A thorough discussion of the dramatis personae involved in the famous shootout, along with the history of Tombstone itself, silver mining, and quite a bit on the politics of the Arizona territory. As you might imagine, our notions of Wyatt Earp from books, TV, and the movies are quite inaccurate. I was surprised that when Earp arrived in Tombstone he was essentially nobody and almost nobody there would have noticed him. His fame largely developed after the dramatized stories of the shootout became popular. I'm a fan of the movie Tombstone with Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer, but, as suspected, that movie has sprinkled some facts into what is otherwise an entertaining fabrication. Several of Earp's famous stories, such as his backing down an angry mob by himself, the way that he shot Curly Bill Brocius, or the death of John Ringo now seem unlikely.
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As others have commented, this book has no maps. This is a silly (but common) oversight, although maps are easily available on the internet.
I recommend that you read through the notes at the end of the book for many interesting comments. ( )

There is a lot of filler info to round out the page count of this book. If you are interested in learning all the context of what was going on, including political, sociological, and familial histories that go back decades before the action, then you'll gobble up this book. Otherwise you'll need to skim heavily, which is what I did. ( )

Very good attempt to weed through the myth and fact of a legendary family and era in order to tell the story of a few months in an American western town as famous as those who frequented it. ( )

Got through 2/3s and bowed out. I was impressed by the confident interpretation of the world view of the Tombstone townspeople. Didn't know 'cowboy' meant rustler until that term was nostalgified later. I was aware of the tension between visiting, partying cowboys and the townsfolk who wanted their money and then wanted them gone. This book portrays that very clearly. The level of detail got a little too microscopic at times. But I appreciated the way the author used the available sources and interpreted period newspaper editorials for instance.

My generation grew up on western hero's battling bad guys and fighting Indians. Sorry, no political correctness back then. Just the tall hero riding into town kicking ass and taking names. No regrets because they "never killed anyone that didn't need killin." So this was an eye opener. The legend of Wyatt Earp and the fierce righteous cowboys and lawmen turned to myth right before my eyes. But if you like history and have an interest in the old West this one is highly recommended. Just don't expect John Wayne and Maureen O'hara. Not even Clint Eastwood and Sondra Locke. ;-) ( )