Guns of Outlaws: Weapons of the American Bad Man

When gunslingers chose their weapons and took their chances. From colonial-era rifles carried on the " Owlhoot Trail" to John Dillinger' s Colt pistols, the history of the American outlaw is told in guns- weapons that became each man' s personal signature. Authors Gerry and Janet Souter peer into these criminals' choices of derringers, revolvers, shotguns, rifles, machine guns, and curious hybrids, giving us a glimpse the minds behind the trigger fingers. With over 200 illustrations, Guns of Outlaws gives a unique look at the lives and the hardware of the most infamous outlaws in American history, and of the law enforcement officers who hunted them. As settlers moved further west, further away from authority and soft city life into the Great Plains, the push for survival through the endless prairies and jagged isolating mountain ranges bred ruthless men.Most outlaws were technology freaks who seized upon the latest weapons innovations developed in the industrial East to provide an edge in the life-and-death cosmosof the Wild West. Outlaws tinkered with their guns, creating unique hardware that became their calling cards. Attempts by lawmen to take control sparked a weapons race, pitting gunmen and bandit gangs against home-grown lawmen and vigilante posses. By the late 1930s and early 1940s, outlaws on horseback had given way to marauding bank robbers. Using fast cars and faster guns, they became folk heroes of the Great Depression, even as the law was hard on their tails.

About the Author :
Gerry Souter attended the Art Institute of Chicago and the University of Chicago. He has worked as an art teacher, photographer, a security guard, a rifle instructor, and a seaman in the Merchant Marine. He and his wife, Janet Souter, have authored or coauthored more than forty nonfiction books in the areas of history, biography, young adult, art, military history, business, and the Internet. They live near Chicago.Gerry's personal Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/gerry.souter (51 friends)Joint website: http://www.avril1.comLinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/gerrysouter (60 connections) Janet Souter, has authored or coauthored more than forty nonfiction books in the areas of history, biography, young adult, art, military history, business, and the Internet. They live near Chicago.Gerry's personal Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/gerry.souter (51 friends)Joint website: http://www.avril1.comLinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/gerrysouter (60 connections)

Review :
"Guns of Outlaws chronicles the misdeeds of many of America's worst miscreants, with special emphasis on the tools of the outlaw trade. After reading Guns of Outlaws, I was left with one main takeaway. Regardless of the era, evildoers always have, and always will, find a way to get their hands on the most potent weapons of the day to carry out their dirty deeds. And regardless of the era, only equally well armed good guys can take them down." - American Rifleman "Historians Gerry and Janet Souter take the reader back to a time between 1840 and 1940 when men and women traveled an imaginary twisting outlaw path, the "Owlhoot Trail," where outlaws and man hunters lived bold and died hard. In their new book, Guns of Outlaws - Weapons of the American Bad Man, the pages show actual tools of the trade wielded during a violent century, bound up in a mix of hard truths and mythology. The only solid reality left behind are these trusted relics, aged and showing holster wear with salt-etched pits from sweaty gun powder-stained hands." - Ammoland.com