"Kreck tells the epic story of westward expansion, from the great wagon trails, to the track layers, and those Hell on Wheels towns where the West was at its wildest. It's a story wonderfully told."—David Fridtjof Halaas, from the foreword

The Wild West was more than just cowboys. It was also the raucous and unfettered railroad settlements that lined the tracks.

Overnight settlements, better known as "Hell on Wheels," sprang up as the transcontinental railroad crossed Nebraska and Wyoming. They brought opportunity not only for legitimate businesses but also for gamblers, land speculators, prostitutes, and thugs. Dick Kreck tells their stories along with those of the heroic individuals who managed, finally, to create permanent towns in the interior West.

Dick Kreck retired from The Denver Post after thirty-eight years as an editor and columnist. He previously worked at the San Francisco Examiner and the Los Angeles Times. He is the author of five other books, including the bestsellers Murder at the Brown Palace: A True Story of Seduction and Betrayal and Smaldone: The Untold Story of an American Crime Family.