Hell's half acre : the life and legend of a red-light district /

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Bibliographic Details
Author / Creator:Selcer, Richard F.
Imprint:Fort Worth : Texas Christian University Press, ©1991.
Description:1 online resource (xvi, 364 pages) : illustrations, maps.
Language:English
Series:Chisholm Trail series ; no. 9
Chisholm Trail series ; no. 9.
Subject:
Format: E-Resource Book
URL for this record:http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/11954667
Hidden Bibliographic Details
ISBN:9780875655116
0875655114
0875650864
9780875650869
0875650880
9780875650883
Notes:Includes bibliographical references (pages 281-340) and index.
Restrictions unspecified
Electronic reproduction. [S.l.] : HathiTrust Digital Library, 2010.
Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002. http://purl.oclc.org/DLF/benchrepro0212
digitized 2010 HathiTrust Digital Library committed to preserve
Print version record.
Summary:Includes material on Luke Short, Bat Masterson, Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, Sam Bass, and Butch Cassiday.
Other form:Print version: Selcer, Richard F. Hell's half acre. Fort Worth : Texas Christian University Press, ©1991
Review by Choice Review

Selcer certainly did his homework, as the 46 pages of notes and 14 pages of bibliography attest. Hell's Half Acre is written in an easy, relaxed, "gossipy" style that befits its subject matter, and covers the full range of the "Paris of the plains" existence, characters, and happenings. The author offers disclaimers that the book is not so full or complete as other works on red light districts in Kansas or Colorado, because of the lack of primary resources. However, it should not take a back seat to those works. The major problem of the study is the repetition of information given earlier, apparently to make the accounts fuller. The only other criticism is that photos often follow the related story by one to three pages. The illustrations are generally of average quality, but relevant to the text. Overall, a well-done, interesting study of that aspect of Fort Worth's history.-W. T. Eagan, University of Southern Colorado

Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review

The red-light district of Fort Worth, Texas began its colorful history with the cattle drives of the 1870s and lingered on through World War I. The ``Acre,'' according to this entertaining account, supported a variety of vices, notably drinking, gambling, and prostitution. It also played host to the Wild Bunch, Sam Bass, and other colorful characters. This lively and readable work suffers from a repetitive text and some minor factual errors. For example, ``Squirrel-tooth Alice,'' a well-known bawd, acquired her moniker on account of her pet, not her appearance. Due to a paucity of local sources, the author relies on ``scholarly imagination'' and accounts of other tenderloins. The bibliography includes many major secondary works, although Anne Butler's excellent Daughters of Joy, Sisters of Misery ( LJ 3/1/85) is unaccountably absent. Selcer's books would appeal to general and informed readers.-- Daniel Liestman, Seattle Pacific Univ. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Choice Review


Review by Library Journal Review