"Bat Masterson: The Man and the Legend" by Robert K. DeArment

My best friend gave me this book because she loved it and wanted me to read it too.  And, happily, I loved it too!  I read it as research for my November column in the Prairie Times, which focuses on Bat Masterson (you can read my article here on page 6).  I enjoyed this biography so much that now I want to read DeArment's follow-up book, Gunfighter in Gotham, which delves into Masterson's decades in NYC with more depth than is provided here.

This book focuses mostly on Masterson's exploits in the Old West, beginning with his teen years as a buffalo hunter and exploring his various lawman jobs and gambling pursuits in a very thorough way.  It does devote a couple of chapters to his years as a sportswriter and columnist, too.

I was not expecting this, but I began to feel a lot of kinship to Bat Masterson as I read this biography.  A lot of his characteristics felt very familiar, like intense loyalty, a desire to study a situation thoroughly, but a willingness to act quickly if needed, and a great need to defend actions and decisions.  Just so many little places where I thought, "Yeah, I do that too."  Now, I don't enjoy gambling or prizefights, and I've never fired a gun at a person, but in small personality things, yeah, I found a lot of similarities.

DeArment has a clear and enjoyable writing style, and I've got a lot of his books on my TBR list now, thanks to this one.

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG-13 for not mincing words about subjects like gunfights, wounds, and prostitution.

This has been my 43rd book read off my TBR shelves for #TheUnreadShelfProject2021.