Hell's Half Acre: The Life and Legend of a Red-Light District (Chisholm Trail Series)
The red-light district of Fort Worth, Texas began its colorful history with the cattle drives of the 1870s and lingered on through World War I. The "Acre," according to this entertaining account, supported a variety of vices, notably drinking, gambling, and prostitution. It also played host to the Wild Bunch, Sam Bass, and other colorful characters. This lively and readable work suffers from a repetitive text and some minor factual errors. For example, "Squirrel-tooth Alice," a well-known bawd, acquired her moniker on account of her pet, not her appearance. Due to a paucity of local sources, the author relies on "scholarly imagination" and accounts of other tenderloins. The bibliography includes many major secondary works, although Anne Butler's excellent Daughters of Joy, Sisters of Misery ( LJ 3/1/85) is unaccountably absent. Selcer's books would appeal to general and informed readers.- Daniel Liestman, Seattle Pacific Univ.Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.