There You Are - in the Midst of the Famous and the Infamous Including Bat Masterson, "Doc" Holliday, "Big Nose" George, Chief Kicking Bird, Buffalo Bill, Emperor Norton, John D. Lee, Katie Elder, Ma Ferguson, and Pancho Villa and the thousands more whose names never made it into the history books. This is the real deal - the Great American West as you've imagined it.

Between 1840 and 1910, hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children from all over the world traveled deep into the underdeveloped American West, lured by the prospects of adventure, freedom, and opportunity all galvanized by the spirit of Manifest Destiny. Alongside this rapid expansion of the United States, a second, overlapping social shift was taking place: the rising status of women. In a settler society busy building itself from scratch, women and children had to compromise prior sensibilities and take on many of the same responsibilities as their husbands and fathers who were often away from them for extended periods of time.

In Purple Mountains & Wilderness: True Stories of the Great American West, consummate storyteller George Hubbard continues his tradition of bringing to life riveting histories of courageous little-known men and women - the settlers, and the Native Americans and Hispanics they displaced - who played monumental roles in one of America's most transformative periods ... 

Brought to you by Award-Winning & Bestselling Author George Hubbard

Legends of these people and some of their 4-legged companions such as Old Blue, Spike, and Thornburg - prevail in the United States and beyond, existing not only in the popular mind and tradition but in ballads, television, movies, and Broadway. They are legends of Robin Hoods, eccentrics, gunslingers, womanizers, loyal friends, and "no one messes with my children" mamas.

Hubbard's contribution is to provide true and entertaining glimpses into the characteristics and escapades that made them great- their hopes, their dreams, their schemes, their successes, and their failures. He carefully documents all of the stories in Purple Mountains & Wilderness providing the reader with a better understanding of the culture, traditions, beauty, and wonder of the Great American West. It was an exciting time. Award-winning and bestselling author, Hubbard focuses on that excitement. 

Born in 1928, George Hubbard was born into and grew up privileged. He wasn't privileged the way most people think of privilege - financial wealth - he was privileged to grow up where education and culture were prized above money. The son of a university president and beloved educator who created a cultural Mecca in North Central Texas, George literally sat at the feet of luminaries such as Robert Frost, Amelia Earhart, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Lily Pons, Eleanor Roosevelt, and many, many more. From these internationally renowned icons, George learned the art of storytelling and the thrill of adventure and exploration.

George loved unhurried road trips. He took great pleasure in wandering the back roads of the Old West; in taking ten mile detours off the Interstate to some obscure historical market; in combing through small local museums and libraries to unearth the facts behind myths and legends then bringing to life riveting histories of little-known people, places, and animals.

Through his writings, Hubbard provides true and entertaining glimpses into the characteristics and escapades that made them great – their hopes, their dreams, their schemes, their successes, and their failures. He found the mid-19th Century and early 20th Century an especially exciting time in the Old West, and Hubbard’s stories focus on that excitement.