The Truth About Wyatt Earp [Paperback]

Richard Erwin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 22, 2000

The Truth About Wyatt Earp is the result of extensive research done by the author, Richard E. Erwin. After retiring from his career as a Criminal Defense Lawyer, he took up the task of ferreting out the truth surrounding the life and times of Wyatt Earp.He presents here solid evidence, based on old newspaper accounts, public records, documents buried in museums, state and national archives and libraries and reports of other researchers, to substantiate his view of what he believes to be The Truth About Wyatt Earp. Did you know... That Wyatt Earp was once indicted for horse stealing (He was never convicted.)? That there were four witnesses who could have testified that Tom McLaury was armed at the commencement of the O.K. Corral fight? That both Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday spent more than two weeks in jail in the custody of John Behan while the hearing on the O.K. Corral shoot-out was going on?The truth comes out in this illuminating essay on one of the most fascinating characters in history.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Richard E. Erwin spent more than forty-five years as a Criminal Defense Lawyer, defending thousands of criminal cases of every kind imaginable. The tough-talking, straight-shooting defense attorney once took a case before the California Supreme Court that not only saved his client's life, but also succeeded in overturning California's death penalty law as it then existed.He retired from law in 1984. With the help of his wife and contstant companion of over fifty years, Lyla, he took up the task of ferreting out the life and times of Wyatt Earp, separating fact from myth.He presents solid evidence based on old newspaper accounts, public records, documents buried in museums, state and national archives, libraries, and reports of other researchers to substantiate his view of what believes to be The Truth about Wyatt Earp.

Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse (March 22, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595001270
• ISBN-13: 978-0595001279
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,319,900 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The definitive book on wyatt earp!, March 16, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Truth about Wyatt Earp (Paperback)

The "Truth About Wyatt Earp" is the definitive book about Wyatt Earp. I have read many books about Wyatt Earp and they can be separated between the myth makers and the bashers. Mr. Erwins book is simply the best in that it is factual, educational and enjoyable. I especially enjoyed the process of getting to the "truth" and solving the various mysteries about Wyatt Earp. I have not seen such a well researched book on Wyatt Earp since maybe Paula Mitchell Mark's famous "And Die In The West". Mr. Erwin considered the facts from all the known researchers before reaching his conclusions, rather than just three or four sources like most researchers. The author must have spent years researching all the material in this book. He endeavored to show Wyatt as a real man, with faults like everyone has. Wyatt was no hero with a halo, nor was he a braggart, liar, and murderer The "Truth About Wyatt Earp" explains that Wyatt was a flesh and blood human being, something that most authors forget in writing biographys.

20 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not nearly as easy or enjoyable reading as a legal brief..., September 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Truth About Wyatt Earp (Hardcover)

I checked out Mr Erwin's book, (You can't tell a book by its cover!) and planned an evening of enjoyable reading.

I first want to thank Mr. Erwin for his great effort and research. Saying that ...

Richard E. Erwin has apparently set forth what he believes are the true facts. However unless you're a lawyer or one of those college professors whose writings are unreadable except to one of their own kind you will NOT enjoy this.

Without studying his book as you would one of your old history books just before a test, you likely will not be able to figure out what facts Mr. Erwin sees as true and false. They may be found within his book, but you better start a blank truth table as well as a flow chart and begin completing it as you read each sentence.

Perhaps, Mr Richare E. Erwin can pursuade someone such as Steven Ambrose or Kenneth Davis to put his trurh into their words.

Perhaps Mr. Erwin can do so himself without the lawyerese. I would likely enjoy such a book. And it would probably sell well at museums and tourist areas in the Western United States.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Only For the Seriously Obsessed, May 4, 2003

By 

Joseph T. Clark (The Colony, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Truth About Wyatt Earp (Paperback)

I looked forward to reading this book, and like one reviewer, looked forward to a pleasant evening of reading. This book is painfully researched and definitely not an enjoyable read. I have no doubt the author knows what he is writing about, but unless you are really an Earp fanatic, you will not enjoy a pleasant read about a colorful western persona. The book would have been much more enjoyable if the author had presented his version of the history of Wyatt Earp first. It was very distracting with the constant reporting of descrepancies he found in other texts in every chapter, and at least for novices, would have been appreciated at the end of the book as a summary of research.