Apart from its brilliance as television, it’s amazing what Deadwood gets away with. This acclaimed series from HBO, which premiered in 2004, is set in the teeming outlaw camp of ‘Deadwood’. It has been described by Variety as ‘a vulgar, gritty, at times downright nasty take on the Old West brimming with all the dark genius that series creator and sceenwriter extraordinaire David Milch has at his fingertips’. All this and more. The international cast of authoritative contributors assess Deadwood’s many facets: its profane language, its characters, from Al Swearengen (who lives up to his name) and Calamity Jane, to B.B. Farnham and Mr. Wu, its place in the western genre, Deadwood and serial fiction, prostitution, the making of American civil society, Deadwood’s Chinese, the opening credits, Reverend Smith and much more. Episode and character guides complete the book - the Deadwood companion for fans and students to swear by.