{"product_id":"west-like-lightning-the-brief-legendary-ride-of-the-pony-express-paperback","title":"West Like Lightning: The Brief, Legendary Ride of the Pony Express - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eJim DeFelice\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWestern Writers of America \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSpur Awards Finalist, Best Western Historical Nonfiction\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"A GROUNDBREAKING WORK. ... The first comprehensive history of the legendary transcontinental experiment in mail delivery in sixty years.\" --\u003cem\u003eTrue West\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"This rollicking account of the daring enterprise known as the Pony Express brings its era and its legendary characters to life.\" --\u003cem\u003eSan Francisco Chronicle\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe new definitive history of the Pony Express by the #1 bestselling coauthor of \u003cem\u003eAmerican Sniper\u003c\/em\u003e, illustrated with 50 images \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn the eve of the Civil War, three American businessmen launched an audacious plan to create a financial empire by transforming communications across the hostile territory between the nation's two coasts. In the process, they created one of the most enduring icons of the American West: the Pony Express. Daring young men with colorful names like \"Bronco Charlie\" and \"Sawed-Off Jim\" galloped at speed over a vast and unforgiving landscape, etching an irresistible tale that passed into myth almost instantly. Equally an improbable success and a business disaster, the Pony Express came and went in just eighteen months, but not before uniting and captivating a nation on the brink of being torn apart. Jim DeFelice's brilliantly entertaining \u003cem\u003eWest Like Lightning \u003c\/em\u003eis the first major history of the Pony Express to put its birth, life, and legacy into the full context of the American story.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company--or \"Pony Express,\" as it came to be known--was part of a plan by William Russell, Alexander Majors, and William Waddell to create the next American Express, a transportation and financial juggernaut that already dominated commerce back east. All that stood in their way were almost two thousand miles of uninhabited desert, ice-capped mountains, oceanic plains roamed by Indian tribes, whitewater-choked rivers, and harsh, unsettled wilderness.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Pony used a relay system of courageous horseback riders to ferry mail halfway across a continent in just ten days. The challenges the riders faced were enormous, yet the Pony Express succeeded, delivering thousands of letters at record speed. The service instantly became the most direct means of communication between the eastern United States and its far western territories, helping to firmly connect them to the Union.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePopulated with cast of characters including Abraham Lincoln (news of whose electoral victory the Express delivered to California), Wild Bill Hickock, Buffalo Bill Cody (who fed the legend of the Express in his Wild West Show), and Mark Twain (who celebrated the riders in \u003cem\u003eRoughing It\u003c\/em\u003e), \u003cem\u003eWest Like Lightning \u003c\/em\u003emasterfully traces the development of the Pony Express and follows it from its start in St. Joseph, Missouri--the edge of the civilized world--west to Sacramento, the capital of California, then booming from the gold rush. Jim DeFelice, who traveled the Pony's route in his research, plumbs the legends, myths, and surprising truth of the service, exploring its lasting relevance today as a symbol of American enterprise, audacity, and daring.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eBack Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBEFORE IT BECAME LEGEND, IT WAS A REVOLUTION KICKING UP Dust ACROSS 1,900 MILES OF THE AMERICAN WEST\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe #1 \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e bestselling coauthor of \u003cem\u003eAmerican Sniper\u003c\/em\u003e brings the Pony Express to life in this rich and rollicking new history\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the eve of the Civil War, three American businessmen launched an audacious plan to create a financial empire by transforming communications across the hostile territory between the nation's two coasts. In the process, they created one of the most enduring icons of the American West: the Pony Express. Daring young men with colorful names like \"Bronco Charlie\" and \"Sawed-Off Jim\" galloped at speed over a vast and unforgiving landscape, etching an irresistible tale that passed into myth almost instantly. Equally an improbable success and a business disaster, the Pony Express came and went in just eighteen months, but not before uniting and captivating a nation on the brink of being torn apart. Jim DeFelice's brilliantly entertaining \u003cem\u003eWest Like Lightning\u003c\/em\u003e is the first major history of the Pony Express to put its birth, life, and legacy into the full context of the American story.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company--or \"Pony Express,\" as it came to be known--was part of a plan by William Russell, Alexander Majors, and William Waddell to create the next American Express, a transportation and financial juggernaut that already dominated commerce back east. All that stood in their way were almost two thousand miles of uninhabited desert, ice-capped mountains, oceanic plains roamed by Indian tribes, whitewater-choked rivers, and harsh, unsettled wilderness.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Pony used a relay system of courageous horseback riders to ferry mail halfway across a continent in just ten days. The challenges the riders faced were enormous, yet the Pony Express succeeded, delivering thousands of letters at record speed. The service instantly became the most direct means of communication between the eastern United States and its far western territories, helping to firmly connect them to the Union.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePopulated with a cast of characters including Abraham Lincoln (news of whose electoral victory the Express delivered to California), Wild Bill Hickok, Buffalo Bill Cody (who fed the legend of the Express in his Wild West Show), and Mark Twain (who celebrated the riders in \u003cem\u003eRoughing It\u003c\/em\u003e), \u003cem\u003eWest Like Lightning \u003c\/em\u003emasterfully traces the development of the Pony Express and follows it from its start in St. Joseph, Missouri--the edge of the civilized world--west to Sacramento, the capital of California, then booming from the gold rush. Jim DeFelice, who traveled the Pony's route in his research, plumbs the legends, myths, and surprising truth of the service, exploring its lasting relevance today as a symbol of American enterprise, audacity, and daring.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 368\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.9 x 8 x 5.3 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e March 02, 2020\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45176908021862,"sku":"9780062496782","price":24.67,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0599\/7255\/0758\/files\/N3BuMU5VaXArWGh5S2dHUy80eGRsQT09.webp?v=1773435030","url":"https:\/\/infinitylightwa.com\/products\/west-like-lightning-the-brief-legendary-ride-of-the-pony-express-paperback","provider":"Infinity Light","version":"1.0","type":"link"}