Oakley Hall, Warlock *** 1/2

Warlock is a Western, named after the fictional town in which it takes place. In 1881, the town is just beyond the edge of civilization, a day's ride from the nearest sheriff and courthouse. The Apaches have been subdued, but gangs of cattle rustlers still wreak havoc. The chamber of commerce hires a famous gunslinger as marshal to keep the peace.

The story features all the archetypes of a Western: gunfighters, deputies, rustlers, miners, whores, business tycoons, frightened townsfolk. The action is based on historical events such as the gunfight at the OK Corral and the Lincoln County War. The author's purpose is to show how these legends form. 

The characters carefully consider their actions, balancing the demands of their conscience, their job responsibilities, social expectations, and their reputation in posterity. The town council orders the marshal to throw four troublemakers out of town, three men who robbed the stagecoach and a union organizer from the local mine. How can the marshal justify "posting" the three thieves but not the union man? He has been hired to enforce the will of the town council not the law (he is a marshal not a sheriff). If he enforces rules based on no higher authority than his conscience, is he any more than a tyrant?

The best and most distinctive aspect of Warlock is its careful consideration of its characters' ethical dilemmas. That's also what slows the story down between its big action sequences. There are longueurs before and after each major event, with each character evaluating the consequences.

One of the major events in the book is a strike at the Medusa mine. I don't feel like this plot thread got the full attention it deserved.

Sterling Hayden, Wanderer **** 1/2

Wanderer is not your typical actor's memoir. Only 40 of its 400 pages discuss the author's Hollywood career, and his tone is entirely scornful. Far more time is devoted to Hayden's sailing adventures. He worked as an AB seaman, a dory fisherman, foretopman on a racing crew, schooner captain, and owner of various decrepit ships. He commanded sailing vessels in the Mediterranean during World War II and cooperated with the House Un-American Affairs Committee in the 1950s. He also got married a few times, but he doesn't talk much about that. In 1959 he defied a court order and sailed to Tahiti with his young children.

The first time I read Wanderer I was most struck by how much commercial shipping was still under sail in the 1930s. This time I was entertained by how often Hayden made bold decisions to change his life, and how quickly he regretted each of those decisions.

The best thing about Wanderer is not the adventures but its self-reproachful protagonist. Sterling Hayden is a fascinating, frustrating, unpleasant character. It's unusual to encounter such a personality in an autobiography. As author and subject, Hayden recounts parts of his story in the first person, parts in the third person, with some second person sprinkled in. There is a dissertation to be written about how he chooses which episodes to narrate in which form.

My copy of Wanderer is a worn pocket-sized Bantam Books edition with a cover price of 85 cents. Reading it in this format added to my enjoyment.