A Brief History of Dodge City

Step into the dust, danger, and drama of America’s most legendary frontier town.

In A Brief History of Dodge City, Derek Monaghan delivers a vivid, cinematic journey through the rise, reign, and reinvention of the Queen of the Cowtowns. Spanning ten immersive chapters and 15,000 words, this book brings to life the people, conflicts, and cultural forces that shaped one of the most iconic places in the American West.

From the vast buffalo plains and the explosive birth of a boomtown to the lawmen, outlaws, gamblers, and cowboys who carved their names into history, Dodge City emerges as a place where myth and reality collide. Monaghan blends gripping storytelling with meticulous research to reveal the human stories behind the legends—Indigenous nations, immigrants, entrepreneurs, families, and everyday residents who built a community in the shadow of chaos.

Listeners will explore:

• The frontier landscape before Dodge City existed
• The buffalohunting boom that sparked its rise
• The lawmen who walked the line between order and violence
• The redlight district and underworld that fueled its economy
• The thunder of cattle drives and the cowboy invasion
• The quieter, richer tapestry of immigrant and family life
• The decline of the Wild West era and the coming of fences and railroads
• Hollywood’s transformation of Dodge City into a global symbol
• The modern town that honors its past while forging a new identity

Rich, atmospheric, and deeply human, A Brief History of Dodge City is perfect for listeners who love frontier history, Western lore, or fastpaced historical nonfiction that reads like a movie.

Whether you’re a history enthusiast, a Western storyteller, or simply curious about the truth behind the legend, this book offers a compelling portrait of a town where the frontier spirit still echoes on the prairie wind.