Why read Wrecked Lives and Lost Souls?

Book cover of Wrecked Lives and Lost Souls: Joe Lynch Davis and the Last of the Oklahoma Outlaws

Book description

Growing up, Jerry Thompson knew only that his grandfather was a gritty, ""mixed-blood"" Cherokee cowboy named Joe Lynch Davis. That was all anyone cared to say about the man. But after Thompson's mother died, the award-winning historian discovered a shoebox full of letters that held the key to a long-lost…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Wrecked Lives and Lost Souls as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Michael J. Hightower

Author

I include this book for two reasons. First, Thompson describes a turn-of-the-twentieth-century range war, largely forgotten (and utterly unknown to me!) that raged a few miles from my family’s cattle ranch in eastern Oklahoma. Second, Thompson discovered the story when he stumbled across articles hidden in a deceased relative’s closet.

My recent book emerged in much the same way—from articles and correspondence hidden for a half-century. My goal is to bring hidden history to light—in this case, the history of a statesman and 6-term congressman who has languished in undeserved obscurity for decades.

From Michael's list on The best books that reveal history’s obscure, surprising, and enlightening backstories.