Deadwood

<p>Sifting through layers and layers of myth and legend, Peter Cozzens - the award-winning author of <i>The Earth is Weeping</i> - unveils the true face of Deadwood, South Dakota, the storied mining town that sprang up in early 1876, and was made famous by the HBO series of the same name.<br><br>Built on land brazenly stolen from the Lakotas, Deadwood was not merely a place where outlaws lurked, but was itself an outlaw enterprise, not part of any US territory or subject to its laws or governance. This gave rise to the gunslinging, stage-coach robbing, whiskey-guzzling, rampant prostitution and gambling that has come to epitomise the town through the legendary figures of ''Wild Bill'' Hickok and Calamity Jane. But this foundation also bred a self-reliance and a spirit of cooperation unique on the frontier, which made it an exceptionally welcoming place for Black Americans and Chinese immigrants at a time of deep-seated discrimination.<br><br> The first book to tell this complex story in full, <i>Deadwood</i> reveals how one frontier town came to embody the best and worst of the West-enduring truths about humanity''s eternal quest for creating order from chaos, a greater good from individual greed, and security from violence.</p>