A hard-riding cowboy teams up with a stubborn farm girl to save her family’s freight business in this adventure from a master storyteller of the West. When her brother finds himself locked in a vicious battle with corrupt kingpin Craig Armin for control of the freight business in a silver town called Piute, Celia Wallace sells the family farm and goes west to help him. She’s just short of her destination when bandits attack her stagecoach, pressing a pistol to Celia and making her hand over every cent she has. She’s ruined—but she’ll fight to get her revenge. Meanwhile, Armin’s nephew Cole, who knows nothing about his uncle’s underhanded dealings, has come to Piute looking for a job running one of his uncle’s mule trains. But he will find a cause instead: helping Celia search for her stolen money, betraying his own family to do what’s right. Dead Freight for Piute is a hard-hitting, authentic western about the brave men and women who had the true grit to stand up to evil, greedy men in a land where the only law was the law of the gun.

This was the first bibliography and guide to the American mass market paperback book, and it remains one of the most definitive. The major index is by author, and lists: author, title, publisher, book number, year of publication, and cover price. The title index lists titles and authors only. The publisher index provides a history of that imprint, with addresses, number ranges, and general physical description of the books issued. This is the place that all study of the American paperback must begin.

In their heyday, pulp westerns were one of America's most popular forms of entertainment. Often selling for less than 50 cents, the paperback books introduced generations to the "exploits" of Billy the Kid and Jesse James, brought to life numerous villains (usually named "Black" something, e.g., Black Bart and Black Pete), and created a West that existed only in the minds of several talented writers. It was only natural that filmmakers would look to the pulps for stories, adapting many of the works for the big screen and shaping the Western film genre. The adaptations of seven of the pulps' best writers--Ernest Haycox, Luke Short, Frank Gruber, Norman A. Fox, Louis L'Amour, Marvin H. Albert, and Clair Huffaker--are analyzed here. Insightful and humorous, the work looks at how the pulp novels and the movie adaptations reflected the times in which they were produced. It examines the cliches that became a part of the story: the rescue of the heroine, the gunfights, the evil banker or rancher ready to steal the land of the good, law-abiding citizens, and the harlot with a heart of gold. A critical examination of how the books were interpreted--or frequently misinterpreted--by filmmakers is included, along with commentary on the actors and directors who put the pulps on screen.

Reclusive American actor Randolph Scott, known for his subtle, dignified performances in almost 60 westerns, has been called the "most genuine Westerner." His career began in 1928 with the first of several bit parts; his first starring role was 1932's Heritage of the Desert. He fought in World War I, studying horsemanship, shooting, and bayoneting, and acted in a variety of films in every genre from musical to swashbuckler. His final film was Ride the High Country (1962). Chronologically arranged from his birth in 1898 to his death in 1987, this book covers every film in which Randolph Scott acted. Each section begins with a biographical chapter and then lists Scott's films from that period: each film's entry has filmographic information, a synopsis, and detailed commentary, discussing such topics as the financial aspects, production details, acting, other participants, anecdotes, and critical responses. Quotes from interviews with figures in the industry and published reviews bolster the entries. A bibliographical essay completes the work, which is heavily illustrated with stills and promotional materials.