This book, written by the author of the celebrated volume Six Guns and Society, explains why the myth of the Wild West is popular around the world. It shows how the cultural icon of the Wild West speaks to deep desires of individualism and liberty and offers a vision of social contract theory in which a free and equal individual (the cowboy) emerges from the state of nature (the wilderness) to build a civil society (the frontier community). The metaphor of the Wild West retained a commitment to some limited government (law and order) but rejected the notion of the fully codified state as too oppressive (the corrupt sheriff). Compelling and magnificently suggestive, the book unpacks one of the core icons of our time.

From New York Times bestselling author Lori Handeland: Vengeance, Deception and Redemption in the Old West Once Upon a Time . . . A Spy Was Born Convinced his actions will save countless lives by shortening the war, Union doctor Ethan Walsh agrees to share with his government what he learns while working undercover in Chimborazo Hospital, deep in the heart of Dixie. Confederate nurse Annabeth Phelan lost her entire family, save one brother, to the war. When that brother goes missing due to information gleaned by a spy, she swears to discover the culprit. But spying is a dangerous game. Lives change, lives end once the truth is discovered, and falling in love amid the chaos of conflict doesn’t stand the test of time. Separated by tragedy, the two fall down rabbit holes they never could have imagined. Reunited years later, now an outlaw and healer, Ethan and Annabeth must ask themselves . . . Can a love born amid desperation and lies survive? Fans of Cynthia Roberts, Isabel Keats and Kirsty McCafrey will love this gritty, steamy, emotional tale of the Old West.