Tombstone's Early Years [Paperback]

John Myers Myers (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 28, 1995

Tombstone’s Early Years is packed with dramatic events like the gunfight at the O.K. Corral and colorful characters such as Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson. John Myers Myers brought all his skill as a writer and historian to this authoritative account of "the town that would not die."

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Tombstone, the Arizona town of morbid name and violent memories, at last has a chronicler who is as interested in facts as in gaudy legend. John Myers Myers has written the story of Tombstone’s early years with painstaking research and commendable respect for verifiable records. The result is as gaudy as anyone could wish, but it probably comes as close to the whole truth about Tombstone, the Clanton gang, the Earps, and the bloody two-year reign of terror as any history of that time and place ever will."—New York Times Book Review

(New York Times Book Review )

"This is the re-creation of a Western town characteristically built around a great mine, its early growth, its (to the extent that it was possible) normal life when it was not functioning as a shooting gallery. . . . As for Tombstone’s unforgettable day—October 26, 1881—when the Earps and the Clanton gang shot it out in the O.K. Corral, Mr. Myers handles it superbly."—New York Herald Tribune

(New York Herald Tribune )

"Myers brings to his account a notable talent for clear and orderly exposition and a sharp attention to the personal characters of the men involved. . . . It is not often that you get topnotch writing and fine narrative skill, the inclination to put in hard work at digging out material and the true sense of scholarship, all present in as nice a balance as Mr. Myers exhibits here."—San Francisco Chronicle

(San Francisco Chronicle )

Gaudy and noisy and full of shouting and gunfire. . . . A splendid job of research and writing."—Pittsburgh Press

(Pittsburgh Press )

About the Author

John Myers Myers is the author of Doc Holliday and The Alamo, also Bison Books.

Product Details

• Paperback: 266 pages
• Publisher: Bison Books (January 28, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080328215X
• ISBN-13: 978-0803282155
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,145,071 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Popular history handled well, August 20, 2006

By 

Bomojaz (South Central PA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tombstone's Early Years (Paperback)

This is a straightforward, popular history of Tombstone, Arizona, from its founding as a silver mining center in 1880 up to its demise when the mines began to close a decade or so later. Using primarily information gleamed from local newspapers published throughout the 1880s, Myers traces the development of the town and its better known (and often unsavory) characters, including Doc Holliday, Johnny Ringgold (Ringo), Luke Short, and, of course, Wyatt Earp and the Clanton gang. He puts to rest some myths, such as the story that Jenny Lind and Lotta Crabtree sang at the Bird Cage Theatre. And of course he spends quite a few pages dealing with the famous "fight at the OK Corral"; although he is thorough here he does make some minor errors (Holliday died in 1887, not 1895 as Myers says, and Earp was a sheriff in Tombstone, not a U.S. Marshal). The book is meant for the general reader (there are no footnotes, but an excellent index is included), and at this it succeeds admirably: it's as entertaining as it is informative.

2.0 out of 5 stars An old biased book written like a dime novel, November 1, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Tombstone's Early Years (Paperback)

This old book was written back in 1950 with a definite bias in favor of the Earps as utter heroes, and the cowboys deserving of everything the Earps cared to dish out. It was hardly such a black and white case as that. One particularly glaring error is when Myers describes the pistols used in Tombstone (Colts with cylinders that swing open to the left side of the gun frame, (like modern revolvers). WRONG! Try Paula Mitchell Marks book "And Die in the West" for a far more well researched study of old Tombstone.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Last of the Lawless Towns and its Legend, March 18, 2005

By 

Theo Logos (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tombstone's Early Years (Paperback)

John Myers Myers had a comfortable way of relating Western history. He would take his time leading up to his tale, giving pertinent background for his main story, setting the tone and the context for what was to come. He then would launch into his tale like a grizzled, wise old-timer, complete with rambling, colorful asides that might seem to diverge from his story, but often proved to be surprisingly pertinent in the end. He never forgot that "Story" is the most important element in his-story, and his folksy style was uniquely suited to the Western histories that he wrote.
Tombstone's Early Years is a fine little history of that town "too tough to die". Myers began the story with Ed Schieffelin, the prospector who was told by soldiers that all he would find in that dangerous part of the Arizona territory was his tombstone. Instead, he found a claim of silver that made him a rich man, and he christened that claim Tombstone. Soon, others flocked to the region in search of their dreams of silver wealth, and the town of Tombstone grew up around the rough mining camp that was established there. Myers worked his way slowly from there up to the chaos and lawlessness that engendered the Earp/Clanton feud for which Tombstone is best known. While this feud and its climax at the OK Corral shoot-out are the heart of his story, he never lost sight of the town itself and the regular citizens who watched it unfold, whose lives were affected by it, and who rooted for one side or the other.
The feud between the Earps and the Clanton Cowboy gang has always been associated with controversy, and even now, at nearly a century and a quarter removed from the events, there are still strong partisans for both sides, who bring great passion to their positions. Myers was firmly in the Earp camp with his interpretation of the history. He did not make Wyatt and his brothers out to be pure, white-hat heroes out of old dime westerns, but he definitely made it clear on which side of that largely lawless divide he believed that the right laid, and it was not with the Cowboys. If you are a passionate Clanton Gang advocate, this might negatively color your opinion of Myers' book. Everyone else should find Myers' handling of the subject to be first rate, both in his storytelling and his research.
In the final sentence of the book, Myers wrote, "the great thing about Tombstone was not that there was silver in the veins of the adjacent hills, but that life flowed hotly and strongly in the veins of its people." Myers did a great job of capturing the feel of that hot blooded passion that fueled the town and the legend, and everyone who loves true tales of the old west should give his book a read.

Theo Logos