Wyatt Earp and his brothers came to Tombstone to invest in recently opened silver mines and real estate, to get a share of newly discovered wealth and prosperity and not to continue their law enforcement career. However, they soon realized that on one hand they cannot for long ignore the lawlessness of the town and the surrounding county, and on the other, the presence of the former lawmen did not escape the attention of the local administration and security people of the Wells Fargo Company. Once these people managed to convince Wyatt and his brother Virgil to return to law-maintaining activity, the conflict with the so-called “cowboy gang” was just a matter of time. It not only culminated in the shoot-out at O.K. Corral but once Virgil got shot in ambush a seriously wounded and the second brother Morgan killed while playing pool, it eventually led to the destruction of the afore mention gang and killing its leaders, namely William Brocious, known as “Curly” Bill and John Peters Ringgold known as Ringo.
**WINNER: WISHING SHELF PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2011** In the 1890s the fight game was changing. The prize-fighters and bare-knuckle brawlers were disappearing as the new “scientific” boxers emerged to fight under the Marquis of Queensberry rules. Irishman Tom Sharkey was the never-say-die fighter who bridged the gap between old and new. Within a short time of arriving in America he took on all the top boxers of his day: his hero John L Sullivan, Gentleman Jim Corbett, Bob Fitzsimmons and the man who would become not only his greatest foe but his best friend, Jim Jeffries. Their 25-round world title fight at Coney Island was one of the most gruelling and compelling encounters ever seen inside a ring. I Fought Them All prints the fact and the legend, and is chocked full of the rich characters who dominated the sport and politics of the period, from Wild West gunman Wyatt Earp to Tim “Dry Dollar” Sullivan of New York’s Tammany Hall. It is the story of an Irish immigrant, a sporting celebrity who won and lost a fortune, and of a man described by the New York Times as a “ring immortal”. REVIEWS: “Hugely entertaining and exquisitely researched, I Fought Them All shines a penetrating and long-overdue spotlight on one of the most fascinating figures in boxing history. Revelations about Sharkey’s private life are eye-popping, and the book is especially thorough in covering the Earp controversy. ‘Sailor’ Tom himself would growl his approval, and his massive chest would swell even larger. It’s a great contribution to ring history.” Pete Ehrmann, boxing writer, contributor to The Ring “I Fought Them All is an excellent read. It’s well-researched and is good news for boxing fans everywhere. ‘Sailor’ Tom Sharkey was an aggressive, relentless and powerful heavyweight who ranks among the greatest who ever entered the ring. He was an earlier version of the splendid fighter, Rocky Marciano. Tom had the misfortune of fighting when boxing legends Jim Jeffries and Bob Fitzsimmons were at their best. Had he fought at any other time in history, he very likely would have been heavyweight champion of the world.” Tracy Callis, boxing historian “The book features an array of characters including Wild West gunman Wyatt Earp and boxing legends such as John L. Sullivan, Gentleman Jim Corbett and Bob Fitzsimmons. At its heart is the astonishing 50-year rivalry and friendship between Sharkey and Jim Jeffries, which started after their 25-round world title fight at Coney Island and lasted until the two men died a few weeks apart in 1953.” Boxing Ireland “…it emits quality from the first opening crack of the hardcover until its final satisfying closing.” Marty Mulcahey, Max Boxing “…A fascinating story… Very well-researched piece of work with many anecdotal gems… I Fought Them All is a tale of one man who travelled from his homeland and ended up inAmericato swap blows with arguably the toughest pugilists to have ever fought in the ring. Along the way we are introduced to ‘injuns’, gun-slingers, shipwrecks, tragic love stories, gambling, acts of heroism and, of course, gruelling fights. I thoroughly recommend this book.” Glenn Wilson
What can be learned from another retelling of the Tombstone saga? Recent revelations challenge the traditional view of Wyatt Earp's campaign against the Cow-boy confederation as a bloody personal feud a la western fiction. It was a seek and destroy mission sanctioned by the United States attorney general, the U.S. marshal and the Arizona Territory governor, following a year of corrupt law enforcement in league with the Cow-boys' livestock raids, stagecoach holdups and other atrocities. Presented in three sections, this book establishes the major players involved in the convergence on Tombstone, provides an account of Earp's activities during the 18 months prior to the final action and discusses the provenance and credibility of the "Otero Letter." Discovered in 2001, the letter--believed to be written by New Mexico Territory Governor Miguel Otero--offers evidence that Earp's party was given government aid. The author examines the details of the letter, including the shotgun dual between Earp and Curly Bill, the split between Earp and Doc Holliday, sanctuary for the Earp posse in Colorado and Holliday's extradition fight, Earp's covert assault resulting in Johnny Ringo's death, and the controversial courtship and marriage of Earp and Josephine Marcus.
Nashville Franklyn “Buckskin Frank” Leslie was a man of mystery during his lifetime. His reputation has rested on two gunfights—both in storied Tombstone, Arizona—but he was much more than a deadly gunfighter. Jack DeMattos and Chuck Parsons have combined their research efforts to help solve the questions of where Leslie came from and how he died. Leslie developed a reputation as a man to be left alone. Such notables as the Earps, Doc Holliday, and John Ringo wisely avoided confrontations with him. Leslie was a “lady killer” both figuratively and—in one celebrated incident—literally. Beyond his gunfighting legacy, DeMattos and Parsons also explore Leslie’s scouting with General Crook on the Great Plains and his alleged service as a deputy for Wild Bill Hickok in Abilene, Kansas. “In almost every work that in any way relates to southern Arizona in the 1880s, Leslie is present. This book will be the new standard for anyone interested in the life of Buckskin Frank. Both in form and content this book finally gives Frank Leslie a place in the Tombstone story.”—Gary Roberts, author of Doc Holliday: The Life and Legend
Notorious criminals have captured our imaginations for years and years. But we don't forget, either, the many people and organizations who fight back. J. Edgar Hoover and Eliot Ness have entered into the American psyche as two of our most aggressive and successful crime fighters. Still, there are others who have risen to the occasion, combating crime in all its manifestations. From the U.S. Marshals, FBI agents, and Secret Service to Rudy Giuliani, John Walsh— host of America's Most Wanted—and Joseph Pistone (aka Donnie Brasco), this set highlights some of the nation's bravest crime stoppers. Icons of Crime Fighting will enlighten the curious mind with a comprehensive overview of the most successful, the most well-known, and the most important crime fighters in recent American history. Part of our national culture, these figures represent all that is good about the American justice system. Moreover, they exemplify how individuals in the criminal justice system have made a real difference in law enforcement. These titans of law enforcement are profiled in this important and timely set. Those covered in the set include: Gun Fighters: U.S. Marshals of the Old West; Allan Pinkerton; The Texas Rangers; August Vollmer; J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI; Thomas Dewey; Robert Kennedy; Jim Garrison; Buford Pusser; Eddie Egan and Sonnie Grosso; Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein; Francisco Vincent Serpico; Joe Pistone, aka Donnie Brasco; Vincent T. Bugliosi; John Walsh; FBI Profilers; Sheriff Joe Arpaio; Mark Fuhrman; Rudolph Rudy Giuliani; Curtis Sliwa; Dr. Henry Lee; and Dr. Bill Blass.
He was the deadliest gun in the West. Or was he? Ringo: the very name has come to represent the archetypal Western gunfighter and has spawned any number of fictitious characters laying claim to authenticity. John Ringo's place in western lore is not without basis: he rode with outlaw gangs for thirteen of his thirty-two years, participated in Texas's Hoodoo War, and was part of the faction that opposed the Earp brothers in Tombstone, Arizona. Yet his life remains as mysterious as his grave, a bouldered cairn under a five-stemmed blackjack oak. Western historian Jack Burrows now challenges popular views of Ringo in this first full-length treatment of the myth and the man. Based on twenty years of research into historical archives and interviews with Ringo's family, it cuts through the misconceptions and legends to show just what kind of man Ringo really was.
Hailed as a model state history thanks to Thomas E. Sheridan's thoughtful analysis and lively interpretation of the people and events shaping the Grand Canyon State, Arizona has become a standard in the field. Now, just in time for Arizona's centennial, Sheridan has revised and expanded this already top-tier state history to incorporate events and changes that have taken place in recent years. Addressing contemporary issues like land use, water rights, dramatic population increases, suburban sprawl, and the US-Mexico border, the new material makes the book more essential than ever. It successfully places the forty-eighth state's history within the context of national and global events. No other book on Arizona history is as integrative or comprehensive. From stone spear points more than 10,000 years old to the boom and bust of the housing market in the first decade of this century, Arizona: A History explores the ways in which Native Americans, Hispanics, African Americans, Asians, and Anglos have inhabited and exploited Arizona. Sheridan, a life-long resident of the state, puts forth new ideas about what a history should be, embracing a holistic view of the region and shattering the artificial line between prehistory and history. Other works on Arizona's history focus on government, business, or natural resources, but this is the only book to meld the ethnic and cultural complexities of the state's history into the main flow of the story. A must read for anyone interested in Arizona's past or present, this extensive revision of the classic work will appeal to students, scholars, and general readers alike.
Acclaim for Doc Holliday "Splendid . . . not only the most readable yet definitive study of Holliday yet published, it is one of the best biographies of nineteenth-century Western 'good-bad men' to appear in the last twenty years. It was so vivid and gripping that I read it twice." --Howard R. Lamar, Sterling Professor Emeritus of History, Yale University, and author of The New Encyclopedia of the American West "The history of the American West is full of figures who have lived on as romanticized legends. They deserve serious study simply because they have continued to grip the public imagination. Such was Doc Holliday, and Gary Roberts has produced a model for looking at both the life and the legend of these frontier immortals." --Robert M. Utley, author of The Lance and the Shield: The Life and Times of Sitting Bull "Doc Holliday emerges from the shadows for the first time in this important work of Western biography. Gary L. Roberts has put flesh and soul to the man who has long been one of the most mysterious figures of frontier history. This is both an important work and a wonderful read." --Casey Tefertiller, author of Wyatt Earp: The Life Behind the Legend "Gary Roberts is one of a foremost class of writers who has created a real literature and authentic history of the so-called Western. His exhaustively researched and beautifully written Doc Holliday: The Life and Legend reveals a pathetically ill and tortured figure, but one of such intense loyalty to Wyatt Earp that it brought him limping to the O.K. Corral and into the glare of history." --Jack Burrows, author of John Ringo: The Gunfighter Who Never Was "Gary L. Roberts manifested an interest in Doc Holliday at a very early age, and he has devoted these past thirty-odd years to serious and detailed research in the development and writing of Doc Holliday: The Life and Legend. The world knows Holliday as Doc Holliday. Family members knew him as John. Somewhere in between the two lies the real John Henry Holliday. Roberts reflects this concept in his writing. This book should be of interest to Holliday devotees as well as newly found readers." --Susan McKey Thomas, cousin of Doc Holliday and coauthor of In Search of the Hollidays
A New York Times bestseller, Jeff Guinn’s definitive, myth-busting account of the most famous gunfight in American history reveals who Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and the Clantons and McLaurys really were and what the shootout was all about—“the most thorough account of the gunfight and its circumstances ever published” (The Wall Street Journal) On the afternoon of October 26, 1881, in a vacant lot in Tombstone, Arizona, a confrontation between eight armed men erupted in a deadly shootout. The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral would shape how future generations came to view the Old West. Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and the Clantons became the stuff of legends, symbolic of a frontier populated by good guys in white hats and villains in black ones. It’s a colorful story—but the truth is even better. Drawing on new material from private collections—including diaries, letters, and Wyatt Earp’s own hand-drawn sketch of the shootout’s conclusion—as well as archival research, Jeff Guinn gives us a startlingly different and far more fascinating picture of what actually happened that day in Tombstone and why.
