Me-Smith

Smith, the title character of this unusual cowboy western is so good. He's not just a good bad guy, who wins your sympathy even while he breaks the law. He's rotten to the core and he shows his true colors from the opening chapter. Unlike almost any other western writer at the time, Lockhart gives us a thorough character study of a hateful man. Smith is not so much malevolent as supremely self-centered and indifferent to the welfare of others. With him, it's every man for himself and the devil take the hindmost.