The Life and Death of Johnny Ringo

by Ray Hogan

Book by Hogan, Ray

Genres: Historical Fiction

168 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 1963

About the author

Ray Hogan (1908-1998) was born in Missouri but spent his life in New Mexico.
His father was a Western marshal and lawman.
He has written over 100 books. His work has been translated into 16 languages and filmed.

Reviews

[John Reis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book starts with Johnny Ringo in an unnamed saloon retelling events of his participation in the Mason County War in Texas in 1875 to a man named Olney. This ‘war’ broke out in Texas after two men were lynched for cattle rustling.

Olney is headed to a job on a ranch. Ringo decides to follow him. Ringo works on the ranch for a few years. Then Curly Bill Brocius shows up and asks Johnny to join his gang down near Tombstone.

From then on, the story follows the Clanton gang attacking stagecoaches and bullion deliveries. The jurisdictional complications at the time meant the Clanton-McLaury gang could take refuge within the borders of Tombstone. But the Earps made it difficult for the gang, nevertheless. Ringo was a volatile man. He had only one friend, Brocius. He decided he wanted a go at Wyatt, but never found the right time.

Ike Clanton makes several loud public announcements that he is going to kill Wyatt. Brocius and Ringo have gone south to Galeyville figuring the pressure on Earp was going to come to a head soon and they wanted to be out of the way.

Then there was the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. The McLaurys and Billie Clanton are killed. Virgil is injured. Clanton and some of his gang decide to kill Wyatt and his brother Morgan one night. They get Morgan.

Wyatt deputizes a posse and goes after them. After Wyatt kills Brocius, Ringo decides the time is right. As the months roll by, the posse is broken up and Wyatt heads to Colorado, never to return to Arizona. Ringo is found dead under a tree months later. Perhaps it was someone he tried to lynch.

Ringo does little in this story. His violent actions are mostly behind him. He does have a short fuse but few opportunities present themselves.

[Phillip · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Life and Death of Johnny Ringo is a supposedly fictional account of Johnny Ringo's exploits around the time of the events portrayed in the movie Tombstone, though the film certainly has no connection to the novel. As the title indicates, it focuses specifically on Ringo, provides a little background regarding his origins and perhaps a little motivation for his deviltry, and then gets into the story of his association with Curly Bill Brocius and the Cowboy Gang, run initially by the Clanton gang. If you're interested in all things Wyatt Earp and Tombstone, I would recommend this rather short novel. I was hoping for a little more focus on Earp, though understandably Ringo is the star of the book. I don't know how historically accurate this account is, but at times Ringo makes Earp look like a buffoon. I suppose that's just the nature of the criminal...the law always has limitations, but the bad guys have no rules and can do anything they want, and they usually do, and get away with it.

Finally, Ringo's number is up, Wyatt and his gang take down the Cowboy gang, and we last hear of Ringo being found under a tree with a hole in his head and part of his scalp removed. The author provides several theories as to who killed Ringo, but I'm not sure we will ever know for sure. While I did enjoy the knowledge I gleaned from this novel, it was more historical than fiction, and not something I would read again, thus the two stars.

N.B. Listening to an audiobook should not count toward the Reading challenge. Reading is reading. Listening is listening. They are not the same thing.

[Lyndon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A research/fact-based fictionalized narrative about Tombstone, AZ, outlaw, Johnny Ringo, and his antagonistic interactions with lawman Wyatt Earp in the 1880s. Interesting tidbits of history, but overall it reads just a little better than an extended wiki entry. One of the most famous incidents - the shootout at the OK Corral - was briefly mentioned as Ringo wasn't involved directly in the incident. This short novel was written in 1963 so unless you're a die-hard western fan, you won't miss much if you skip reading it.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Supposedly a true story of Johnny Ringo, who was a real-life gunslinger and enemy of the Earp's in Tombstone. Pretty good, although I can't attest to how truthful it is.