Print in a wild land
by John Myers Myers
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Book Summary Information
Author: John Myers MyersEdition: Unknown Binding
Audio: English (Published)
Published: 1967
ISBN: N/A
Number of pages: 274
Publisher: Doubleday
Book Reviews of Print in a wild land
Book Review: "Footloose Sons of Gutenberg"
Summary: 3 Stars
`Print in a Wild Land' is a book that is more interesting in concept than it is in execution. The book's subject, the fourth estate on the frontier of the Wild West, seems promising. Newspaper men as a group often make good copy themselves, and a history of this interesting bunch on the wilds of the western frontier would seem to be full of promise. Unfortunately, that promise goes largely unfulfilled.
John Myers Myers is one of my favorite historians of the American West, mainly because of his unorthodox style and voice. He would often approach his subject with little regard for chronology, arranging events as they fell into the cadence of the story he was telling, and allowing the timeline to eventually sort itself out. His real charm lay in his unconventional voice, full of odd word play and folksy sayings. This usually worked well for him when describing the history of the wild open West. In `Print in a Wild Land', however, both his style and his voice contribute to the failure of the book. Without a timeline to follow, or even a strong thematic grouping of events, this book is little more than a collection of vaguely interesting anecdotes that hardly seem to justify a book length treatment. Add to this the fact that Myers went so far over the top with his odd phrases and word play here that it moved far beyond his usual charm to become annoyingly distractive.
There are some redeeming elements to "Print in a Wild Land'. Myers salted it liberally with copy from the western newsmen, some of which is sure to bring a smile, such as the paper that grouped birth, marriage, and death announcements under the heading "Hatched, Matched, & Dispatched". There are quotes here from famous and near famous newsmen, like Sam Clemens, Ambrose Bierce, John Clum of Tombstone, and A.W. Merrick of Deadwood - there just isn't enough to justify digging through this unorganized mess of a book.
If you are a die hard John Myers Myers fan as I am, you probably still will want to read this book. My advice is that you find it in a library rather than searching for a copy to buy. It is not one of his better efforts.
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