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Nathan Ward
Nathan Ward is the author of The Lost Detective: Becoming Dashiell Hammett (nominated for the Edgar and Anthony awards), which tells how the young Hammett went from being a real-life operative to creating Sam Spade; and Dark Harbor: The War for the New York Waterfront, about the true criminal story that inspired Elia Kazan’s film masterpiece. His new book, Son of the Old West The Odyssey of Charlie Siringo: Cowboy, Detective, Writer of the Wild Frontier, was released by Atlantic Monthly Press in September 2023.
The Cowboy as Detective: Finding Charlie Siringo’s West
Charlie Siringo’s frontier life filled five autobiographies. His book about his two decades “playing outlaw” as a Pinkerton operative provoked the agency’s long campaign to silence him, and inspired American crime writers such as Dashiell Hammett. “When the final call comes,” Siringo judged toward the end, “I shall have to take my medicine, with Satan holding the spoon.”
The Bizarre Story of the 'Cowboy Mutiny'
In 1902, Captain Robert Peattie was attacked aboard the Leicester Castle by a disgruntled sailor, who then killed the ship’s 2nd mate before escaping with two others on a flimsy raft. The Captain assumed the men had soon drowned in the South Pacific until he was called to America, with four bullets still in his body, to identify a suspect living as an Arizona Sheriff.
Blood & Fire: The Bombing of Wall Street, 100 Years Later
When a converted ice cream wagon blew up in Wall Street, it was the worst act of terrorism in U.S. history, the loudest burst in a war between the Federal government and American Anarchists.
Falling in Love with The Rockford Files—All Over Again
James Garner and 'The Rockford Files' didn’t just humanize the TV private detective; for some, the show was a kind of guide to life.
The Tragic, Violent History of the Brooklyn Waterfront
Pete Panto was a hero to dockworkers across New York. His disappearance was part of a long, bloody history shaping the city.
Wild Bill, We Hardly Knew Ye
On Deadwood's real-life origins, legendary figures, and why Wild Bill Hickok had to die so that the town could live.
The Dangers of Dime Westerns
From Mark Twain's "bloodthirstily interesting" favorites to first-person shooters, Westerns were the first "true crime" sensation.
The Greatest Crime Magazine That Never Was
Remembering 'The Big Clock' and Its Crime-Solving Editors
Isidore Zimmerman: The Man the System Couldn't Break
He Survived the Electric Chair, Attica Beatings, and a Life Sentence
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