Tombstone: Wyatt Earp, the O.K. Corral, and the Vendetta Ride 1881–82 (Raid) Paperback – Illustrated, June 18, 2013

Tombstone –Wyatt Earp, the O.K. Corral, and the Vendetta Ride 1881-82. Osprey Raid -41.Written by Sean McLachlan, Illustrated by Mark Stacey and Johnny Shumate.Scope – Narrow and well defined.Completeness – Very.Appeal – High, well presented.Accuracy – open to debateThis 80 page, well-illustrated book covers the famed gunfight at the O.K. Coral. This occurred on October 26, 1881 in the town of Tombstone, Arizona. In this much retold and often fictionalized incident of the old West, two factions, the Clantons and the Earps, faced off and settled their differences with gunplay.The story has been retold many times. And like most such true tales of the American West, in many different ways. (For an amusing approach to trying to make sense of the facts amidst myriad confusing reports, of an old Western gunfighter’s life, I recommend “Billy the Kid, the Endless Ride,” by Michael Wallis (2007, ww Norton & Company, New York, New York). Wallis, repeatedly, does a great job of surveying conflicting claims and weighing their pros and cons and validity in a manner that is both scholarly and amusing at the same time. Although this book acknowledges such problems, it does not, for reasons of space, go into them in as much space.) Therefore, while at times this book is forced to simply repeat two (or more) conflicting reports of the same incident, it still does do a good job of explaining the whos, the wheres, the whys, and the hows, of the legendary gunfight at the O.K. Coral.In the early 1880s, Tombstone, Arizona was a frontier town struggling with a political divide. On both sides of this divide were armed men with a proven history of violence.The Earp faction represented the law in the town. Although most considered the enforcement and strictness of the law in this time and place had to be a bit “fuzzy” and flexible at times, nevertheless, these were the men who were assigned to keep order and maintain the peace. Today, the three brothers, Wyatt, Morgan, and Virgil Earp, along with their friend “Doc” Holliday, a dentist by trade, are almost household names and their exploits real and imagined have been the focus of countless movies.The Clantons, the other side of the dispute, were a group of ranchers who represented the “Cowboys” faction. (that is what they were commonly called at the time .) The activities of the group included not just buying and selling cattle, but also rustling cattle and dealing in stolen cattle, particularly cattle stolen in Mexico to the south.The town was divided between two political parties, the Republicans and the Democrats. In the post Civil War American west, the Republicans were seen as the party of the supporters of the North and the Democrats as the party of the supporters of the South. There were separate newspapers for the two factions as well. (My, oh my, how little things seem to have changed after 140 years.)Problems involving misbehaving “cowboys” escalated, death threats were made, and the result was the most famous gunfight in American history.This book covers it well, giving a good description of the time and place, the lives and histories of the people involved, the weapons used, the stakes they were fighting for, as well as the outside factions and forces that had to be kept in mind when the people involved made decisions. Although there was a fuzzy line between what was allowed and what was permitted, if either side had gone too far the result would have been outside intervention.In conclusion, this is a good introduction and survey to the famed Gunfight at the O.K. Corral as well as the events that took place before and after. It contains nice art, good photographs and nice art and is well worth reading.

This book is very good, at least a 4 out of 5, and that's because I took a bit off for my five quibbles:1. The street map shows Kate and Doc living in a boarding house on the far west side of town. They didn't. However the text gets it right, with them living at Fly's.2. The author has Doc shooting Frank in the chest during the "you're a daisy if you do" scene. One of the town newspapers said that Doc shot him. The Coroner said he didn't. I'd go with the coroner, the author with the newspaper.3. The author states Doc was good with a gun, when he is demonstrably terrible with a pistol.4. The author quotes at least four times from the memoires of Allie (Mrs. Virgil) Earp, when it is pretty well accepted that this "memoir" was written by Frank Waters, who had some kind of pathological hatred of Wyatt, and should be ignored.5. The 2 paintings of the gunfight have a lot of very good qualities about them , but the artist has all the Earps both (a) with black mustaches and hair (they were blondes : yellow photographed black in ye olde tyme pictures), and (b) he has them dressed as triplets in their matching black suits . I don't think they did, but it is the popular image so...The book is very well balanced, neither an anti-Earp screed as was popular in the 1970s, nor the idol worshipping fluff prevalent since everybody fell in love with Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer.The author presents both points of view on the whole business, shows the flaws in their arguments, and presents a clear account of tough men in a tough environment.

The truth of what really happened in the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona Territory, in 1881 has been pretty well buried in myth and partisanship for decades. Author Sean McLachlan makes a game attempt to make sense of it all in the Osprey Raid Series book "Tombstone."McLachlan offers a short history of the Earps, the Arizona mining town of Tombstone, the semi-lawless cowboys who rustled and ran rampant in southern Arizona, and the fitful attempts to impose law and order in the territory. The feud between the Earps and the Cowboys became a lethal one with the gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and played out in the so-called Vendetta Ride of Wyatt Earp and a few friends. The narrative is supported by a nice collection of period photographs, along with maps, diagrams, and several nice modern illustrations.McLachlan isn't entirely successful in clearing up all the historical disputes, but he puts together a coherent narrative that acknowledges the continuing controversies. Cautiously recommended as an introduction to a gunfight that has become an iconic moment of the frontier West.

The gunfight at the O.K. Corral, a minor shootout, occupies a big place in the popular memory of western history. Should it? Probably not, but it makes for exciting reading. Mr. McLachlan begins with an excellent brief treatment of the realities of Tombstone, for example, cats were more important then guns to miners, because they kept rats away at night. His treatment of the actual gunfight is balanced and he recognizes that some issues cannot be resolved. He has nothing good to say about the subsequent violence, although most readers will most likely sympathize with the Earps who had no legal way to obtain justice. This book, which is well illustrated, is suitable for anyone interested in the subject.

I've read a few books on Wyatt, his brothers, and Doc Holliday, and those were far more detailed in their descriptions of the lives of these men and the events which took place in and around Tombstone, Arizona. I do recommend this book for those seeking just an overview of the history of the Earp's involvement in the gunfight "near" the O.K Corral that took place on October 26, 1881. Overall, a very quick and enjoyable read.

I would give this book an additional star for the price £0.99 but it gets 3 for content.It's a short concise read, there is no study here of the man that was Wyatt Earp or his brothers. Nor do we get much insight into the history of the Earps and what shaped them.This book gives a fairly brief outline of Wyatt, The OK Corral & The Vendetta ride.Personally I only wanted an outline of events and it gives a good starting point before reading something more in-depth.

This is a very good summary of the events leading up to the gunfight near the OK Corral and the consequences of this event. Good illustrations and clear text.Recommended to all students of 'The Wild West'

Brief, unbiased telling of the events leading up to, and the aftermath of, the famous gunfight at the OK corral.

The author tries to get at the truth behind the famous gun fight and the people involved.Both were very different from the Hollywood versions.

A good introduction to the story with lots of background information about the era in which they lived.