Porter Rockwell: A Biography (signed)

New York: Paramount Books, 1987. INSCRIBED / SIGNED by the AUTHOR directly on the front free endpaper. Fine condition in a bright and shiny Very Good dust jacket (lightly rubbed / 1 short closed tear). NOT price clipped ($19.95). NO chips. NO fading. Sharp corners. Square and tight. Pages are clean and unmarked. Illustrated with many photos and vintage portraits. From the dust jacket: "This descriptive, fast-moving narrative with detailed documentation helps reveal one of Western America's most controversial personalities..." -- Dr. Fred R. Gowns, Professor of History, Brigham Young University. "The writing is slick and the pace is fast... Dewey has done his homework." -- Deseret News, Salt Lake City. From the publisher: "Read the true story of Brigham Young's bodyguard -- a man history (and Hollywood) has completely overlooked -- the only man to kill more outlaws than Wyatt Earp, Doc Holladay, Tom Horn, and Batt Masterson… combined. A man who believed from a blessing he received from Joseph Smith that if he never cut his hair he could never die in a fight. Assassins ambushed him, but no one could kill him, as confirmed by the Deseret News in 1918, stating he had passed through dangers 'unscathed, as numerous as those recorded in the most lurid fiction' after it had interviewed numerous settlers who had known him. Gunfighters traveled hundreds of miles to 'get him' -- none succeeded. Outlaws actually sang compfire ballads about him. Latter-day Saints are proud to view him as a folk hero. Reading this book allows us to see what a real hero is. Famed British journalist Jules Remy wrote in 1861, 'He is the stuff from which heroes are wrought. It is he who is ever at hand where there is a sacrifice to be made which can be of advantage to the oppressed.' Richard Lloyd Dewey quotes hundreds of original sources -- journals, letters, and court records -- some from sources never before tapped -- and weaves them all together in fascinating form. In the process he clarifies the controversies, dispels the shadows, and melts away the myriads of anti-Mormon myths. Journalistic, fast-flowing writing sweeps you through explosive early Mormon history with charm and style. He reports little known events and unravels a bizarre yet faith-promoting tale. The Deseret News of 1986 reports, 'The writing is slick and the pace is fast. Dewey has done his homework.' It's a story told with breadth and feeling . . . the most intriguing, ACCURATE account yet of Orrin Porter Rockwell. Also the most comprehensive, by far. As the definitive work on him, this fascinating, epic biography is as exciting to read as a first-rate novel. Beautifully illustrated by western artist Clark Kelley Price.". INSCRIBED / SIGNED by the AUTHOR. Hardcover. Fine condition/Very Good dust jacket. Illus. by Price, Clark Kelley. Thick 8vo. xviii, 574pp. Great Packaging, Fast Shipping.