Customer Reviews

And Die in the West: The Story of the O.K. Coral Gunfight

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Ms. Marks has written a book that fills some existing gaps in the Tombstone/Earp saga. The book makes several strong points about Earp's lawman career in Dodge City pointing out that Earp was a dependable and able deputy but performed no feats that would be rememorable in later years. However, he must have made some impression on the future mayor and marshall of Dodge City since one chose to leave the town and the other hid when Earp returned after Tombstone to ensure that a friend was not run out of business by the mayor.

Wyatt Earp became the most famous western lawman for three reasons: The first was the OK Corral. Despite what many people believe, gunfights in the West were extremely rare, almost nonexistant, which is the reason that the OK Corral became a nationwide story in the major newspapers of the country.

The second reason is the character of Wyatt Earp, which has been dissected by historians and writers for most of the 20th century and his character and actions have withstood their microscopes without a blemish.

Throughout the narrative of the book, Earp is never found wanting unlike the other major players in the drama called Tombstone. He was not a cattle rustler such as the Clantons, McLaury's, Brocius and Ringo; he did not rob stages and he did not attack his enemies from behind and/or in the night. Those statements cannot be made by any man that he opposed in the "feud".

The author points out that Earp was a lawman of "his times", meaning he enforced the law with controlled violence, ie hitting his potential prisoner with his gun, to avoid bloodshed. He should be commended for perfecting this method since he is known to have killed only one man before the OK Corral.

I do not agree with several reviewers who believe the OK Corral was the result of blunders or politics. The fight was the direct result of the Earp brothers standing up against outlaws that had become used to lawman looking the other way while they shipped rustled cattle out of Tombstone. The Clantons and McLaury's were too stupid to realize that Wyatt Earp and his brothers were not going to be defeated in an open gunfight with them. I always found it interesting that Brocius and Ringo, the two outlaws that were considered dangerous gunmen, did not confront the Earps at the OK Corral. The only documented confrontation between Johnny Ringo and Wyatt Earp or Doc Holiday,(it depends on who is telling the story) occurs when Ringo is drunk and Earp refuses to take advantage of the situation.

Brocius and Ringo preferred to attack from ambush at night, which resulted in the wounding of Virgil Earp and the murder of Morgan Earp. The death of Morgan Earp set the stage for the final reason for Earp's enduring reputation. Until Morgan's murder, Wyatt Earp had acted within the boundary of the law regardless of what crimes the Cowboys committed. Earp realized that the Brocius and Ringo would escape punishment for Morgan's murder and he decided that was not going to happen. His "vendetta ride" is recognized by most Americans as a necessary action against career criminals that used the legal system to avoid punishment.

The book provides both detailed information about the "vendetta ride" and the geographical setting of the Tombstone area that other books about Earp do not have. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Wyatt Earp along with two other books "Inventing Wyatt Earp" and "Wyatt Earp". These three books totally define Wyatt Earp and his place in American History.

If you could read only one book about the OK Corral gunfight, this should be it. There is no attempt to make either group right or wrong; too often these days, one or the other group is portrayed as a set of complete bad guys, when "complete" is much too strong a word. There are a few other books that should be considered, Chaput's "Virgil Earp: Western Peace Officer", Tanner and DeArment's "Doc Holliday: A Family Portrait", and Bob Boze Bell's books on Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp. All reach pretty much the same conclusions although there are some variations in viewpoint that will make the reader think (for example, Tanner's view on just who was the target at the Boarding House is intriguing). Anyway, Dr. Marks' book is well-written, with a style that is easy to follow and appreciate. It is my hope that she finds other western subjects to write about so that we may enjoy more of the fruits of her research and writing ability.

Check the statement below that you believe to be true. _____a. Wyatt Earp, the Lion of Tombstone, was one of the greatest lawmen the West has ever known, cleaned up the cowtowns of Kansas single-handed (usually by the mere force of his steely gaze), and in moral character was about one step below Jesus Christ Himself. _____b. Wyatt Earp was a coldblooded, stagecoach-robbing, back-shooting murderer who deliberately and with malice aforethought killed innocent, unarmed men in at least two states, most notably in the gunfight at the OK Corral in Tombstone, A.T. _____c. Neither of the above statements is true (including the phrase "at the OK Corral"). The correct answer, of course, is c. If you have absorbed your fill of myths and lies (enjoyable as they may be, and many of them are!) about Wyatt Earp and his contemporaries from books, films, and television, try Paula Mitchell Marks's _And Die in the West_. For my money, Marks's book is the most detailed and objective discussion to date of the events leading up to the gunfight in the vacant lot between Fly's boarding house and the Harwood House, near the rear entrance to the OK Corral (hmm, that's not quite as catchy as "at the OK Corral," is it?); the larger setting in which they took place; the personalities of the individuals involved; the gunfight itself; and its aftermath. Her presentation of general background material about the American West, including the development of the "stand your ground and fight" mentality, the nature of boomtowns (whether cow, mining or railroad), and the business enterprises that flourished in them, lays the groundwork for a description of the two opposing politico- economic factions in Tombstone. Thus, the stage is set for an in-depth analysis of the approximately 27 seconds of shooting that erupted in that vacant lot between two violence-prone groups of men on October 26, 1881. My only substantive criticism of this book is that its list of end-noted references (end of the entire book, that is) for quotations (of which there are hundreds) is awkward and annoying for anyone who really wishes to use it to check sources. Footnotes would have been much more convenient, but perhaps also less aesthetically pleasing for some readers and--no doubt--more expensive for the publisher. On a subject that remains surrounded by controversy after more than a century, Marks's is a voice of reason, demonstrating that Wyatt Earp was neither a saint nor a devil, and reminding us that truth may be more complicated than legend but is certainly no less fascinating.

As an Earp Buff who started reading about Wyatt Earp in the 1930's, and even met some people who knew him over the years, visited the places where he became famous, read copiously on the Old West to gain insights into the time and place, I conclude this book is over-charitably viewed by many due to simple ignorance.
As stellar Earp Buff Jeff Morey commented, this book should be called: "Equivocation at the OK Corral." He also commented that it and the book on Wyatt by Richard Erwin, are derivative from "I Married Wyatt Earp." That doesn't scratch the surface. It is almost entirely derivative, a catalogue of previous writings.
I recommend to readers not conversant with such books as those that preceded it, on which this one is entirely based, that they first read the basic books and learn that they don't need to read this one. Also learn if they read it how a "quick study" author missed a lot. For example I see that Marks is bewildered that Mrs. Earp commented that a man named Billy Allen was suspected by the Earp Party of taking a couple of sneak shots at them at the famous gunfight. Why be bewildered? It is in the court testimony that appears in full in Alford Turner's "The OK Corral Inquest," which is surely one of the books that should be read not only before this one, but in preference to it. This, taken alone, is a quibbling point, except that numerous similar "gee whiz" comments show lack of in-depth knowledge.
Marks also mistook a well-known literary hoax, "An Illustrated Life of Doc Holliday," as fact. (Excusable in a way: Haley in writing of the Apaches mistook "The First Hundred Years of Nino Cochise," as a valid biography.)
Also notable is that this author's only acknowledgment of the major contribution to Earpiana of Wyatt's long-lost Autobiography is to say it was privately printed. One wonders why (especially) an academic author took great pains to avoid specifically crediting the remarkable detective work that went into finding a long-lost document eagerly sought by scholars for years. It's publication amounted to a great public service.
This book, in my opinion, shows evidence of being an error-ridden, non-objective work, an obvious "quick study" and as a result a seriously flawed work.
Other books to read on this subject before (or instead of) this one are: TOMBSTONE, by Walter Noble Burns; WYATT EARP, FRONTIER MARSHAL, by Stuart N. Lake; HELLDORADO, by William M. Breakenridge; I MARRIED WYATT EARP, by Josephine Earp and Glenn G. Boyer; THE EARPS TALK, and THE OK CORRAL INQUEST, annotated by Alford Turner; DOC HOLLIDAY: A FAMILY PORTRAIT, By Karen Holliday Tanner; JOHN RINGO, THE GUNFIGHTER WHO NEVER WAS, by Jack Burrows, and, more recently, WYATT EARP, THE MAN BEHIND THE MYTH, by Casey Tefertiller (with the caution that it is also another derivative book that smacks of "quick study" to the cognoscenti).
In addition to the faults cited, the writer does not have a facile style - quite the contrary - as is often the unfortunate case with academics. Heavy sledding indeed.

This is a GREAT book. I have read many books on Doc Holliday in particular and this one by far goes into the most detail. I found it to be fair on both sides. It explains many things that other books could not. If you really want the truth about the Earps and Hollidays I would recomend this book.

I've spent a lifetime reading about the gunfight near the OK corral. I continue to read everything published on it. But this wonderful book by Paula Marks is really all you need. She brilliantly presents a credible version of what went on and backs it up with penentrating research. An excellent antidote to the silly Earp worshipers like Casey Terfertiller and Allan Barra who are more insidious than an earlier generation of worshipers because they're so dishonest about their intentions. Walter Noble Burns and Stuart Lake made no bones about their worship of Wyatt. Terfertiller and Barra feign (unconvincingly) objectivity and then basically pass on as fact every tall tale Wyatt ever spun. There are of course Earp bashers who are just as silly but they don't get nearly the readership. But you don't really have to deal with any of them. Paula Marks has done all the work for you. And you know what? I like the real life Wyatt Paula presents more than the make believe man Terfertiller props up in his awful biography.

I brought this book when I visited Tombstone, Arizona at the recommendations from people who worked there. Upon reading it, I discovered that this book proves to be a well written, well researched historical book about one of the most famous events in United States' "wild west" history outside of Custer's Last Stand. Its also an event that have been heavily clouded in myths and legends, thanks mostly to many self-serving memoirs, personal accounts and entertaining Hollywood movies.

The book proves to be a very unbiased account of the gunfight at the O.K. Corral, the author traced the all events leading up to the fight, detailed account of the fight and what came afterward. As one of the other reviewers wrote, it showed that in Tombstone, there was no definite "good guys" versus "bad guys" but all sides were basically grey. That is an excellent point that must be stressed heavily.

If there is one book to read on this subject, I would recommended this book as the sole book for this subject. Its easy to read, interesting material and its seem to withstand the test of time since its publication.

Paula Mitchell Marks' "And Die in the West" is one of the most enjoyable treatments of history that I have read in some time. Not only is her prose highly readable and informative, it also achieves that goal which every good historian must set out to do--provide an objective analysis in light of the sources available. Mrs. Marks provides a comprehensive look at the forces which helped to define the West, then provides the shootout out behind the OK Corral and its aftermath as the ultimate example of those forces in conflict. While it can be argued that a bit too much time is spent on the legal proceedings following the gunfight, it is a minor flaw in an otherwise first-rate work. Anyone looking for a thorough, detailed description of the events and characters that played a role in the mythos of the West is hereby encouraged to make this book a part of their permanent collection.

Just a brief note to agree with Katja. After reading piles of books on Wyatt Earp, gunfights, outlaws and lawmen, this is by far the best. Scholarly while at the same time readable. If you are interested in the Old West - gunfighters and lawmen, you simply cannot do better than this book. An amazing story told amazingly well.

I've read not only Dr. Marks' book, but several others covering the Earps. I strongly recommend "I Married Wyatt Earp" to get some extra color on the situation. I've also visited Tombstone, including visits to the Cochise County Courthouse, and the Arizona Historical Society in Tucson. I think Marks' book does an excellent, if somewhat dry recitation of the events in Tombstone. For serious students of the Earps, this is a must read. I have to take exception with those who want to say there were no good guys. Western frontier society was not plagued by today's desire to ignore good and bad. Read what the judge had to say at the trial. Just because people were rough and tumble didn't mean they broke the law. That was the Earp crowd. Save the pc judgements about gamblers and saloon keepers. Study the times of these men. The Clantons and McLaurys regularly broke the law. They picked the wrong fight, with the wrong men, at the wrong time. Also, none of the Earps had a hard time attracting women. Doc Holliday rarely went looking for a fight, and he was intensely loyal to the Earps, particularly Wyatt and Morgan. Compare that with the way Ike Clanton ran while his own brother was getting shot up in the street.