Black Hats [Paperback]

Robert J. Randisi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2003

This new Western anthology includes tales of Butch Cassidy, Ned Christie, Sam Bass, and other historical villains from America's Wild West-from the top names in Western fiction: Matt Braun, Donald Hamilton, Ed Gorman, Troy Smith, and others.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (April 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 042518708X
• ISBN-13: 978-0425187081
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,050,837 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Troy D. Smith was born in the Upper Cumberland region of Tennessee in 1968. He has waxed floors, moved furniture, been a lay preacher, and taught high school and college. He writes in a variety of genres, achieving his earliest successes with westerns -his first published short story appeared in 1995 in Louis L'Amour Western Magazine, and he won the Spur Award in 2001 for the novel Bound for the Promise-Land (being a finalist on two other occasions.) He is currently teaching American history at Tennessee Tech, and serving as president of Western Fictioneers -the first national writing organization devoted exclusively to fiction about the Old West.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining Collection of Gunfighter Stories!, November 26, 2010

By 

Michael OConnor "Wordsmith" (Wausau, WI USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Black Hats (Paperback)

A sequel to Randisi's WHITE HATS anthology, BLACK HATS dishes up 14 gunfighter stories starring such real-life Westerners as Butch Cassidy, Sam Bass, Jack Slade, Tom Horn and George Custer. With contributions from authors as Ed Gorman, Matt Braun and Donald Hamilton, BLACK HATS is an entertaining mix of stories sure to appeal to Wild West fans.

The stories in BLACK HATS cover the spectrum. In Ed Gorman's 'A Good Start,' bank robber Henry Starr finds he's bitten off more than he can chew when he rides into Pruett City, Oklahoma in his Model T; a vehicle the actual Starr really used in his Oklahoma robberies. Donald Hamilton's 'The Guns of William Longley' follows the fortunes of a young cowpoke who wins the guns worn by an infamous gunfighter in a card game. In Barbara Barton's 'The Outlaw and the School Marm,' Butch Cassidy confirms that even 'bad men' possess honor. The sad life of Dave Rudabaugh, a member of Billy the Kid's gang, is the subject of 'On the Square' by Marcus Pelegrimas. And, lastly, 'A Cold Day in Boise' by Ken Hodgson reveals the ice-cold heart of Harry Orchard, a for-hire killer involved in the Colorado Labor Wars.

Of all the stories, Hodgson's 'Cold Day in Boise' takes the catbird seat. His Harry Orchard character - real name: Albert Horsley - is evil incarnate, a remorseless, murderous psychopath rivalling Ted Bundy.

Though it was published in 2003, Western fans should track down a copy of BLACK HATS. All the stories are first-rate entertainment. Recommended.