They are tough. They are mean. They are the fastest, coolest gunslingers of the sixties and they don't talk much.

They are the heroes of the Italian Spaghetti West and they changed the Western forever. Clint Eastwood's poncho-clad, cigar smoking Man With No Name is the enduring symbol of the genre and his Dollars trilogy with Sergio Leone reinvented action cinema, adding a European freshness to the time-worn Western myths.

But Leone and Eastwood weren't the only hombres to saddle-up and head West, and this Pocket Essential Guide rounds-up and reviews the best of a very wild bunch, including perennial cult classics Django, The Big Gundown, Django Kill and They Call Me Trinity.

Howard Hughes analyses the entire genre (from the mainstream offerings to more offbeat oddities) and assesses its impact on modern cinema. He also charts the Spaghetti Western careers of actors like Lee Van Cleef, Terence Hill and Klaus Kinski as they rode the trail to international success, and includes notes on Ennio Morricone's fabulous groundbreaking Western scores.

As well as an introduction to the genre, 31 of the best Spaghetti Westerns are analysed in detail and there is a comprehensive multi-media reference section.