We are tempted to believe that there is nothing more to be learned about the people and times of the Old West. Then a discovery of some new material, court records, perhaps a diary, will cause us to realize that history is always changing as fresh facts give us better insight to truth. Such is the case of Bessie Herberg Carter Blackwell.

Monica James, who has a legacy of her own as a champion Women's Fast Draw competitor, discovered these long lost letters and photographs and has put them together in a book that is destined to play a major role in helping us understand the role the women of the Wild West shows, and the important place they have in America's Frontier history. Imagine what it took to leave home and head to Ponca City Oklahoma and then throughout the world with a group of rip-snortin' colorful, cowboy characters that included the likes of Will Rogers, Tom Mix, and Bill Pickett.

Don't miss this book, or you will miss a piece of the real West.

Jim Dunham Director of Special Projects Booth Western Art Museum Cartersville, GA