This anthology features 20 pieces about the West, including work by JoAnn Levy, Richard S. Wheeler, Elmer Kelton, and others. The selections share a commitment to presenting fresh perspectives on traditional narrative themes of the West.

Once, there was a world where the heroes were defined by their white clothing and the bad guys always wore black. The town sheriff always gunned down the wild gunslinger while the lady in distress cowered. The Indian was to be feared, not understood, and the white man always saved the day. This was the traditional Western.

But times change, as did the Western. The evolving Western is told from the point of view of blacks, Native Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Jews, Gentiles, Mormons, Catholics, women, and men. It is about America; it is about life. Whether a story's central element is a hangman or a midwife, a piano or a cowboy who hates tomatoes, you may be certain of one thing, if the tale reflects an expanding continent, it reflects the American West.

Once, there was a world where the heroes were defined by their white clothing and the bad guys always wore black. The town sheriff always gunned down the wild gunslinger while the lady in distress cowered. The Indian was to be feared, not understood, and the white man always saved the day. This was the traditional Western.

But times change, as did the Western. The evolving Western is told from the point of view of blacks, Native Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Jews, Gentiles, Mormons, Catholics, women, and men. It is about America; it is about life. Whether a story's central element is a hangman or a midwife, a piano or a cowboy who hates tomatoes, you may be certain of one thing, if the tale reflects an expanding continent, it reflects the American West.