Doc Halliday the Gunfighter [Paperback]

Matt Braun (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 21, 1997

He came from the American South, a gentleman by breeding, a dentist by training, a gambler by vocation. But as Dr. John H. Holliday, a man fleeing his tragic past, drifted across the West, living among some of the roughest men on the frontier, word spread quickly he never walked away from a fight, and he never drew too late.

Now, from Dodge City to Denver and Cheyenne, from boomtown to sinkholes, "Doc" Holliday was driven by the demons of his past, a skilled gambler and a seasoned mankiller--his name was known and feared long before the O.K. Corral. The story of a man who spoke softly and carried a lightning gun, this is Matt Braun's extraordinary chronicle of the West's most complex and legendary figure.

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Matt Braun has a genius for taking real characters out of the Old West and giving them flesh-and-blood immediacy."--Dee Brown, author of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

About the Author

Matt Braun is a fourth-generation Westerner, steeped in the tradition and lore of the frontier era. His books reflect a heritage rich with the truths of that bygone time. Raised among the Cherokee and Osage tribes, Braun learned their traditions and culture, and their philosophy became the foundation of his own beliefs. Like his ancestors, he has spent most of his life wandering the mountains and plains of the West. His heritage and his contribution to Western literature resulted in his appointment by the Governor of Oklahoma as a Territorial Marshal.

 

Braun is the author of more than forty novels and four nonfiction works, including Black Fox, which was made into a CBS miniseries, and Once Last Town, which was made into a TNT movie called You Know My Name. Western Writers of America awarded Braun the prestigious Golden Spur Award for The Kincaids. He is also the recipient of the Cowboy Spirit Award and was inducted into the Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1999.

--This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Saint Martin's Press (November 21, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0330368834
• ISBN-13: 978-0330368834
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,602,152 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars NOT AS GOOD AS OTHERS BY BRAUN...., August 19, 2001

By 

Mac Blair "Mac Blair" (Huntingdon, TN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Doc Holliday (Gunfighter Chronicles) (Mass Market Paperback)

Have read several other books by Matt Braun and enjoyed most of them. I did not really like this one. Not much in it was the real life of Doc Holliday. It seemed like several chapters were a repeat of the previous one. Doc would get up, dress, go eat breakfast, go play poker, shoot somebody and then go back to his hotel. The next chapter he would be in a different town, get up, dress, go eat breakfast, go play poker, shoot somebody and then go back to his hotel. The towns changed and Doc always had to agree to show up at a hearing the next morning to explain the shooting. Was really disappointed in the book, started just skimming pages as it was so much like previous pages.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Fact or Fiction?, February 5, 2003

By 

Kam (Glendale, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Doc Holliday (Gunfighter Chronicles) (Mass Market Paperback)

Although some of what is contained within the pages of "Doc Holliday: The Gunfighter" is fact, most of the book's 312 pages contain fiction. I would equate Braun's book with the Hollywood tales told over the past several decades: truth hidden within "dramatic license" including the great film Tombstone. It is unfortunate that Braun does not tell readers that this is a work of fiction because, much like in the 1880s, people will believe that what is detailed-yet-not-substantiated is true thereby continuing the "legend" of Doc Holliday being a cold-blooded, gambling killer.

Braun's novel is a great read for those who have researched Doc Holliday (read the Holliday Tanner book) and know before opening the book that the forthcoming tales were drawn from a Wild West imagination and sources of long ago that did not verify the facts before being printed.

Just one example of miscontrued facts is the infamous sanatorium. Braun says in the closing chapter that Doc admitted himself to a sanatorium in Glendwood Springs (as is also referenced in the Tombstone film); however, a sanatorium never existed in Glenwood (Doc died at the Glendwood Hotel).

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good but not the best, September 1, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Doc Holliday (Gunfighter Chronicles) (Mass Market Paperback)

An interesting view of Holliday, but obviously alot of it was made up. You do feel like you know him a little better after reading this book, but don't rely on it as being that factual. It also only covers a brief period of his life -- read the Tanner book for more.