NetGalley ARC | Tombstone: The Earp Brothers, Doc Holliday, and the Vendetta Ride From Hell

I received a free digital from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Just like most who read this book might say, I love the movie Tombstone. It is one of my favorites to this day because that image of them walking to the OK Corral is so iconic - plus it was a better time, when Bill Paxton was alive (still heartbroken over this) and Val Kilmer was normal (also kind of heartbroken about this, but in a different way). It was certainly not perfect in conveying the facts, and definitely relied on some of the myths we know are not true, but it is still a fan-fucking-tastic movie. Side note: it seems Doc really did tell Johnny Ringo "I'm your Huckleberry" and I LOVE IT.

This book was so utterly engrossing that I hardly paused to take any notes. That's truly a sign of a good one, but it makes writing the reviews that much more difficult.

This is my first book by Tom Clavin but if all of his books are this engaging, I will definitely be reading more. Here he weaves the tale that's been told many times before, the infamous gunfight that would become synonymous with the Old West, yet it was written in such a way that it were as though I were learning about it for the first time.

Before we are brought to that day in October of 1881, we see how Tombstone itself becomes a blip on the map, from its earliest days up through the results and consequences of Wyatt's vendetta ride to avenge Morgan's murder. Tombstone nearly burned to the ground on more than one occasion and raids from nearby Apache warriors were frequent. Though the town now makes it money from tourists, it was one of the last boomtowns in the West and easily the most well-known still today. By the time the Earps arrived, there was tension between the cowboys and their illegal cattle-rustling, and the citizens who wanted no part of the gun battles that erupted often between the roving gangs.

We are also given a fairly significant history of the Earp family and this is something of interest to me as well. The brothers were so close, and always had one another's backs, no matter what. I suppose in a place where you could never be 100% sure who were friends and who were foes, those bonds of brotherhood get tightened pretty quickly. Even so, they're remarkably close and reliant on one another. I've Googled pictures of them, and while all six look a lot alike, Virgil, Wyatt, and Morgan could be triplets.

The Earp brothers were not in Tombstone to do anything but make money. Virgil was the only lawman of the group and Wyatt could not have been less interested if he tried. It is interesting to note that there are more Earps than just the three depicted in the movie, which was news to me. There were actually six altogether: Newton, James, Virgil, Wyatt, Morgan, and Warren. In addition to all but one of the Earp brothers spending time in Tombstone, I also found out that Bat Masterson had been there for a time with his friends as well to help lend a hand in trying to maintain some semblance of order. It was only when Masterson received word that his brother was in danger did he head back to Dodge City, just days prior to the gunfight. Can you imagine how differently the OK Corral might have gone, had Masterson been there as well? I'm not sure any of the Cowboys would have made it out alive.

What I find especially interesting is the fact that writers and directors feel the need to embellish an already-fantastic tale. Wyatt Earp was practically untouchable. He was the only one at the corral who was not injured, and in the ride that followed to avenge Morgan's death and Virgil's near-death, he again escapes unscathed. We're talking bullet holes in his clothes, his saddle horn shot off, completely physically untouched. It's bananas. Tombstone will remain one of my all-time fave movies, but there is so much more to the real story that is just a screen-worthy.

The Earp brothers basically ignored the Clantons, Frank and Tom McLaury, and the others until they simply couldn't anymore. They were not content to let the Cowboys continue to make trouble for the citizens of Tombstone, yet it was the Earps who were told to back off. Clavin provides great detail and insight as he walks readers through what all went down that day, and all the days leading up to it. The town's sheriff, Johnny Behan, played such a major role, yet this sometimes gets lost in the mist as well. Side note: he had a "relationship" with Sadie, who we all know Wyatt was in love with also. That's where the drama came from between those two men, but do not think that she is the reason that everything came to a head - though had Behan actually done his job, the whole thing could have been avoided. Wyatt had run for sheriff against Behan, but the two men struck a deal stating that Behan would make Wyatt his deputy. Of course once Wyatt did his part, Behan went back on his word. I kind of have to wonder why Wyatt didn't expect that, but who knows.

Clavin is a skilled historian and the immense amount of work that went into researching this book is obvious. He separates fact from fiction and provides fantastic follow-up on what happened when the dust settled and the Earps had their revenge. In the epilogue he provides details on what happened to all the main figures in the aftermath, at least as much as we can know about some of the men who all but disappeared into history. I was impressed with the bibliography and have already placed several books on hold at the library to continue reading up on this completely engrossing topic and these larger than life men whose actions ensured we would remember their names for years to come, whether that is what they intended or not.

Highly recommended.