Heroes Without Glory: Some Good Men of the Old West

Really I rate this about 4.5 Stars, but my friends say I'm a tough critic. What many people fail to realize about History is that it's about people, not so much dates and events. This book brilliantly brings to life people who made a huge difference in the lives of the settlers and cowboys around them, good men who helped build the west. Some were bookish, some not at all, but all were brave, tough people of conviction who did right by their own code of ethics. It's about pioneers of all sorts, and explores the full range of the west with a loving, unvarnished look at lives often full of rough and tumble, but also of dignity and strength. In the midst of this discussion, Schaeffer merrily unloads on the scoundrels and losers that unfortunately were glorified by the media of those times, happily exposing their lack of influence and relevance. The Good Men of the old west are much more interesting than the Bad Men of the old west, and I'd love to find more of this kind of work.