The Old Colts — Glendon Swarthout

When Glendon Swarthout's barber introduces him to a retired journalist in the local OK Tonsorial Corral, the one, the only Walter Winchell, he is stunned to learn that the old-timer is in possession of a remarkable document: the true story of Bat Masterson's final years, written in the legendary shootist's own hand. Passed on from Damon Runyon in 1945, the four holograph pages, if genuine, are pure dynamite. For here we learn how Masterson meets up with the one, the only Wyatt Earp in New York City in 1916 and these two aging gunslingers, a couple of old Colts, turn their backs on their reputations and start raising hell in the late afternoon of their lives. Wine, women, and song and -- if you can believe it -- a life of crime by two of the most respected heroes of the Old West. Truth or fiction, the author leaves the reader to decide in this masterfully handled comic Western.Here's a few more great reviews for The Old Colts --Among the many good things going for this novel, Swarthout knows the Old West as well as any writer around. He has a certain reverence, even for the old colts like Wyatt and Bat. He has a flair for the comic, and he has the wit and gift to bring off a spoof like this in such a way that the old colts, far from being tarnished in the telling, gain a humanness that is missing in their biographies. The Old Colts is a wonderful romp. Dale Walker, the El Paso TimesThis a sprightly, hilarious romp through Western history crafted by a master...It provides a much-needed glimpse of how Kansas might actually have been mideay through the second decade of this century. Most (and best) of all, it's fun, from first page vto last -- lean, fast-moving, insightful and authentically written pure entertainment. Gene Smith, Topeka, Kansas Capital-JournalIf ever a book were entitled to the description 'ripsnorter,' this is it...Glendon Swarthout has a filmmaker's eye and a sense of pace, a poet's love of language...Swarthout takes Wyatt Earp and us for quite a ride. One hopes they make a movie out of this latest ragtag brawler of a book. So who cares if The Old Colts isn't exactly history? We can always wish it were. William Ruehlmann, the Virginian-PilotA genuinely humorous novel that is frequently exciting due to its inventive use of language. Most of all it is great fun. Let me add that there is a passage in which Wyatt and Bat go out on a date with a couple of Dodge City girls. The scene back at the hotel is, in my opinion, a minor classic. Warning: reading it may be hazardous to your ability to keep a straight face for hours afterward. Dennis Beck, McAllen, Texas Monitor...the book ends with an action-packed episode that will make every Western buff cheer. Phil Thomas, Associated Press Books EditorGo beyond any question of authenticity and there remains a barn-burner story written by a fast and exciting scribbler...You won't want to miss it. You'll ride through this wooly tale with no saddle sores, it's fast-paced and smooth. Anyone who can smell the dusty trails and doesn't mind imbibing a little hair-of-the-dog will be sorry when there's no more of it to read. Wayne M. Anderson, Fort Worth Star TelegramThis is a sprightly, hilarious romp through Western history crafted by a master... It provides a much-needed glimpse of how Kansas might actually have been midway through the second decade of this century. Most (and best) of all, it's fun, from first page to last -- lean, fast-moving, insightful and authentically written pure entertainment. Gene Smith, Topeka, Kansas Capital-JournalWritten in the first-person, this book not only will generate smiles but also will provoke good old-fashioned guffaws. John Neely Davis, Amarillo, Texas NewsWyatt and Bat surely will join the brotherhood of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid as well as their latter-day counterparts, the Gang Who Couldn't Shoot Straight, in this riotous gallop over the wild American past. Paul C. Day, Tulsa, Oklahoma TribuneIf ever a book were entitled to the description 'ripsnorter,' this is it.... Glendon Swarthout has a filmmaker's eye and sense of pace, a poet's love of language...Swarthout takes Wyatt Earp and us for quite a ride. One hopes they make a movie out of this latest ragtag brawler of a book...So who cares if The Old Colts isn't exactly history? We can always wish it were. William Ruehlmann, the Virginian-Pilot The Old Colts is a wildly funny story of a reunion between the famous gunfighters, when they were in their sixties, and their last great adventure together...Swarthout has resurrected with affection and humor a pair of American legends who deserve never to be forgotten. James M. Tarbox, St. Paul, Minnesota Morning Pioneer Press Dispatch