Exploring the lives of the wide range of people who struggled to make a home for themselves in this harsh and unforgiving region.

Including descriptions of how a variety of people lived their daily lives, from nomadic Indian tribes to Chinese immigrants and from cowboys to city-dwellers. It also conveys how those individual lives are reflected in the sweeping changes that occurred in a century that saw the West become the most modern and diverse of all the nation's regions.

Readers will also find the expected cast of characters (gunfighters, American Indian leaders, cowboys, and so on) that have long captured the imagination of people around the world covered with an academic focus that tries to tell an accurate story of the West and its role in the United States. This engaging format takes a close and nuanced look at the daily lives of those in the American West, enjoyable for students and general readers alike.