John Wesley Hardin spread terror in much of Texas in the years following the Civil War as the most wanted fugitive with a $4,000 reward on his head. Besides his reputation as the deadliest man with a six-gun, he left an autobiography in which he detailed many of the troubles of his life. Chuck Parsons and Norman Wayne Brown have meticulously examined his claims against available records to determine how much of his life story is true, and how much was only a half truth, or a complete lie.

CHUCK PARSONS is the author of Captain John R. Hughes: Lone Star Ranger (winner of the WWHA Best Book Award), The Sutton-Taylor Feud, John B. Armstrong, Texas Ranger N. O. Reynolds, and Captain L. H. McNelly. He lives in Luling, Texas. NORMAN WAYNE BROWN is retired from the U.S. Air Force and was a former Texas State Parole Officer. He has written two books and articles for True West and Wild West History Association Journal. He lives near Snyder, Texas.