Customer Reviews

John Ringo

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

 

 

Like many people I have been intrigued for a number of years about the mysterious life of John Ringo. So it was with much excitement and eagerness that I picked up this book. I was soon left extremely disappointed.

It is a book of two halves. The first deals with Ringo's early years, from childhood to his participation in the Mason County War. This seems to be well researched and offers some interesting insights into his life, and certainly seems to clear up some of John Ringo's movements at that time.

Thereafter, the book takes an alarming turn for the worst. Much of the second half is a blatant attack on Wyatt Earp and anybody who dares to have a good word to say about him. For the record, I am neither pro-Earp, or anti-Earp (nor for that matter am I pro-Ringo or anti-Ringo) - I am just interested in learning more about these fascinating characters and the truth behind their lives. In no way can I condone such a biased, and at times, childish attempt at a 'historical biography'.

I found that I began to question the author's motives for writing the book. Was he really trying to write a biography on Ringo? Or was this another tedious, and pointless excuse to attack Wyatt Earp. It would have been much better had the author concentrated more on his chosen subject.

Instead he writes a lengthy account of the gunfight at the OK Coral (For which Ringo took no part) and events leading up to it, but paints only half the picture. He does not make mention of many contributary factors leading to hostilities between the two groups ie. Earp and Behans affections for Josephine Marcus; Ike Clanton supposedly double-crossing Earp - to name only a couple. Constantly through his book Johnson cites evidence that portrays Earp as the villain, and the the 'cowboy' elemant as honest ranchers. Remarkably he even states that John Ringo was not involved in criminal activity because he was not particularly known in local towns. Johnson says this is proved because they always spelt his name wrong. How naive! Anyone who studies Western history knows individual names were often spelt wrong eg. look at how many ways contemparies of Wild Bill Hickok spelt his name, and surely he was well known.Certainly I do not believe Ringo was as bad as he has been traditionally portrayed, but this kind of arguement is ridiculous.

The author continues his attacks against many authors. He clearly detests Stuart Lake's biography of Wyatt Earp - certainly not a new or unique opinion. Yet the irony is that Mr. Johnson has achieved a biography as one sided (if not more) than Lake's.

He continually criticizes other authors such as Jack Burrows and their arguements, using the phrase 'without documentation'. Yet 'without documentation' Johnson claims that the reason for Ringo's heavy drinking and dark moods, were because of his experiences in the Mason County War. Maybe, but the author takes this for fact. He also states catagorically that Ringo committed suicide, and does not even enter into discussions about the other possibilities. He only uses the evidence that fits into his opinion.

Surely the purpose of a historical account is to present both sides of the arguement, and draw sensible, logical conclusions. This book fails miserably to do that, and for the most part can not be taken seriously.

It is a shame that Mr. Johnson believes his opinion to be far superior and important, than historical facts and truths.

This book provides a very interesting (and researched) counter-point to the "Gunfighter Who Never Was". It is a fairly dry recitation of names, dates and facts, however, it does provide a very interesting perspective on one of the least factually known characters in the Tombstone mythos. This book will probably stand as the definitive John Ringo resource book for many, many years.

Dave Johnson has included more facts about John Ringo than any author before him.This,as of now,is the definitive book on the Desparado from Texas and Arizona.The chapters on Ringo in Texas are worth the price of the book alone.Those of us who are interested in the other side of the Tombstone story appreciate Johnson's fact finding.This is first rate.....John Presutti

Dave Johnson spends more time bashing previous authors than he does on the facts of the life of John Ringo. Despite bashing other authors and talking about bias, he is decidedly anti-Earp -- to the point that it dominates the book. In this book he becomes exactly what he criticizes others for being. I expected more...

I have numerous books on John Peters Ringo, and I can say, without reservation, this is one of the best. David Johnson researched his subject, as well as other western figures of the day, extensively, and described enough about John Ringo, the man, and his experiences to enable the reader to get a clear view of not just Ringo himself, but his friends, enemies, and the social atmosphere of the southwest in the mid to late 1880's. This book, as well as his other books pertaining to J Ringo...(John Ringo King of the Cowboys and The Mason County "Hoo Doo" War, 1874-1904) are exemplary examples of an author dedicated to accuracy and detail. This is an excellent book, as well as his other two, mentioned above for anyone interested in John Peters Ringo (also known as John R., Long John, and Dutch John...but rarely, if ever referred to as Johnny, except when he was a young boy, by his mother). The pulps and Hollywood created Johnny Ringo...actually John Ringo was a complicated and fascinating figure of the west without all the extra (Hollywood hoopla). As an avid fan and amateur historian of the "old west", and its many colorful characters I highly recommend this book, as well as David Johnson's other books on John Peters Ringo. (and for the record, Steve Gatto's book, Johnny Ringo is another excellent choice.

At times I found this a very compelling read but for the most part I found this biography to be boring and sometimes confusing. When I finished this book my picture of the subject was still muddled. I found JOHN RINGO: THE GUNFIGHTER WHO NEVER WAS by Jack Burrows to be a vastly superior account of this subject.

This is one of the better biographies I have read and that is saying a lot. The book is easy to read though I had problems getting into it. Once you get to the second chapter it really flies. I'm sorry I didn't have more time in the day to read it.