Tom ClavinTombstone (Frontier Lawmen)

Loved the husband stories. Great read.

I have read quite a lot about the famous OK Corral gunfight and this book is the fullest account I have seen. It is a must read for those who want to learn the story.This account is also very readable, hard to put down, and I finished it in a couple of days.I have been to Tombstone and the OK Corral many times. I have walked the same route the Earps and Hooliday took from Allen Street over to Fremont and down to the back lot at the OK Corral, and the descriptions in the book of that area seem entirely correct.The back lot is now walled off from Fremont so to visit the site of the gunfight one has to enter from Allen Street, but it is worth the small charge.The first impression one gets is that the fight took place in a very small space. Wyatt Earp once drew a map of the lot showing where each person was standing when the fight began and that map is on display in the Gene Autry Museum of the West in Griffith Park. They were very close when the shooting started.I knew that telephone service was available in Tombstone about the time of the gunfight and certainly shortly thereafter and one never sees that in movies. It seems not to fit. What did surprise me in this book was that during the Earp posse Vendetta Ride, the action was followed to some degree in newspapers East and West. People could read about it as it was going on. That, too, is a modern touch that never appears in movies.I noticed that some of the reviews here were critical of the amount of detail in the book. I suppose that depends on taste. I loved the abundant background information. It filled out much of the story for me.One problem was that rather than having too many characters in this history, it didn't have quite enough. There were simply too many interesting people in that area at that time and it had to have been hard for the author to leave some out. One who might have been included was Dr. Goodfellow who treated the wounded and dying after the gunfight and who treated many other Tombstone gunshot victims. He made an interesting observation that a silk handkerchief hit by a bullet would be carried into the wound without tearing and it led to his early exploration of possible bullet proof vests. Fascinating person in his own right.Any amateur who reads about these events is going to be troubled by the question of who were the good guys here. Some accounts portray the Earps as little better than bandits. Others seem unsure.This history makes it clear that the Earps were the good guys and the cowboy gangs the bad guys. Question settled.I had come to the same conclusion years ago by passing on the arguments for and against Wyatt Earp and considering the type of people who befriended and supported him, steadfastly, for many years. In many cases they were honorable men who would have nothing to do with him if he were the scoundrel some would have him be.He wasn't church-perfect by a long shot, but he was one of the good guys.

A good and fun read, if for nothing else than to put reality ahead of the various movie stories. Prepare to have some of your previous ideas about these people challenged, which is a good thing imo.Well worth the price of the ticket.

As an Az native, I’ve had a decent superficial knowledge of the Earps, Tombstone and the shootout. However, Clavin’s book takes it to a whole different level. Great background and history of the main characters and area as well as the multitude of events which ultimately led to the showdown. My only beef is with the lack of photos and perhaps a map or two - both of Tombstone and the general area in order to get a better sense of the locations where these events took place. That being said it’s a very readable tome and definitely worth the time for anyone interested in the “Old West” and some of its famous characters.

Fantastic book. It's May 2020 and before our state went on lock down I had visited Tombstone in February: in fact, I flew from Boston to Arizona for three days only to revisit Tombstone! I love reading about Tombstone and learning its history. This year I already read Casey Tefertiller's book, as well as Roberts' on Doc Holliday, and Hogge's on Ringo... all great books. When this one came out after my trip, I thought, Why? Why do we need yet another version of Wyatt Earp and the shoot out? There were no reviews of it yet but I downloaded it. And I love it.Meticulously researched, referencing the authors I mention above, and more, Tom Clavin engages you in the old West and brings to life the many extraordinary characters. Some reviewers complain about the voluminous background information; I personally loved this, and it gives me more to read (I had not heard about Mountain Meadows massacre, for instance, which is now on my reading list). The shoot-out itself is only 30 seconds; and Tombstone even today is little more than a one-street town in the middle of nowhere... so it's extraordinary that this little shoot-out has gone down in history. Why? Because of the background, that Clavin so carefully explains. You cannot understand the shoot-out, vendetta or Tombstone without knowing about the characters and how they interact and relate, their backgrounds, the politics, the timing, stagecoach and newspapers... it all matters a great deal to know how and why this happened, and why even today it has remained as American lore.What I truly loved best was the style of writing. Clavin writes in such a folksy way, with artful sentence structures and colorful phrases, that you feel you are sitting with a cowboy, hearing it instead of reading it. Very clever, very engaging, and totally enjoyable. I've read 19 books this year and is one of the best. Well done! And thank you, Mr. Clavin!And I leaned that there is a Vendetta Ride each October in Tombstone. Which I intend now to sign up for... if I don't, I'm a daisy!

Bought this for my husband, who just got done reading "Dodge City". He so enjoys this author & was elated to receive this book as well.

Watched Tombstone and fell in love with the Doc Holliday character. Bought this book to read more about him and Tombstone… but this book could not keep my interest. It goes into details about lots of different people that lived in the town and it jumped around a lot and was just boring to me. I got 3/4 through it and then quit and donated it to a library.

I have read multiple books by multiple authors on Wyatt Earp and the O.K. Corral. This book is so well written, you feel as if you are actually there. Just an amazing historical book and well worth the read!

A lot of information that I haven’t seen before.

Loved Dodge City and this did not fail to deliver either. Calvin is an animated writer and brings one of the most notorious cities of the American West magnificently to life.I read other reviews criticising Calvin's diversions and packing of numerous stories, but I personally really enjoyed this element - the story of the gunfight is prolific in books so I loved reading the backstory of Tombstone and side stories and characters who were also integral to Tombstone's history. Great book.

If you want a detailed book, this is it.It even tells you the temperature on almost any given day.It also provides more than the general yada yada

Having read this authors book on " Dodge City ", looked forward to " Tombstone ".Not disappointed well worth the purchase.Very interesting insight into the history of the area and the build up to the founding of the town and then city.Great insight into the background of the Politics affecting people's feelings for the Earp's and Cowboys.These feelings which a friend who visited Tombstone, a few years back, said to me was still very prevalent at that time.The time line of the events show how misleading the films are as they seem to make it appear it was daily occurrence not months later, I now a film has to condense history but an insertion of dates is not impossible.Loved the film " Tombstone " and rematched it again on Disney, but this book shows how much was left out and how much was over dramatized.Any one interested in this period should buy this book.Ordered up " Wild Bill " so looking forward to the insight of this legend.

This is a very informative history of tombstone not just OK coral earps and doc holiday but the history of the whole area though most is about the earps and Clantons it still mentions other pieces of history around it and tells it as one story tom clavin is a fantastic writer and you feel as If everything is happening in front of you and makes tombstone and all the events come alive