Description

In this massive account of the life of his great-grandfather, Jefferson Randolph “Soapy” Smith, Jeff Smith has covered in scrupulous detail not only the career of his remarkable forebear but the fascinating history of conmanship and gambling in the 19th Century American West. Drawn from unpublished family records and a wealth of primary sources, it is an engrossing tale and a noteworthy addition to the literature of the genre.

This comprehensive biography of an extraordinary confidence man, gambler, and all-around bad man is set against the carefully researched historical times of the evolving Old West. Author and great-grandson Jeff Smith spent 25 years researching and writing the life and murderous death of one of the West’s most infamous, and some say often unfairly maligned, masters of the criminal arts and natural-born leaders of men. Was Soapy Smith a “good man”? This history points to Sometimes. Was he a “bad man”? Without doubt, Often. In this book, from Georgia to Texas, from Denver and the silver and gold boomtowns of Colorado, to Mexico and the Western States to the great Northwest, and to the last frontier, Alaska, you will travel with “Soapy” Smith to his criminal empires and final bold, deadly showdown with vigilantes.