written from interesting perspectives (each chapter is written from a different person's perspective-people who were supposedly around when the current events were taking place), it got a little frustrating to continually have to refocus myself for every new chapter. on top of this (building off of the changing perspectives) mini stories of side characters were told. if I were a huge old West fan I would have been elated to learn so much. as it is, I've really

The Pitstoleer is an interesting fictional biography of John Wesley Hardin, but nothing new is learned about the man or what really drove him. If the reader has not heard of Harding this would be a good starting point. The book dragged a bit in the middle and would have been a tighter read if it were 50 or 100 pages shorter but this does not diminish the experience. As with all of Blake's books this is a Peckinpah hymn to violence and enjoyable because of that, but for readers who do not like

Racist and misogynistic. Oh yeah, and boring