Western Writers of America review Alias Soapy Smith.

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My book received a great review from Western Writers of America, Inc. in the January 2010 issue of their Roundup Magazine (p. 31).

JEFF SMITH. Alias Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel.
Klondike Research. Hardcover, 628 pps., $26. ISBN 978-0-9819743-0-9.

Soapy Smith had a colorful history in the Old West. Throughout his criminal dealings in Denver, and Leadville, to the under-world element in the silver camp of Creede, Colorado, to the great Klondike gold rush, and Skagway, Alaska, where he met with death, Smith’s exploits have only managed a chapter at most in the annuals of history. Until now. Jeff Smith is the great-grandson of the con-man of the West: Jefferson Randolph Smith II. Better known as Soapy Smith.

Smith’s biography is the culmination of years of research and verification of family documents, court records, and personal letters. The details of Smith’s life from his Georgia beginnings to his murder in Skagway are laid out in neat chronological order. The reader gains an insight into the life of Smith, his dealings in the under-world, his con games, who he was and why he was. Backed by extensive documentation, enhanced with photos and personal letters, many never before published, this book is a must for anyone interested in the history of the Old West, games of chance, and the life and times of Soapy Smith. —Linda Wommack

Trivia
Frank C. Robertson, author of Soapy Smith: King of the Frontier Con Men (1961) was a past president (1959-1960) of the Western Writers of America.