Wyatt Earp is one of the most legendary figures of the nineteenth-century American West, notable for his role in the gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona. He was a product of his time, often walking both sides of the street, sometimes on the side of law and order and sometimes as the law-breaker. Some see him as the "Lion of Tombstone," a hero lawman of the Wild West, whereas others see him as yet another outlaw, a pimp, and failed lawman. Roy B. Young, Gary L. Roberts, and Casey Tefertiller, all notable experts on Earp and the Wild West, present in A Wyatt Earp Anthology an authoritative account of his life, successes, and failures. The editors have curated an anthology of the very best work on Earp-more than sixty articles and excerpts from books-from a wide array of authors, selecting only the best written and factually documented pieces and omitting those full of suppositions or false material. Nearly all of the selections come from the last twenty years, when a more critical eye was turned to sources of Earp history. Many articles derive from the five stellar western publications dedicated to preserving the history of the American West: True West, Wild West, WOLA Journal, NOLA Quarterly, and the Journal of the Wild West History Association. Earp's life is presented in chronological fashion, from his early years to Dodge City, Kansas; triumph and tragedy in Tombstone; and his later years throughout the West. Important figures in Earp's life, such as Bat Masterson, the Clantons, the McLaurys, Doc Holliday, and John Ringo, are also covered. Wyatt Earp's image in film and the myths surrounding his life, as well as controversies over interpretations and presentations of his life by various writers, also receive their due. Finally, an extensive epilogue by Gary L. Roberts explores Earp and frontier violence. Readers of the Old West will appreciate this well-balanced, comprehensive account of the life, legend, and legacy of the incomparable Wyatt Earp.
Roy B. Young is editor of the Journal of theWild West History Association and the author of several western titles, including James Cooksey Earp, Cochise County Cowboy War, Judge William H. Stilwell, and Robert Havlin Paul, Frontier Lawman. Gary L. Roberts is emeritus professor of history at Abraham Baldwin College and author of Doc Holliday: The Life and Legend. He is widely recognized as a historian of the American West and frontier violence. He has published more than seventy-five articles on Western history and co-edited a book on Georgia politics, and is also the author of Death Comes for the Chief Justice: The Slough-Rynerson Quarrel and Political Violence in New Mexico. Casey Tefertiller is a former writer for the San Francisco Examiner and the author of Wyatt Earp: The Life behind the Legend, named a Notable Book of 1997 by the New York Times. He is also the co-author of Mental Toughness: Baseball's Winning Edge.
This is a highly significant addition to Earpiana-there is nothing to compare it with. That the editors have gathered quality articles from numerous publications, many of them not available online or easy to obtain, saves a lot of work for future researchers." - Mike Cox, author of The Texas Rangers: Wearing the Cinco Peso, 1821-1900 and Time of the Rangers: Texas Rangers from 1900 to the Present "A tome of massive proportions of one of the legendary figures of the American West. An assemblage of 63 essays compiled by three major historians and experts Roy B Young, Gary L Roberts and Casey Tefertiller. Brilliantly written oustandingly researched life of Earp in chronological format. This huge book contains a staggering amount of quality articles. It is an excellent reference source for research, historians, writers and readers of the American West. An absolute necessary requirement for anyone with a smidgen of interest in Wyatt Earp and the history surrounding his life. An immense opus of significant value. A joy to own." Alan R Beattie, Americana Books
