I really fell in love with BillĀ O’Reilly‘s Legends and Lies book series when I first discovered them with The Patriots. Bill O’Reilly’s Legends and Lies: The Real West is almost as good. It is actually written by O’Reilly and David Fisher – I suspect that Bill is just selling his name and writing the introductions and that Fisher actually wrote the thing.
Rather than a look at someĀ of the little known storiesĀ of the American Revolution like in Patriots, thisĀ one takesĀ on the heroes andĀ outlawsĀ of the Old West.Ā Narrated by Tom Wopat (DukesĀ of Hazzard) thisĀ one dives into the back storyĀ of greats like Davy Crockett, Kit Carson, Wild Bill Hickock, Doc Holliday, Jesse James, Butch and Sundance… if there is a famous historical iconĀ of the Old West, it is in the book. From Custer‘s Last Stand to Annie Oakley, it is all here… and likely with information you haven’t heard before.
If I have a knock against the book it is that for history buffs, there will be a lotĀ of repeat information and a few inaccuracies. Even so, there are some tidbits that were new for me. I loved the Bass Reeves information… whetherĀ or not his theory about him is true.
This is a lotĀ of fun and will likely inspire you to take a look at someĀ of the early cinema treatmentsĀ of those quintessential American stories.
by Chris Doelle
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