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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Confederate too Tough to Give Up,
By
This review is from: Tombstone Conspiracy (Five Star First Edition Western) (Hardcover)
During the brief few years it flourished in the 1880's, when it suddenly became one of the largest cities in the West (in 1881, it was larger than San Francisco), Tombstone was the predecessor of today's high-flying dot com companies.In only eight years, Tombstone produced $1.5 billion in bullion. It was relatively peaceful, and as one of the most cultured cities in the West it attracted some of the world's best actors and musicians. It was a tough law and order town, as proven by the "Gunfight in the Alley Near the O.K. Corral." Badmen stayed away, they whooped it up in Charlestone and Galeyville. Ever hear the old song, "She's Only a Bird in a Gilded Cage'? It came out of Tombstone's most famous brothel, and was a lament for one of the working girls. It was a town of almost unimaginable riches that crashed and burned within a few years. In this setting, Champlin crafted a story of a defeated Confederate officer who'd ridden with Mosby's guerilla raiders. Capt. Brady Cox Brandau returned home after the war to find his home had been treated as badly as the northern homes he used to plunder. Instead of rebuilding, like Scarlett O'Hara, he set out to prolong the war -- like the James brothers in Missouri. In the 1880's, when Tombstone was probably the richest city per capita in North America, it became his target. Plausible? Of course. Keep in mind that Geronimo, accompanied by about 60 men, women and children, keep half of the entire U.S. Army busy during much of the 1880's without losing a single person. Meanwhile, the army sustained at least 1,500 casualties and even then didn't catch him until he was old enough to collect Social Security. Champlin's story centers on one Confederate officer, with about 10 followers, who was interested mainly in obtaining gold and banknotes. Compared to Geronimo, the fascinating element is that it could all be true. If the "bad guys" got away in real life (most of them don't in this book), it would explain where all the stolen loot disappeared to. In modern times, Arizona is known for Charlie Keating (nobody found much of his funds); in times past, it's possible that even cleverer operators got clean away with their gains. It's got all the usual characters for a typical Tombstone tale of the West: a clever bad man, a beautiful female spy, a lone Secret Service agent, Virgil and Morgan Earp brothers, plus a drunken Indian. Every time Champlin writes himself into a corner, one or more Apaches suddenly pop up to rescue our heroes. It's the type of escapist tourism literature that keeps Tombstone alive to this day. Tourists don't want the real thing, they want to remember the Old West as their imagination portrays it. This book does a good job in reinforcing old myths, with an interesting and ingenious new twist, that makes it an easy and pleasant evening read.
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