Customer Reviews

Wyatt Earp: The Biography

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Many readers of WOLA and NOLA will recognize Tim Fattig as a long time contributor to the Western history and Earpiana field. Tim has long been recognized for his top quality research and analytical skills. The long awaited release of his "Wyatt Earp: The Biography" will be pleasant news to his fans and readers of Earpiana.

This reviewer had the opportunity of reviewing the galley copy before it's release date scheduled for March 2003. Not surprisingly, Tim Fattig has chosen to follow in the footsteps of Stuart N. Lake and Water Noble Burns in lionizing Wyatt B. S. Earp. Though not a simple re-telling of the genre, the strength of this tome is the fluid prose, peripheral research into some of the characters that surround Wyatt Earp, and his masterful job of investigating and following up much of the previously unpublished information and personalities that effected Wyatt's story. While debunking many of the myths surrounding Wyatt's story, he has at times carried many to the forefront.

Though most of the biography is well researched and written, there are a few areas of controversy nonetheless. Many will be intriged by his assessment of the famed gunfight in Fremont Street known as the "Gunfight at the OK Corral" and his belief that Wyatt may have come back from Colorado in 1882 to hunt down and kill Johnny Ringo. Tim also possibly has Wyatt killing Pete Spence (AKA E. Lark Ferguson) when Pete actually passed away quietly from pneumonia at his home in Gila County, Arizona on January 31, 1914.

In a few cases the narrative is short and the all inclusive information included in the paragraph for brevity sake can be misconstrued by the reader. For example, in one paragraph he has almost 40 posse members riding to Charleston with Wyatt in search of Virgil's attempted murderers, when in fact, there were three separate posses (four if you want to include J. H. Jackson's two posses with two separate bench warrants) under Charles Bartholomew, J. H. Jackson and the Earp federal posse.

This reviewer would have liked to have seen Tim expand his coverage of Wyatt's controversial time in Coeur d' Alene, Idaho, Alaska and California. Maybe he will do these in subsequent volumns or articles. Despite some minor concerns, Tim Fattig has done a tremendous job with the source material and the book is readable. This book deserves a place in every reader's library of the Old West, especially those interested in Earpiana, Tombstone and Cochise County. This book is highly recommended.

I bought this book at the full price of $59.95 at the Bird Cage Theatre in Tombstone, AZ. This book is worth every penny, regardless of what price you get it for! It's a beautifully crafted book from the inset picture of Wyatt Earp to the "leather" cover to the many illustrations and photos.

This book is much bigger than what I usually have time to read, not to mention I don't have the best vision in the world. Tim, the author, whom I've met in Tombstone, made a conscious decision to have the print made larger in this book than what is standard. For me, that made a big difference! No headaches! I found that once I started this book, I had a hard time putting it down.

I've been a Tombstone regular visitor for several years (since 1981), and Wyatt Earp became my hero at the age of 8. Even though he was not perfect, he's about as close as you got in those days.

It's a fascinating story of a man's life, and I think Tim did a great job with his research. His bibliography is enormous, and when talking to him, he can go on at great length far beyond what is in the book, which tells me he really knows his stuff!

I hope this review helps you make a decision to buy this great book, and perhaps even visit Tombstone, "The Town Too Tough To Die."

Tim Fattig has done a good job of research overall, but he is grossly in error regarding who Wyatt's second (common law) wife actually was and where Wyatt met her and how long they lived together. He also makes a gross mistake regarding details of the life of Tombstone's notorious badman, Peter Spencer, a.k.a. Pete Spence (And actually Lark Ferguson). These are forgivable errors on the surface since mostly Earp Buffs read a book of this cost and size and they will not be misled, since they know better, but a new reader deserves better.

This is a pretty fair source book, but doesn't really have much new. It also falls in the category of books for which this publisher is famous, which are known among Earp cognocenti as "The Doorstop Series," which include the publisher's books on John Ringo and Warren Earp. One wishes that a piece of carpet were included in which to wrap them after reading to keep doors from blowing shut (a traditional American household device) to help justify the price.

I recommend that the reader, before investing this much money, read some of the well-known books on the Earps, starting with Stuart Lake ("Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal", the book that launced Wyatt on the road to fame); Walter Noble Burns earlier "Tombstone"; "I Married Wyatt Earp"; "Doc Holliday: A Family Portrait" by Doc's closest living "blood" relative, Karen Holliday Tanner; and even Paula Marks "And Die In The West," and Casey Tefertiller's "Wyatt Earp: The Life Behind the Legend." And certainly Billy Breakenridgs's "Helldorado." Jack Burrows did a fairly good job on "John Ringo The Gunfighter Who Never Was" and as I said in a review it should be in every Western Buffs library, which is more than can be said for this book, in my opinion.

If the reader assumes that I was not consumed with admiration for this prolix effort, they will have hit the bullseye.

Plese do inform yourself first with less expensive books of greater merit to snowproof yourslf before reading this one. I wondered if the publisher wasn't publishing this book for some reason besides expecting to make money on it. In fact, as the late sacred elder, C. Leland Sonnichsent used to say in reviews: "I really don't see why this book had to be written."

I haven't read any books for several years. Being in Tombstone every weekend has made me want to learn some history of the whole area. Tim's book, although quite large, is a very easy read. The writing flows well and can be absorbed without rereading a line or getting crossed up on who's who. This is good for a new reader as well as an experienced one intimidated by it's size. From what I have heard and read, this book is right along the lines of the majority in the historical content. Even Stuart Lake didn't get all the information about Wyatt's life and he even indulged a little on some events. As mixed up as Tombstone was, in those days, and as many egos that are out there, telling us they are experts, Tim is not one of them. Tim is very well mannered and doesn't try to force you to believe anything. He told about how the book was researched and where it all came from. I read another book called Tombstone A.T. and is was a very informative book on Tombstone and it's start. It also told some of the same stories about certain events in Wyatt's life as Tim's book. The only ones that really know the true and exact events are long gone. As a novice to Tombstone and it's history, I am not overwhelmed with the OK Corral & the Earps. I am into the history of the area, the town and certain citizens of it's past, the Earps being part of it. Tim's book, Wyatt Earp: The Biography, is the best I have read on Wyatt.