John Wesley Hardin: Dark Angel of Texas [Paperback]

Leon C. Metz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 1998

Thus spoke one lawman about John Wesley Hardin, easily the most feared and fearless of all the gunfighters in the West. Nobody knows the exact number of his victims-perhaps as few as twenty or as many as fifty. In his way of thinking, Hardin never shot a man who did not deserve it. Seeking to gain insight into Hardin’s homicidal mind, Leon Metz describes how Hardin’s bloody career began in post-Civil War Central Texas, when lawlessness and killings were commonplace, and traces his life of violence until his capture and imprisonment in 1878. After numerous unsuccessful escape attempts, Hardin settled down and received a pardon years later in 1895. He wrote an autobiography but did not live to see it published. Within a few months of his release, John Selman gunned him down in an El Paso saloon.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Leon C. Metz, Archivist in the University of Texas Library at EI Paso, has exhaustively researched this definitive biography of Garrett and has traveled far and wide to interview Garrett's family and friends-the people who knew him well. He has laid to rest many of the rumors and speculations surrounding Garrett's life and death, as well as those of his most famous victim. He has discovered many rare and previously unpublished photographs of Garrett and his associates, all included in this book.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press (April 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806129956
• ISBN-13: 978-0806129952
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #740,888 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best biography of Hardin yet., June 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: John Wesley Hardin: Dark Angel of Texas (Hardcover)

Having considered myself a sort of amateur historian of Texas figures, I know quite a bit about J.W. Hardin. Leon Metz's biography is the most honest and thoroughly researched one I've come across yet. This along with Metz's engaging writing style made this book a hard one to put down. He doesn't glorify or vilify this Texas gunman, and the reader comes away with a new understanding of the times and tribulations of those who lived on the frontier. I'm a hard sell, and yet I would recommend this book to anyone interested in characters of the American West.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent account of the noted desperado, March 31, 2004

By 

Randall E. Scarberry (Richland, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: John Wesley Hardin: Dark Angel of Texas (Hardcover)

This is a fascinating book that I found very hard to put down. Mr. Metz' writing style is very folksy and engaging, yet quite scholarly. He neither presents Hardin as a hero, nor does he pass judgement: the facts speak for themselves.

Now on to the next Leon Metz book! This reviewer will definitely read them all.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Leon Metz paints a very believable picture., June 25, 2006

By 

F.J - See all my reviews

This review is from: John Wesley Hardin: Dark Angel of Texas (Paperback)

What I like most about the writtings of Mr. Leon Metz is how he tells of what is said to have happened, what may possibly have happened and what probably DID happen. As any old west buff knows, truth was not always a top priority and many stories were blown so out of proportion that the truth may never be known. Mr. Metz uses research along with common sense and comes up with truely believable aspects of this notorious outlaw who was clearly the greatest gunfighter of his time. This is an excellent book by an excellent author about the old west's most dangerous man.