Good Books About Bad Men

In the last two decades of the 19th century, Austin was a long way from becoming the live music capital of the world, but it did rock & roll in its own inimicable way. Gunfighting gambler Ben Thompson ran the gambling room at the Iron Front Saloon in the 600 block of Congress Avenue. When the Daily Statesman complained about his conduct, he shot up their editorial office, then ran for the office of city marshal and won. Sex, booze, and drugs flowed freely in Guy Town (now the Downtown Arts District). Old Pecan Street (now Sixth Street) was "bold, bad, and hard to curry," wrote O. Henry. "Loafing, gambling, fighting and drinking has invaded this Arcadian spot," he wrote, adding with his usual facetiousness, "Let us pass some more laws against this kind of thing, and then let it go on as usual."

A little bit of that Wild West spirit will return to Congress Avenue on December 15, when a whole posse of the top guns of outlaw-lawman history come to Austin to sign their new books and celebrate the grand opening of Forsyth's, a new deli at 416 Congress Avenue.

The list of authors whose attendance has been confirmed includes Leon Metz, Chuck Parsons, Jack Jackson, Rick Miller, Paula Mitchell Marks,

Bill James, Mike Cox, Mary Ann Hall-Little, Robert McCubbin, Jesus de la Téja, Charlie Eckhardt, Mary Elizbeth Goldman, Gail Drago, Rick Selcer, Andreas Tijerina, Bob Tonhoff, and Donaly Brice.

These authors have written some of the best true books ever published about bad men. They can tell you which ones were so bad they had to be hanged twice (Bloody Bill Longley). They can tell you which desperado once said: "For $300, I'd cut anybody in two with a sawed-off shotgun," (Mannen Clements).

Coincidentally, the event marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of the autobiography of John Wesley Hardin, the killer of some 40 men and Texas' most feared and most fearless gunfighter. Hardin was unable to attend his own publication party, since his book was published the year after his death. It is fitting, then, that Chuck Parsons, who has authored several key books on Hardin, will be signing his latest, Mace Bowman: Western Feudist, Texas Lawman

(co-written with Forsyth's proprietress Mary Ann Hall-Little). Additionally, Rick Miller, Jack Jackson, Mike Cox, Robert McCubbin, and Bill James have also either written about Hardin, his associates, or the men who pursued him.

Leon Metz, the dean of late 20th-century Wild West historians, began his western writing career in 1969 with the definitive biography of John Selman (John Selman: Gunfighter), a jaded, faded killer-with-a-badge who murdered Hardin in El Paso's Acme Saloon. Now, 11 fine books later, Metz has published the Hardin biography by which all future Hardin biographies will be judged: John Wesley Hardin: Dark Angel of Texas. With rawhide tough prose and clear-eyed vision, Metz blasts holes in some of the haze that has surrounded Hardin's bloody trail during post-Civil War Texas and adds new revelations and a refreshing spin on Hardin's personal motivations and character. The book captures the right balance of scholarly analysis and gunsmoke glory. Metz also gives what I believe to be the definitive answer to a question that has fueled a thousand outlaw-lawman debates over the years: When Hardin rode into Abilene, Kansas in 1873, did he or did he not "get the drop" on Wild Bill Hickok using the infamous "border roll" maneuver? (Most likely he did.)

And if that isn't enough, Austin's own fearless western historian, Paula Mitchell Marks, will be signing her classic account of the shoot-out at the O.K. Corral, And Die in the West, now available in paperback, just in time to stuff in your favorite gunfighter's stocking.

The showdown happens Sunday, December 15, 2-4 p.m. at Forsyth's,
416 Congress Avenue. -- Jesse Sublett