The Real Wild West

In between required reading for my classes, I was able to read The Real Wild West: The 101 Ranch and the Creation of the American West by Michael Wallis. This is the second book I have read by Wallis, the other being Billy the Kid: The Endless Ride. While not a professional historian, Wallis is a fantastic writer and his research is on par with that of a trained historian. He is best known for his work on Route 66, which he affectionately calls "The Mother Road." He lends his voice to the hit movie Cars, doing the voice-over for the sheriff of Radiator Springs. He is an amazing storyteller, and that is what he does best in The Real Wild West. Wallis examines the history of the 101 Ranch, a working cattle ranch in northern Oklahoma that would eventually bring the west to the world via a wild west show along the lines of Buffalo Bill. To be perfectly honest, I had never heard of the 101 Ranch prior to reading this book. I had not realized that there were so many wild west shows touring the nation and the world back in those days. Buffalo Bill had quite a bit of competition, as Wallis points out that many more besides the 101 Ranch show were also in action. The book focuses heavily on the line between the West of reality and the West of mythology. Wallis, while weaving his narrative of the 101 Ranch's history, examines many different characters in Western history and their connections to the ranch, which provides for some very interesting reading. He writes about a certain topic after each chapter, and honestly, I looked forward to reading them more than reading the actual chapters. I learned some very interesting things that I had not known before. While at times Wallis seems to exaggerate some things, he does provide good evidence for his claims, and for this he is commended. I plan to read some of his other works, and if they are as entertaining as this one, I will not be disappointed.