Interesting.
Amazon UK has no update and I’ve heard nothing from Howard. I’ll see what I can find out.
Just spoke to Howard and you can disregard the Jan 30th date. It will be out later this year but definitely not that early.
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Thanks,
I’m itching to read it.
I.B.Tauris was bought by Bloomsbury last year. New publication date on the Bloomsbury website: March 30, 2020. 
Oh dear.
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@Tom_B just now on FB:
“Death in the Desert” by Howard Hughes update. Several people commented that Amazon had cancelled their orders and refunded their money for this long awaited book by Howard Hughes. I promised to contact Howard and see if I could find out what was going on. Somehow I had lost his e-mail address and that took a day to locate. Anyway I sent him an e-mail yesterday and he replied to my inquiry today. He has been ill with a virus since October and i just now getting out of the house and back to writing. Originally he had submitted a 2 volume set of books and was told by the publisher to cut it back to one. This he started to do when he became ill and the original publisher was purchased by another publisher and all scheduled releases were cancelled. He is working on the revision but because of his illness has not met with the new publisher to reschedule a new release date. The March 2020 date he feels could be realized but he won’t know anything until the publsiher comes up with a date. He will keep me updated and I promise to pas that information along.
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haha of course he has
Bloomsbury have just advised me that the current publication date for this is now 21 September 2023!
Another 3 years away…already been waiting 3 years for this book. Crazy or what.
Bloomsbury should update its website, which still gives March 30, 2020, as release date. Regrettably, (Spaghetti) Western fans get very little to read these days. Some books are so expensive that you can’t afford to buy them, and others are postponed until the cowboys come home.
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Hi all.
Just spoke to Bloomsbury again this morning as this title has been removed from their site. Was told publication is probably due sometime around 2023 to 2024. No explanation why?
Can someone please contact Howard Hughes and find out the real reason for what will now be a 6 year delay since initially announcing it.
Will we all be in boot hill before it gets published.
Regards
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Oh Damn.
I was hoping he’d mention it during his podcast appearance, but I presume it’s out of his hands.
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I was certainly hoping by now someone in contact with Howard Hughes would have asked him about the reason for the 6 year delay or at least the current situation regarding this eagerly awaited book. I’m not on social media but does anybody know contact details for him? Surely this is the right place to find the answers as the publishers can’t help. Anybody?
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I’m in regular contact with Howard but am unsure of specific details on release problems. I know he was unwell for a while but believe the final copy was with the publishers some time ago. Whether there were contractual issues I don’t know. I really hope we eventually get to see the book published too.
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Thank you, anyone on SWDB, who has anything to do with ‘spreading the word’ about Spaghetti Westerns.
Bringing back many memories, good and bad.They changed my life for good. It transformed my life entirely.
I envy the newbies that experience my initial ecstasy for the first time;
No need to say anything…
Leone’s images say everything.
Phil,
Did you ever have any success asking Howard about the status of this missing in action book. Its 6 years. What on earth is going on. Any update would be useful. I’m sick of asking the publishers and getting nowhere. Like I said before we’ll all be in boot hill before it surfaces.
Regards
Richard
Hi Richard,
Yes, I did speak to Howard and meant to reply here.
Suffice to say, there are a number of personal reasons this book has been delayed and looks like we shouldn’t expect it any time soon sadly.
Phil
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Thank you for taking the time to get what info you could Phil, it’s much appreciated. 
And all the best to Mr. Hughes, of course.
strong textThe more material that appears on this field the better especially for those who are discovering this field anew and benefiting from Jay and Tom’s weekly Youtube podcasts as well as the current excavation work undertaken by Mke Hauss and his Spaghetti Western Digest cohorts. Publication is in a mess at the moment with reviewer delays, ignorance on the part of some reviewers and takeovers that happened to Twayne when my George Romero book was submitted. Fortunately, it found another publisher. Let us hope that Howard overcomes his many difficulties and let us offer him every encouragement and sympathy in the meantime.j
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Phil
Thanks for the reply. I’ve taken it off my ‘to buy’ list as I feel it may never get published now. It shouldn’t have been announced all those years ago.
The go to English language spaghetti western book will remain Any Gun Can Play and the earlier classics from Staig, Frayling and Weisser.
Surprisingly Howard has a nice article about Hammers Prehistoric Films in the current issue of Infinity.
Regards
Richard