The Best Western Stories of Wayne D. Overholser

From the pulp magazines devoted to stories of the Wild West emerged a few genuine craftsmen with a deep understanding of human nature: Wayne D. Overholser, author of more than 100 novels and 400 stories, was one of these writers.

Overholser's stories fulfill the require­ments of the Western genre—plenty of fast action; characters alone facing incredible odds; right invariably triumph­ing over wrong, law and order over chaos and anarchy; a good man winning the right woman. Stephen Overholser in his Introduction to his father's stories points out that the stories were written after "a great deal of research into the history of the West. Thus he gave his stories historical backgrounds or at least im­bued them with historical realities." He could also draw upon his own mem­ories, because he had grown up knowing many true pioneers. Stephen Overhol­ser also notes that unlike many pulp writers, Wayne D. Overholser "envi­sioned his stories through the eyes of his characters."