Dusty road shoot outs, roaming buffalo, bar brawls, gold, tragedy and genocide, damsels in distress, and cowboys riding off into the sunset—the taming of the Western frontier is one of the most colorful and fascinating periods of American history. In this beautifully illustrated and comprehensive book, Bruce Wexler brings the ruggedness of the old American West to life. The Wild West separates fact from the fiction, exposing the myths of the old West, and assesses its cultural impact on the indigenous people, American life, and the American dream—both past and present.