This biography of the controversial western lawman, by a former San
Francisco Examiner writer, uses newly found primary sources and
exhaustive archival research to uncover the real man obscured by
myths, tall tales, and calumnies. Tefertiller's version of Earp
finds, amid some unpleasant elements, a real core of heroism. He
had a penchant for gambling and saloon life, was an energetic
womanizer, and had a habit of applying undue force in arresting
suspects. Yet he was also, as Tefertiller documents, indisputably
courageous. His varied and colorful career included time as a
security guard on Wells Fargo stagecoaches, prospecting, running
faro games, and speculating on western lands and mines. Most
famously, though, he served as a town sheriff and a US marshall.
That Earp could be at various times a gambler and a marshall should
not, the author suggests, seem all that startling: Gamblers were
highly esteemed figures in the demimonde of the wide open towns of
the frontier. Men familiar with violence seemed to these
communities to be the ideal choice to establish order. During his
term as marshall of Tombstone, Ariz., Earp did just that,
confronting rustlers, robbers, and gunmen, bringing them to justice
or occasionally shooting it out with them, most famously in the
gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Earp's actions inevitably brought him
into conflict with powerful, autocratic ranchers and corrupt
politicians. The charges that blackened Earp's reputation,
Tefertiller argues, were largely fictions circulated by his
enemies, who planted stories about him in pliant frontier
newspapers. Using a wide variety of primary sources, Tefertiller
manages to summon up a human, complex figure and, while not
omitting flaws, to persuasively demonstrate that Earp believed in
the law and did his best in hard times to defend it. A great
adventure story, and solid history. (Kirkus Reviews)
"Quite impressive. I doubt if there has been or will be a more
deeply researched and convincing account." --Evan Connell, author
Son of the Morning Star: Custer and the Little Bighorn
"The book to end all Earp books--the most complete, and most
meticulously researched." --Jack Burrows, author John Ringo: The
Gunfighter Who Never Was
"The most thoughtful, well-researched, and comprehensive account
that has been written about the development and career of an
Old-West lawman." --The Tombstone Tumbleweed
"A great adventure story, and solid history." --Kirkus Reviews
"A major contribution to the history of the American West. It
provides the first complete and accurate look at Wyatt Earp's
colorful career, and places into context the important role that he
and his brothers played in crime and politics in the Arizona
territory. This important book rises above the realm of Western
biography and shows the development of the Earp story in history
and myth, and its effect on American culture." --John Boessenecker,
author Gold Dust and Gunsmoke
"The ultimate Wyatt Earp book." --Professor Richard Brown
University of Oregon
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