Gunfighters, Highwaymen & Vigilantes: Violence on the Frontier Paperback - 1987

From the rear cover

"What happened at Bodie and other frontier towns is the subject of Roger D. McGrath's Violence on the Frontier, and it is replete with surprises. McGrath takes a sharp look at western violence by comparing community life during the heyday of two California mining camps, Bodie and Aurora. . . .Few if any incidents escaped his keen eye, and he writes with relish about what he found."--Martin Ridge, California Magazine "Why is America so violent? When that question is raised, the old chestnut of frontier heritage is inevitably pulled from the fire. . . .McGrath's valuable book suggests that violence in modern America is rooted less in the conquest of the frontier than in the formation of the modern city. . . . His research produces evidence of a powerful set of shared values that rigorously limited violence to consenting adults."--William Broyles, Jr., New York Times "This handsomely produced book provides a valuable test case in the study of frontier violence and will provide food for thought for many years to come."--Larry D. Ball, Western Historical Quarterly "This is one of the best of a small but growing number of frontier community studies and will offer inspiration and model to other scholars. Its close examination of frontier mining towns yields valuable insights into lives of the men and women who lived--and died--in them. Its concrete assessment of nature of violence and lawlessness in frontier settings not only corrects some past generalizations about frontier violence but also gives historians very useful data to compare with other frontier communities."--John Clendenin Townsend, Magill's Literary Annual