Customer Reviews

The Illustrated Life and Times of Doc Holliday

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book has great authentic pictures of Doc's life.Bell writes only facts and tells the truth about Doc as a person.Bell also mentiones the friendship ending dispute between Doc and Wyatt.

I first encountered this book when I was attracted to the gaudy cover in the Galeria de los Artesanos in Las Vegas, NM, one of my favorite bookstores since it was operated by truly professional Western book authorities. I asked about the book and they said: "It's a joke!" After reading it, I have to agree. The art work is good, done by the author, but if the pages were spread on a gymnasium floor and shelled corn thrown at them, a kernel would seldom miss a historical error. Many of the photos are not who they are claimed to be. Later, in Tombstone where this sort of books sells like mad, I discovered the local bookstores were calling it the Psychedelic Doc. Save your money.

Any fan of the Old West knows,the people who were part of it and the events that took place are filled with every legend,fact,stretch of the imagination,hearsay,embellishment,exaggeration,supposition,myth,fokelore,downright lies,some of it true,some of it not;but it all is part of what makes the history and entertainment of the Old West what it is.
As the Old West opened up, the people back east thirsted for knowledge about this new frontier and the newspapers were willing to take whatever happened and feed it to them.If embellishment helped to satisfy that thirst,then so be it,that is what they gave them.
An eastern writer,Edward Zane Carroll Judson,under the pen name of Ned Buntline,travelled the Old West,writing lurid tales for the "dime novels and penny dreadfuls". He was one of the most popular writers of the time,earning even more than Twain,Whitman and Melville. He travelled the Old West,met all the characters,and wrote about them.He wrote as an entertainer rather than a historian,so he had no reservations when it came to stretching facts to make a good story.Many credit him for being the one that made the Old West so interesting and entertaining,and other writers followed in his footsteps .So much so,that today fact and legend is completely entertwined.
Keeping all that in mind;this is an excellent book on the life and times of Doc Holliday,and many of the people around him and the events that filled their lives.It is only 128 pages,roughly 8 1/2 X 11 inches,well constructed and of excellent paper,printing and filled with an abundance of photographs,illustrations etc.,both in B&W and color. Anyone who has read any of the many books and watched the many movies covering these characters and events will surely love this book.

While one could argue that some of the finer points of the personal history (or should we say 'mystery') surrounding the life of Doc Holliday didn't get enough attention in this tome, THE ILLUSTRATED LIFE & TIMES OF DOC HOLLIDAY is a feast for Holliday enthusiasts as well as general fans of the Old West. The book is filled with what must be hundreds of portraits, artists' renderings, maps, etc., that only enhance the value of the book. A quick and entertaining read, this version of Doc's life is a wonderful overview and is highly recommended for anyone wanting to 'jump off' into studying the fascinating man who may or may not have been Doc Holliday.

This is a terrible book if you're looking for facts, or any kind of reasoning at all. The writer seems to rely heavily on his reputation and his art. The complete lack of bibliography (no, I'm not joking) made me toss this book in disgust.