Hunting the American West is a thoroughly illustrated, narrative history of big-game hunting in the nineteenth-century American West. The engaging narrative draws extensively on the writings of original participants and observers of the subject and -- along with an abundance of pictorial material -- affords unusual insight into the diverse methods and motives for hunting big game in the Old West. No other work on the subject conveys the feeling and character of the hunt in its various eras and styles, or its profound consequences, as convincingly. This book covers the principal big-game species; subsistence, commerce, and sport hunting; the variety of methods used over time and among different peoples in the harvest; the evolving weaponry involved; the artistic expression engendered by the western chase; and the rise of the hunter-conservation movement, which led to the founding of the Boone and Crockett Club. While it presumes solid scholarship, Hunting the American West is intended for a broad popular audience, including those interested in hunting, western history, firearms, sporting art, and conservation. Winner -- 2009 Western Writers of America Spur Award for Best Non-Fiction Historical Book Winner -- 2009 Independent Book Publishers Association Ippy Gold Award for Best Regional (Western) Non-Fiction Winner -- 2009 ForeWord Magazine Silver Award for History Book of the Year Finalist -- 2009 Oklahoma Book Awards for Non-Fiction Finalist -- 2009 Independent Book Publishers Association BENJAMIN FRANKLIN AWARD for Large Format Cover Design