Days of Destiny, by Leo Banks and other contributors to Arizona Highways magazine, Arizona Department ofTransportation, Phoenix, 1996, $7.95 paperback.
Quick reads about quick-draw artists and other desperadoes and lawmen who made their marks in Arizona Territory. That, ina nutshell (or a .45 shell), is what this collection of stories, prepared by the book division of Arizona Highways magazine, offers fans of the Wild West. Tucson journalist Leo Banks wrote 16 of the stories; other contributors are StanSmith, Larry Starkey, Joe Stocker and Katherine Gehm. Such familiar figures as Morgan Earp, Black Jack Ketchum andBuckskin Frank Leslie are the focus of some of the tales, but there are also stories involving lesser known characters such asConstable Marian T. Alexander, who shot a woman with a double-barreled shotgun; and Bill Smith, whose ambush of twovolunteeer lawmen led to the formation of the Arizona Rangers. Days of Destiny will give you some moments to rememberfrom the wild and woolly days when there were more highwaymen than highways in Arizona.
