West Like Lightning: The Brief, Legendary Ride of the Pony Express

DeFelice (American Sniper) describes how both sides of the North American continent were connected by a ten-day horseback mail delivery system prior to transcontinental railroads and telegraphs. Taking a broad contextual approach, he places the mail delivery system firmly in an America on the eve of the Civil War and the presidential election of 1860. New information is provided, garnered from local archives and museums during his own retracing of the historic route from St. Joseph, MO, and on through Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, and Nevada to Sacramento, CA. There are many stories of the riders and their backgrounds, including Nick Wilson, Pony Bob Haslam, Buffalo Bill Cody, and Wild Bill Hickock. Dangerous journeys through Paiute territory during the Pyramid Lake War are told with consideration for the Paiute point of view.