The Peacemaker and Its Rivals (1950, by John E. Parsons) This book is a dandy example of what a book on historical firearms should be—namely, well researched and well written. Its appearance more than 70 years ago established the pattern for any number of books to follow (my own included). Based on factory records, government reports, contemporary accounts and original advertisements, and accompanied by period photographs, it documents the use and popularity of this most famous of Colt revolvers to the satisfaction of serious researcher and casual reader alike.
The First Winchester (1955, by John E. Parsons) Despite the title, this book begins the story well before the actual Winchester-branded rifles reached the market, tracing the Volcanic of the 1850s through its transition to the Henry rifle of the early 1860s (including its Civil War use). Parsons then follows the history of the company through the “first Winchester” (the Model 1866) to the last two models using the same basic toggle-link action (the Models 1873 and 1876). For Western history buffs there is an especially pertinent chapter titled “The Gun That Won the West?”
Shane (1949, by Jack Schaefer) Back in 1985, while visiting with author Jack Schaefer at his Santa Fe home, I complimented him on . He dismissed the praise with a wave of his hand. “ is a fable,” he scoffed. “Read ! is real!” Schaeffer also wrote the latter. “Well, may be a fable,” I replied, “but it’s a beautifully written fable.” Schaefer was unmoved. “I have $100,” he said, “to give to anybody who can prove that two men in the Old West faced each other ready to draw.” Shortly afterward I did prove it to him, as I later learned others had done before me, but none of us ever got that hundred bucks. No matter. remains in a class by itself—beautifully written, absorbing, compelling.
