Andy62
08-22-2011, 06:31 PM
This is a very interesting book with an expanded analysis of the Gunfight At The OK Corral. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in history, biography, and the old west. I first became interested in this book when I heard an interview with the Author Jeff Guinn on book TV.
Tombstone was a mining boom town of which there were a number in the old west. The average life of one of these boomtowns was 2 years and they created an interesting social dynamic where a group of people seeking wealth, power, and fame came together for a limited period of time in a common and hostile environment to pursue their individual destinies.
To survive in their new environment they had to be tough,aggressive,and intuitive. They came from different backgrounds and included many former criminals. This book made me aware that the tombstone of that time was a contradiction. In many ways even in those early days Tombstone society was more structured than I had previously assumed with active Republican and Democratic parties and the beginning of a structured class system. At the same time the area still lived in fear of raids by Apaches and cattle rustling and other forms of lawlessness were rampant. In what amounted too what we would probably consider an attempt at a mutual survival system even people on different sides of the law on occassion would find ways to work together for mutual benefit. An example of this is that cattle rustlers would take cattle rustled from Mexico and have legitimate ranchers feed them and evenutally market them.
The personality profiles of the people who took the risks to settle in such a hostile environment are typical of people who are attracted to high risk and high adventure situations. First of all they had to be risk takers who bet everything that they had, including their lives,on their new adventure . They had to be physically strong or at the very least tenacious and enduring and have an extreme sense of singleness of purpose. Doc Holliday was physically weak,but he was certainly tenacious Such people are not "shrinking violet" personality types. The main forms of entertainment in Tombstone and the other boomtowns were gambling, drinking and whoring [prostitution was legal].
The real reason for my initial interest in the book was to find out what Wyatt Earp was really like. My conclusion based upon information in the book and my own personal interpretation of it is as follows:
Wyatt Earp was a product of his times. He was very strong and rugged physically standing about 6 feet tall and weighing about 160 pounds. He was good with his fists and was not a born killer as he used his physical strength or the butt of a pistol to subdue outlaws rather than shooting them whenever possible. He had great emotional control which he could maintain even in very volatile situations. He and his friend Doc Holliday were complete opposites, but Doc Holliday had saved Wyatt's life on one occassion and Wyatt remained loyal to him for life. One place that I disagree with the author is a situation where he believes that Wyatt lost control,but I believe Wyatt was just acting after having set up his target in the court room. Wyatt was also very smart and had a good sense of strategy and could think conceptually as was evidenced by a strategy that he setup after the Benson stage robbery. The plan didn't work due too outside events,but the plan itself was brilliant. Wyatt was a very interesting man and possessed of great personal courage in my opinion.
.I really enjoyed the book.
Tombstone was a mining boom town of which there were a number in the old west. The average life of one of these boomtowns was 2 years and they created an interesting social dynamic where a group of people seeking wealth, power, and fame came together for a limited period of time in a common and hostile environment to pursue their individual destinies.
To survive in their new environment they had to be tough,aggressive,and intuitive. They came from different backgrounds and included many former criminals. This book made me aware that the tombstone of that time was a contradiction. In many ways even in those early days Tombstone society was more structured than I had previously assumed with active Republican and Democratic parties and the beginning of a structured class system. At the same time the area still lived in fear of raids by Apaches and cattle rustling and other forms of lawlessness were rampant. In what amounted too what we would probably consider an attempt at a mutual survival system even people on different sides of the law on occassion would find ways to work together for mutual benefit. An example of this is that cattle rustlers would take cattle rustled from Mexico and have legitimate ranchers feed them and evenutally market them.
The personality profiles of the people who took the risks to settle in such a hostile environment are typical of people who are attracted to high risk and high adventure situations. First of all they had to be risk takers who bet everything that they had, including their lives,on their new adventure . They had to be physically strong or at the very least tenacious and enduring and have an extreme sense of singleness of purpose. Doc Holliday was physically weak,but he was certainly tenacious Such people are not "shrinking violet" personality types. The main forms of entertainment in Tombstone and the other boomtowns were gambling, drinking and whoring [prostitution was legal].
The real reason for my initial interest in the book was to find out what Wyatt Earp was really like. My conclusion based upon information in the book and my own personal interpretation of it is as follows:
Wyatt Earp was a product of his times. He was very strong and rugged physically standing about 6 feet tall and weighing about 160 pounds. He was good with his fists and was not a born killer as he used his physical strength or the butt of a pistol to subdue outlaws rather than shooting them whenever possible. He had great emotional control which he could maintain even in very volatile situations. He and his friend Doc Holliday were complete opposites, but Doc Holliday had saved Wyatt's life on one occassion and Wyatt remained loyal to him for life. One place that I disagree with the author is a situation where he believes that Wyatt lost control,but I believe Wyatt was just acting after having set up his target in the court room. Wyatt was also very smart and had a good sense of strategy and could think conceptually as was evidenced by a strategy that he setup after the Benson stage robbery. The plan didn't work due too outside events,but the plan itself was brilliant. Wyatt was a very interesting man and possessed of great personal courage in my opinion.
.I really enjoyed the book.