Customer Reviews

A Cowboy Detective: A True Story of Twenty-two Years with a World-Famous Detective Agency

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Charles Siringo was the real deal, the rare 1870's cowboy who experienced the trail rides of the Wild West, but also felt the need and had the desire to put his experiences in writing. The stories in his books seem to be honest and legit, not inflated or self-indulgent. He was a man of great courage and resoursefulness, and the stories in this book are full of real-life examples. I have read several of Siringo's writings, and have found this book to be the most enjoyable and fascinating of them all.

This is a great book if you're into the American West, The Wild Bunch, or just a detective fan.
Charlie Siringo must have been one of the toughest men who ever lived...15 years in the saddle as a cowboy, followed by 22 years as a Pinkerton detective!
Charlie writes as a detective would...mostly, it's just the facts. He writes in an easy to read style that seems to flow from him in a natural manner. His stories are amazing, and he was surely a 'walking national treasure'in terms of his first hand knowledge of the American West 1865-1900.
I can't believe he is so 'forgotten' as one of the west's real and true heroes. A terrific insight into the times and the man.

As both an accomplished cowboy and a relentless Pinkerton detective, Charlie Siringo indeed led a charmed, adventurous life. He cavorted with the likes of Billy the Kid, chased Butch Cassidy & his gang over 2500 miles and several states, and then wrote about it in this wonderful book.

Although Siringo's writing isn't what you would classify as "literary," I believe in some ways this makes the read better. After all, this isn't some New York writer who wandered around the West for a few years and then decided to write a book about it, but rather a true account of a seasoned cowboy who really lived the life he describes! There are no purple sunsets, but there are plenty of shootouts, floods, and fires, and descriptions of the hardships that were commonplace to the cowboy.

For those wishing to get a taste of the real West, I recommend this book as a must read.

I buy a lot of books from amazon sight unseen, so I have to rely more then most on other peoples reviews. That being the case, I like to be as honest as possible on a book and its flaws if I can and try to read the reviews of others who do the same to get a better perspective before I purchase.

I actually found this book a bit depressing overall as you expect a detective to have a certain amount of character or not write about it. This guy is definatly more cowboy then law enforcement officer and I just got turned off reading about his attitudes or treatment towards indians, women and other subjects in general. He certainly seems to have lived a charmed life if what he prints is true, but he also seems to have had an overly liberal view on justice and ethics in the bargain. However if the introduction is correct regarding the general state of law enforcement in the country at the time, then it's not suprising that men like this gravitated towards the type of work he described.

A free wheeling cowboy with a badge and an average sense of decency would perhaps be a better overall description in my opinion. I only lasted a couple of chapters and a brief skimming because I found the whole thing a bit tacky. I've read or skimmed through other old time detective stories and enjoyed them which is why I took the risk and bought this one solely based on the reviews.

True life exploits of Charles Roy Siringo in the old west bringing many fugitives to justive while enduring hard ships!