"The Ballad of Cat Ballou" by Roy Chanslor (1899-1964)

Publisher: Little, Brown & Company
Copyright 1956


"The Ballad of Cat Ballou" is a classic western by an author that researched his work. It tells the tale of Catherine 'Cat' Ballou a young girl who grows up amidst in Wyoming amid ongoing between the Cattleman's Association and her father who was sold a parcel of land in order to keep the cattlemen from using the area as a thoroughfare for their cattle.

The book tells the tale beginning with the courting Cat Ballou's mother (Catherine) who runs away with an outlaw whom she becomes smitten with, even though she promised to consider marriage to an important rancher Adam Field. This begins a life long hatred between Field and Frank Ballou (Cat's father). Eventually Cat is born, and everything is fine until she grows up and a lot of men begin to notice her, including Abe Field (Adam's rather useless son).

There are a host of other characters in this novel which round out the tale very well, and show what a good writer Mr. Chanslor was.

This book was made into a movie in 1965 starring Jane Fonda, and Lee Marvin and was well received. As per usual Hollywood made significant changes and turned it from a well-written, serious western into a musical / comedy. The movie is enjoyable, but is nowhere near as good as the book.

"Westworld Psychology: Violent Delights" by Travis Langley and Wind Goodfriend (eds.)

New York: Sterling (2018)
ISBN: 9781454932413

This book takes an in-depth look at the psychology behind the hit HBO series Westworld (now filming it's third season). This series is based on the 1973 Michael Crichton movie of the same title which starred Yul Brynner, Richard Benjamin, and James Brolin and told the story of a theme park where things went horribly wrong. The series takes inspiration from this movie, and explores in great depth the interactions between the hosts (robots), guests. There are some overall differences between the movie and series as in the movie there were three theme parks Westworld, Roman World, and Medieval World. In the series so far we only know of two Westworld, and Shogun World.

This is not a fiction book but a critical  examination from a psychological perspective of what humans would be subjected to, and hosts have to endure in the event Westworld actually existed.

The various articles are written by prominent authors, scientists, medical personnel who deal with the psychological, sociological, and other issues as well as the concepts behind artificial intelligence, and human / machine interaction.

The book takes on such topics as: violent games and how they enhance aggression; the concepts of when games more than just games; when and why [and how] do we perceive what is human; The evolution of women's gender roles and the development of agency; overcoming complex PTSD; and much more.

Overall I found this book extremely interesting and I believe it would be a valuable resource for any would be fiction writers, or students in undergraduate or graduate anthropology, psychology, or sociology.