The myth of the American West, the Wild West of the late 19th century, the one of frontier towns where the law barely reaches, full of sheriffs, gunfighters and outlaws, has been source inexhaustible of stories in literature and cinema. Stories full of tough and brave characters, heroes and villains, often lonely beings struggling to survive in a society where the effective law is that of the strongest. Stories that recall the birth of a nation, the construction of a civilized society where violence seemed to make it impossible: a stable project of reasonably peaceful coexistence and partnership for which serious difficulties had to be faced. Circumstance in which the great epic figures of the western emerge, the heroes who paved the way for that incipient society.

How not to remember, for example, Sheriff Will Kane in Alone in Danger, unable to rally the support of his fellow citizens to the cause of legitimate authority, but without shying away from the danger that looms before him; or Judge Billy Priest in the wonderful The Sun Always Rises in Kentucky, who stands up to his fellow citizens to preserve justice in the face of violence and hatred; or the lawyer and future senator Ramsom Stoddard, played by James Stewart in The Man Who Killed Liberty Valance, a tireless fighter for the law and its fragile and threatened empire in the face of the power of force and violence, who inspires and points the way to his fellow citizens.

Solitude -in spite of themselves-, courage, sense of justice and law, righteousness, Withdrawal to their own security and comfort, spirit of service to society are some of the common traits that define these immortal characters, true heroes who lead their people and point the way to a peace based on the institutionalized authority of law and justice: heroes and leaders full of the epic of the beginnings. But is being a hero the same as being a leader?

In the last mentioned film, there is a very suggestive contrast of characters: the one between the lawyer Stoddard, suspicious of the use of weapons and convinced of progress through the rule of law, and Tom Doniphon -John Wayne-, who mocks Stoddard's naivety and assumes as inevitable the law of the strongest, imbued as he is with the principles of honesty and justice, but convinced that they can only be defended with the force of arms. Doniphon, brave, strong and unyielding, clearly responds to the figure of the hero, but, solitary and of individual action, he can hardly be thought of as a leader. On the other hand, Stoddard, whose heroism can be questioned, is undoubtedly a leader, a person who does not protect, but rather guide, marks out a shared and pursuable path towards the future, capable of uniting efforts and making a community collaborate in a common task that all take as their own.

 Warlock is the name of a fictitious frontier town that gives its name to Oakley Hall's novel, finalist of the 1958 Pulitzer Prize award and one of the most famous and successful of the genre. A fascinating, complex and fast-paced novel, it gathers and intertwines with great narrative force all the myths of the western: gunfighters, gamblers, sheriffs, indolent judges, unscrupulous powerful men, Indians, puritan women, women with an eventful life, miners, union members, dusty streets, wagon trains, the army cavalry, duels, grudges, revenge, courage, fear, loneliness, impotence, betrayal, death.

Set in the early 1880s, it recounts the conflicts and tensions of this small town struggling to flourish: unprotected by the distant, passive and corrupt county authority that barely provides a teaching assistant sheriff to deal with a dangerous band of rustlers and the struggles of the owners of prosperous silver mines with the multitude of miners working under harsh conditions, the committee of citizens decides to hire to degree scroll private the services of Clay Blaisedell, legendary gunslinger who possesses some weapons with the golden hilt -which gives degree scroll to the Spanish version of its cinematographic adaptation-, to defend them. A choral novel, without a central protagonist, narrated through diverse characters and with multiple focuses of action and attention; a novel through which, in addition to villains of very diverse backgrounds, heroes and leaders parade, without always coinciding one with the other.

Among the heroes, the figure of Blaisedell undoubtedly stands out. A tough, brave, educated man, with shadows in his past but who fulfills his duty as protector and savior with rectitude and a peculiar and strong sense of honor. But among those who can also be included, without revealing too much of the plot, Morgan, Blaisedell's permanent companion, mysterious and shady player, also tough and brave and with a peculiar and strong sense of honor, willing to selfless sacrifice. These traits and the heroic nature of their decisive actions are admirable, but they are still solitary characters who go their own way, even if they act in the service of others. 

Among the characters who most closely approximate the figure of a leader are the sheriff's deputies, Carl Schroeder and, above all, Johnny Gannon. In a position that poses a serious threat to their lives and with hardly any administrative support, they represent the only legitimate and legal authority in Warlock. Although they lack the charisma, skill and audacity of Blaisedell, they also display great courage in taking on this position and wanting to do their duty effectively and manager, without overreaching but without running away or shrinking back, despite being perfectly aware of their limitations. Unlike Blaisedell and Morgan, their goal is to achieve the support and partnership of the citizens in the defense of the law, that all the people become involved and feel the responsibility for what is everyone's job, even if they are the ones who, in the end written request, have to show their faces or take the most risky decisions. It would be worth mentioning briefly other interesting leadership figures in some miners determined to form and lead a union that would give strength to their claims and in the physician David Wagner, mediator and advisor in some of these conflicts, who seek to unite those involved in a common task with prudence and realism, in a approach that could be called more political or representative of leadership.

What differentiates a leader from a hero? What is more important, to have heroes or leaders? A hero is expected to have courage and audacity, the ability to Withdrawal, sacrifice and fortitude to protect or achieve the good of others by facing all difficulties and taking a serious risk. The leader is also expected to have the ability to make decisions and to step forward, just like the hero, but above all the ability to involve others in a common task, to create a strong sense of partnership towards a goal to which guide, and whose efforts can be pursued by others, allows for continuity. Unlike the hero, the leader can never be a lone wolf, while often heroic actions are actions with a strong charge of individuality, as beautifully reflected in so many classic westerns, with memorable lone, individualistic heroes. While not necessarily excluding them, bravery and a willingness to heroic sacrifice are not essential to leadership in our daily lives, even though leadership always involves risk-taking. But, at the same time, when circumstances are adverse and we have to seriously fight against unacceptable situations caused by others, heroism may also be required of the leader, courage to face them and protect others, even if their cowardice or blindness leaves him or her alone. Leaders are indispensable to build a nation or a shared, far-reaching project , but without heroes it might never have survived the most difficult and precarious times. We need leaders, but sometimes we also need heroes to save us from danger.

Warlock, Hall's impressive novel, allows us to reflect on the heroic aspect of leadership in exceptional situations of special difficulty, but also on the difference between heroes and leaders: we see solitary heroes, acting on their own, to whom we can hardly grant a leadership role, however admirable their actions may be; and authentic leaders who inspire and move, who mark a common and shared path despite their fragility, failures and limitations, with actions that leave a more lasting mark even if they often lack the brilliance of heroism.