From the gunslinger duels of the dusty Old West to the fire-fights on the Los Angeles freeway, the story of the lawman and the outlaw has been written in blood across the pages of American history. In this book, expert author Chris McNab draws together these violent and chaotic tales to form a coherent history of the ongoing struggle between law-enforcement and Americas heavily armed criminal underworld. Using eye-witness accounts and backed with numerous photographs, he delves into the country's folk-history, examining famous events such as the Gunfight at the O.K. Coral and the disaster at Waco, Texas, and explaining how desperate outlaws like Jesse James, Billy the Kid, and Bonnie and Clyde became household names. With each bloody clash and bullet-riddled corpse, he adds another piece to the puzzle to explain how the violence of the past has created the America of today.