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Wyatt Earp: A Vigilante Life
Finalist for the 2014 Weber-Clements Book Prize for the Best Non-fiction Book on Southwestern America
In popular culture, Wyatt Earp is the hero of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona, and a beacon of rough cowboy justice in the tumultuous American West. The subject of dozens of films, he has been invoked in battles against organized crime (in the 1930s), communism (in the 1950s), and al-Qaeda (after 2001). Yet as the historian Andrew C. Isenberg reveals in Wyatt Earp: A Vigilante Life , the Hollywood Earp is largely a fiction―one created by none other than Earp himself. The lawman played on-screen by Henry Fonda and Burt Lancaster is stubbornly duty-bound; in actuality, Earp led a life of impulsive lawbreaking and shifting identities. When he wasn't wearing a badge, he was variously a thief, a brothel bouncer, a gambler, and a confidence man. As Isenberg writes, "He donned and shucked off roles readily, whipsawing between lawman and lawbreaker, and pursued his changing ambitions recklessly, with little thought to the cost to himself, and still less thought to the cost, even the deadly cost, to others." By 1900, Earp's misdeeds had caught up with him: his involvement as a referee in a fixed heavyweight prizefight brought him national notoriety as a scoundrel. Stung by the press, Earp set out to rebuild his reputation. He spent his last decades in Los Angeles, where he befriended Western silent film actors and directors. Having tried and failed over the course of his life to invent a better future for himself, in the end he invented a better past. Isenberg argues that even though Earp, who died in 1929, did not live to see it, Hollywood's embrace of him as a paragon of law and order was his greatest confidence game of all. A searching account of the man and his enduring legend, and a book about our national fascination with extrajudicial violence, Wyatt Earp: A Vigilante Life is a resounding biography of a singular American figure.
In popular culture, Wyatt Earp is the hero of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona, and a beacon of rough cowboy justice in the tumultuous American West. The subject of dozens of films, he has been invoked in battles against organized crime (in the 1930s), communism (in the 1950s), and al-Qaeda (after 2001). Yet as the historian Andrew C. Isenberg reveals in Wyatt Earp: A Vigilante Life , the Hollywood Earp is largely a fiction―one created by none other than Earp himself. The lawman played on-screen by Henry Fonda and Burt Lancaster is stubbornly duty-bound; in actuality, Earp led a life of impulsive lawbreaking and shifting identities. When he wasn't wearing a badge, he was variously a thief, a brothel bouncer, a gambler, and a confidence man. As Isenberg writes, "He donned and shucked off roles readily, whipsawing between lawman and lawbreaker, and pursued his changing ambitions recklessly, with little thought to the cost to himself, and still less thought to the cost, even the deadly cost, to others." By 1900, Earp's misdeeds had caught up with him: his involvement as a referee in a fixed heavyweight prizefight brought him national notoriety as a scoundrel. Stung by the press, Earp set out to rebuild his reputation. He spent his last decades in Los Angeles, where he befriended Western silent film actors and directors. Having tried and failed over the course of his life to invent a better future for himself, in the end he invented a better past. Isenberg argues that even though Earp, who died in 1929, did not live to see it, Hollywood's embrace of him as a paragon of law and order was his greatest confidence game of all. A searching account of the man and his enduring legend, and a book about our national fascination with extrajudicial violence, Wyatt Earp: A Vigilante Life is a resounding biography of a singular American figure.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published June 25, 2013
56 people are currently reading
523 people want to read
About the author
Andrew C. Isenberg
15 books13 followersAndrew C. Isenberg is the Hall Distinguished Professor of American History at the University of Kansas. He is a specialist in environmental history, Native American history, and the history of the North American West and its borderlands.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
December 13, 2021
I thought that I knew the real Wyatt Earp by visiting the O.K. corral in Tombstone, Arizona and by watching the television series "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" as a boy from 1955-1961. As depicted on that show, Earp was an upstanding lawman of the Old West. What I came to find out by reading this book is that Wyatt Earp was a completely different man from the character portrayed on TV.
Married twice, also owner or operator of numerous saloons and gambling halls. He was also known to be a professional dealer of faro, a popular card game, in his time. He did these things while wearing the badge of a peace officer - something that would not float in today's society.
You see, Earp was a man of many talents. He was a roamer who was constantly on the move to where the next money-making opportunity lied. He would become a mine owner in various locations and in his later years a racehorse owner, boxing promoter and referee with questionable integrity. Needless to say, he worked both sides of the law at times.
The one problem that I had with this book is that the author seemed to add a lot of filler to stretch the book out. He would start on a subject and then go off on a history that wasn't needed. Two pages of rules and how to deal and play faro for example.
I'm glad I read the book because it showed me who and what the real Wyatt Earp was like.
Married twice, also owner or operator of numerous saloons and gambling halls. He was also known to be a professional dealer of faro, a popular card game, in his time. He did these things while wearing the badge of a peace officer - something that would not float in today's society.
You see, Earp was a man of many talents. He was a roamer who was constantly on the move to where the next money-making opportunity lied. He would become a mine owner in various locations and in his later years a racehorse owner, boxing promoter and referee with questionable integrity. Needless to say, he worked both sides of the law at times.
The one problem that I had with this book is that the author seemed to add a lot of filler to stretch the book out. He would start on a subject and then go off on a history that wasn't needed. Two pages of rules and how to deal and play faro for example.
I'm glad I read the book because it showed me who and what the real Wyatt Earp was like.
February 28, 2019
"This is the 'West,' sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend." -- from John Ford's 1962 film The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Henry Fonda. Burt Lancaster. James Garner. Kurt Russell. Kevin Costner. These are some heavy-hitting Hollywood A-list he-men, all known for headlining movies and often playing the hero. Over a fifty-year period they all have portrayed real-life Old West lawman Wyatt Earp. Additionally, there was even a popular Western TV series in the 50's that was supposedly based on Earp's exploits. So with a build-up like that Earp must've been 'as pure as the driven snow,' as the old phrase goes . . .
Hardly. Author Isenberg did his research and exposes the 'Hollywoodization' of the man. Actually, it would be fairer to say Earp - when nearing the end of his life in the 1920's, also coincidentally when the movie business was first gaining momentum - kick-started the wholesale revamping of his life story by working with two biographers. Much of the controversial or less flattering parts of his life were rewritten, white-washed, or completely dropped to make him a more heroic-seeming person.
The 'real' Earp, while legitimately having once served as a deputy sheriff and U.S. marshal in the American frontier of the late 1800's, lived portions of his own life barely one step ahead of the law. He was a gambler, a card dealer, and usually had ties to brothels (running them and/or providing protection). He pulled some financial and fraud stunts that landed him, more than once, in the jailhouse or as a defendant in a court of law. His supposed shooting skills, and the deadly gunfights he was sometimes involved in, were questionable and don't always present him as 'the good guy.'
Occasionally A Vigilante Life was as dry as the dusty streets of Tombstone, Arizona. For a relatively brief but detailed book there at times are A LOT of people to keep straight - for example, Earp had seven siblings, and his brothers get a fair amount of coverage as well. (Two of them were present during the 'Gunfight at the O.K. Corral' incident, along with Doc Holliday and our title character.)
I'll close on this naive-sounding note -- Tombstone (starring Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, and Sam Elliott) is probably one of my favorites flicks from the early 90's. Since Hollywood only sporadically makes Westerns now it's nice when they churn out a stylish and energetic one. However, the next time I watch it there will be a nagging feeling that much of what is shown is more fiction than fact.
Henry Fonda. Burt Lancaster. James Garner. Kurt Russell. Kevin Costner. These are some heavy-hitting Hollywood A-list he-men, all known for headlining movies and often playing the hero. Over a fifty-year period they all have portrayed real-life Old West lawman Wyatt Earp. Additionally, there was even a popular Western TV series in the 50's that was supposedly based on Earp's exploits. So with a build-up like that Earp must've been 'as pure as the driven snow,' as the old phrase goes . . .
Hardly. Author Isenberg did his research and exposes the 'Hollywoodization' of the man. Actually, it would be fairer to say Earp - when nearing the end of his life in the 1920's, also coincidentally when the movie business was first gaining momentum - kick-started the wholesale revamping of his life story by working with two biographers. Much of the controversial or less flattering parts of his life were rewritten, white-washed, or completely dropped to make him a more heroic-seeming person.
The 'real' Earp, while legitimately having once served as a deputy sheriff and U.S. marshal in the American frontier of the late 1800's, lived portions of his own life barely one step ahead of the law. He was a gambler, a card dealer, and usually had ties to brothels (running them and/or providing protection). He pulled some financial and fraud stunts that landed him, more than once, in the jailhouse or as a defendant in a court of law. His supposed shooting skills, and the deadly gunfights he was sometimes involved in, were questionable and don't always present him as 'the good guy.'
Occasionally A Vigilante Life was as dry as the dusty streets of Tombstone, Arizona. For a relatively brief but detailed book there at times are A LOT of people to keep straight - for example, Earp had seven siblings, and his brothers get a fair amount of coverage as well. (Two of them were present during the 'Gunfight at the O.K. Corral' incident, along with Doc Holliday and our title character.)
I'll close on this naive-sounding note -- Tombstone (starring Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, and Sam Elliott) is probably one of my favorites flicks from the early 90's. Since Hollywood only sporadically makes Westerns now it's nice when they churn out a stylish and energetic one. However, the next time I watch it there will be a nagging feeling that much of what is shown is more fiction than fact.
January 10, 2025
Not just another Earp bio. This writer examines the culture, politics & society that help shape and create the man and the legend. Very interesting read. Very recommended
July 14, 2013
Book is well researched but author a definite dislike of his subject, Wyatt Earp. I appreciate his refutation of various myths but feels he goes a bit far when interpreting a comment by Bat Masterson to accuse Earp of homosexual activity. Isenberg really dislikes Earp & therefore has a difficult time being unbiased.
September 24, 2013
You would think with Wyatt Earp in the title he would be in most of the book at most he was just in half of it.
June 22, 2023
I would characterize this biography as the story about the story of Wyatt Earp. So much has been told about Wyatt Earp in books, films and television with obvious inconsistencies that it may not be possible to know the true story. Here, the author tries to give a balanced account and frequently discusses the differences in events from previous biographers and the various versions Wyatt Earp himself put forward. Since Wyatt Earp's stories changed over time, the conclusion is that the best that can be done is conjecture on the possible truth while also identifying what cannot be true based on objective facts.
At the end of his life Wyatt Earp seemed intent on getting a flattering version of the story out by controlling the narrative (as one might describe it today). Ultimately, what came out was the popular version of Wyatt Earp as a stalwart lawman intent on justice in the lawless American West of the late 19th century. The truth seems to be that Wyatt was an itinerant opportunist, certainly partly as a lawman, but also involved in gambling, operating saloons and brothels, horse racing, mining and possibly other activities on the lawless side of things.
Overall this appears to be well researched with numerous end notes and citations. It cannot, however, answer all the open questions of Wyatt Earp's life. Even so, the story of the Earps is one that deserves telling as best as can be done.
At the end of his life Wyatt Earp seemed intent on getting a flattering version of the story out by controlling the narrative (as one might describe it today). Ultimately, what came out was the popular version of Wyatt Earp as a stalwart lawman intent on justice in the lawless American West of the late 19th century. The truth seems to be that Wyatt was an itinerant opportunist, certainly partly as a lawman, but also involved in gambling, operating saloons and brothels, horse racing, mining and possibly other activities on the lawless side of things.
Overall this appears to be well researched with numerous end notes and citations. It cannot, however, answer all the open questions of Wyatt Earp's life. Even so, the story of the Earps is one that deserves telling as best as can be done.
May 6, 2014
Isenberg, Andrew, Wyatt Earp: A Vigilante Life, Hill and Wang (Farrar Strauss and
Giroux), New York 2013 (296 pp. $30)
Gardner, Mark Lee, Shot All to Hell: Jesse James, The Northfield Raid, and the
Wild West’s Greatest Escape, William Morrow (Harper Collins), New York,
2013 (309 pp. $27.99)
Like the Lincolns half a generation before them, the Earps migrated from the semi-feudal upper South of Kentucky, crossed the Ohio River, and settled in rapidly commercializing central Illinois where Walter Earp (the pater familias) and his large clan of sons, daughters and a few grandchildren, entertained fantasies of success in farming and town politics.
Nicholas, Wyatt’s father, failed soon enough, moved to Iowa, moved to California on the Overland Trail, then dragged his family, including sons Wyatt, James and Morgan, back to Iowa and then Illinois again. Older son Virgil had already established himself as a wanderer, booty lawman and tax farmer. Wyatt, cut loose from any notion of settled life, undertook at first to steal a horse in Indian Territory, was jailed, escaped, and entered thereafter into what would become his permanent vocation as an itinerant gambler, pimp, enforcer and, like his brother Virgil, a booty town lawman.
There are, of course, many Earp biographies, most famously Stuart Lake’s 1931 confabulation, which established Wyatt’s legend as The Virtuous Western Hero. Andrew Isenberg, author of the inestimably valuable and sad The Destruction of the Bison, adds greatly to what is currently known about Earp and his social era by not only assembling a meticulous personal history of the man and his brothers, but by illuminating an entire social milieu erected on the foundations of saloon gambling, prostitution sheltered by official town policy, cattle rustling as small-time entrepreneurship, and county politics as “legal theft”.
For example, Wyatt’s career in Wichita (which lasted barely two years), saw him established as a city policeman who earned a share of the fines imposed on drunks and miscreants, a card sharp who dealt a particularly mean brand of faro to Texas cattle drovers, and an enforcer in his brother Jim’s brothel across the Arkansas River where town law didn’t reach. In fall, when the cowboys left Wichita, Wyatt followed them to Texas and dealt crooked faro there. Wyatt emphatically was not a gunfighter or a lawman; rather, he was a tall, tough, hard-to-reach con artist who, because he didn’t touch alcohol, almost always had an advantage over his cowboy adversaries. In Tombstone, in 1881-2, he dealt faro for a living and pursued a family vendetta against the Clantons and other Cowboys in what amounted to “honor culture” killings straight out of the social comic book of Kentucky.
Beautifully rendered as a portrait of the underbelly of mining and cattle town life in the 1870s and 1880s, this new biography is a gem, and includes a touching look at Wyatt’s single life-long friendship with Doc Holliday. In later life, Wyatt continued to pursue his gambling interests through the medium of racing horses and selling bogus mining claims. He ran saloons in a number of odd-ball boom towns like Goldfield and Tonopah in Nevada (where Virgil joined him) and Eagle, in Idaho. Wyatt Earp: A Vigilante Life, provides the reader with a fine bibliography, along with some delightful photos.
Mark Lee Gardner is an independent historian and the author of a splendid life of Billy the Kid called To Hell on a Fast Horse, probably the definitive book about William Bonny. Shot All to Hell—the story of the James-Younger gang’s assault on Northfield Minnesota’s First National Bank (2pm, September 7, 1876) is a gloriously detailed and superbly written chronicle of what turned out to be a disaster for the eight-member crew of border ruffians, sadists and thieves.
Unlike the Earps, Jesse James, Frank his brother, and the Youngers (Cole, Jim and Bob) were plain-Jane criminals who often hid under the coattails of the Confederate Cause to justify their train and bank robberies. As teenagers, they had ridden with Bloody Bill Anderson, becoming skilled horsemen, excellent marksmen, and practiced murderers before turning sixteen. Riding together, the eight (Frank and Jesse, Cole, Jim and Bob Younger, later joined by Clell Miller, Charlie Pitts and Bill Chadwell), wore long tan dusters, big spurs and wide-brimmed hats. Armed with rifles and pistols, they were, in 1876, at the top of their game and must have presented an awesome and frightening sight to behold.
Shot All to Hell is without doubt the most detailed rendering of the assault on Northfield ever written, vividly evoking the town’s minute-by-minute response, the chase after six survivors across the lake and swamp country of south central Minnesota, the capture of Cole and the killing of his brothers, and the eventual escape of Frank and Jesse, the latter of whom returned to St. Joseph and took up life as a horse breeder and trader. Throughout the book are fascinating personal portraits of the sheriffs, posse members, farmers and town-folk who stood up to the gang and pursued them for weeks.
Taken together, Wyatt Earp and Shot All to Hell offer the reader an exciting glimpse into vanished forms of American life. The field of Western history has now entered a phase
of precision scholarship, deep research and glorious writing that Stuart Lake in 1931
could hardly have imagined.
Giroux), New York 2013 (296 pp. $30)
Gardner, Mark Lee, Shot All to Hell: Jesse James, The Northfield Raid, and the
Wild West’s Greatest Escape, William Morrow (Harper Collins), New York,
2013 (309 pp. $27.99)
Like the Lincolns half a generation before them, the Earps migrated from the semi-feudal upper South of Kentucky, crossed the Ohio River, and settled in rapidly commercializing central Illinois where Walter Earp (the pater familias) and his large clan of sons, daughters and a few grandchildren, entertained fantasies of success in farming and town politics.
Nicholas, Wyatt’s father, failed soon enough, moved to Iowa, moved to California on the Overland Trail, then dragged his family, including sons Wyatt, James and Morgan, back to Iowa and then Illinois again. Older son Virgil had already established himself as a wanderer, booty lawman and tax farmer. Wyatt, cut loose from any notion of settled life, undertook at first to steal a horse in Indian Territory, was jailed, escaped, and entered thereafter into what would become his permanent vocation as an itinerant gambler, pimp, enforcer and, like his brother Virgil, a booty town lawman.
There are, of course, many Earp biographies, most famously Stuart Lake’s 1931 confabulation, which established Wyatt’s legend as The Virtuous Western Hero. Andrew Isenberg, author of the inestimably valuable and sad The Destruction of the Bison, adds greatly to what is currently known about Earp and his social era by not only assembling a meticulous personal history of the man and his brothers, but by illuminating an entire social milieu erected on the foundations of saloon gambling, prostitution sheltered by official town policy, cattle rustling as small-time entrepreneurship, and county politics as “legal theft”.
For example, Wyatt’s career in Wichita (which lasted barely two years), saw him established as a city policeman who earned a share of the fines imposed on drunks and miscreants, a card sharp who dealt a particularly mean brand of faro to Texas cattle drovers, and an enforcer in his brother Jim’s brothel across the Arkansas River where town law didn’t reach. In fall, when the cowboys left Wichita, Wyatt followed them to Texas and dealt crooked faro there. Wyatt emphatically was not a gunfighter or a lawman; rather, he was a tall, tough, hard-to-reach con artist who, because he didn’t touch alcohol, almost always had an advantage over his cowboy adversaries. In Tombstone, in 1881-2, he dealt faro for a living and pursued a family vendetta against the Clantons and other Cowboys in what amounted to “honor culture” killings straight out of the social comic book of Kentucky.
Beautifully rendered as a portrait of the underbelly of mining and cattle town life in the 1870s and 1880s, this new biography is a gem, and includes a touching look at Wyatt’s single life-long friendship with Doc Holliday. In later life, Wyatt continued to pursue his gambling interests through the medium of racing horses and selling bogus mining claims. He ran saloons in a number of odd-ball boom towns like Goldfield and Tonopah in Nevada (where Virgil joined him) and Eagle, in Idaho. Wyatt Earp: A Vigilante Life, provides the reader with a fine bibliography, along with some delightful photos.
Mark Lee Gardner is an independent historian and the author of a splendid life of Billy the Kid called To Hell on a Fast Horse, probably the definitive book about William Bonny. Shot All to Hell—the story of the James-Younger gang’s assault on Northfield Minnesota’s First National Bank (2pm, September 7, 1876) is a gloriously detailed and superbly written chronicle of what turned out to be a disaster for the eight-member crew of border ruffians, sadists and thieves.
Unlike the Earps, Jesse James, Frank his brother, and the Youngers (Cole, Jim and Bob) were plain-Jane criminals who often hid under the coattails of the Confederate Cause to justify their train and bank robberies. As teenagers, they had ridden with Bloody Bill Anderson, becoming skilled horsemen, excellent marksmen, and practiced murderers before turning sixteen. Riding together, the eight (Frank and Jesse, Cole, Jim and Bob Younger, later joined by Clell Miller, Charlie Pitts and Bill Chadwell), wore long tan dusters, big spurs and wide-brimmed hats. Armed with rifles and pistols, they were, in 1876, at the top of their game and must have presented an awesome and frightening sight to behold.
Shot All to Hell is without doubt the most detailed rendering of the assault on Northfield ever written, vividly evoking the town’s minute-by-minute response, the chase after six survivors across the lake and swamp country of south central Minnesota, the capture of Cole and the killing of his brothers, and the eventual escape of Frank and Jesse, the latter of whom returned to St. Joseph and took up life as a horse breeder and trader. Throughout the book are fascinating personal portraits of the sheriffs, posse members, farmers and town-folk who stood up to the gang and pursued them for weeks.
Taken together, Wyatt Earp and Shot All to Hell offer the reader an exciting glimpse into vanished forms of American life. The field of Western history has now entered a phase
of precision scholarship, deep research and glorious writing that Stuart Lake in 1931
could hardly have imagined.
July 30, 2014
Wyatt Earp as everybody thinks they know about him, was a law abiding lawman. Movies like Gunfight at the OK Corral made him to be a hero & always against crime. Well, this book, filled with historical notes about the times was very interesting & showed that the "hero" & "lawman" stories were pretty much made up by Wyatt Earp himself. He & most of his family were law breakers, he himself was a con man, a gambler, a brothel bouncer & a thief. Even his family did not know what he was ever doing, as he would come back with stories about where he had been & all the "good" he was doing, helping ranchers, helping with wagon trains, etc. He tended to move often, when things went bad for him or the law was looking for him.
Hollywood makes everybody look good. (In fact, Wyatt Earp himself helped with many of the old western movies.) Which is probably why his stories always made him a big man in the wild wild West.
Enjoyed reading about the olden days. At times, this was a hard read, LOTS going on. But it was very interesting.
Hollywood makes everybody look good. (In fact, Wyatt Earp himself helped with many of the old western movies.) Which is probably why his stories always made him a big man in the wild wild West.
Enjoyed reading about the olden days. At times, this was a hard read, LOTS going on. But it was very interesting.
September 16, 2013
Andrew Isenberg presents in the book on Wyatt Earp a more realistic biography of the man that became an icon of the lawless as wells as law and order western frontier. Earp through his own devices as well as his connections particularly to early Hollywood and publishing houses managed to portray his own select view of how he led the way for law and order in this rough and tumble environ.
The book seems honest and forthright in clarifying the facts behind Earp's real life as opposed to the glorified renditions that have been handed down in the past. We get a more accurate depiction of his life and times as well has his many faceted occupations as law man, gambler, fight referee and fixer. History tends to distort reality at times, this books centers it a bit more for a more accurate picture.
The book seems honest and forthright in clarifying the facts behind Earp's real life as opposed to the glorified renditions that have been handed down in the past. We get a more accurate depiction of his life and times as well has his many faceted occupations as law man, gambler, fight referee and fixer. History tends to distort reality at times, this books centers it a bit more for a more accurate picture.
February 15, 2014
I forgot to decline the HBOMC distribution that included this…so why not read it? No pressure which allowed me to truly skim the pages as I went from this cousin with Confederate allegiances to this brother who was a recruiter for the Monmouth, Il. Dragoons (USA). The gunfight at the OK Corral (spoiler alert) took place in the vacant lot behind the corral. I learned more about the politics of the southwest up to an including the early days of Hollywood. Worth reading and now it goes to the AAUW book clearance.
September 22, 2021
Caveat: This was a free read from Goodreads Giveaways Program.
Ive had this sitting on my shelf for quite sometime and have been neglecting my duty of reading and reviewing a book that I wasnt sure how interested id be in reading it. The conflict, I love reading about history, however I am not a huge fan of westerns and that part of Americana. In fact the only western films that I really enjoy are Unforgiven and of course Tombstone, and thanks to the latter, that is where my interest in Wyatt Earp: A Vigilante Life took shape.
Going at this with the attitude of only knowing Hollywoods renditions of the old west and various History Channel like documentary shows was all I had to go by. Immediately upon opening the book, I am faced with the controversial approach Mr. Isenberg was going to take in his work. He was very open to the fact that he was not going to sugarcoat Earp like how he accuses Hollywood and various other authors have done for decades.
Destroy the romanticism that western fans have as well as destroy the man himself or rather, the image that he spent much of his life projecting that apparently was quite the exaggeration of reality. Like that saying goes, the victors are the ones who write the history books, in this case all of that gets called out for what it is. Tall stories to inflate ones ego and ever expand ones false legacy.
With all of that being said, the book itself is very scatterbrained. The author sets the pace at the beginning with some discussion of Earp family heritage and settlements, which does seem to drag on for quite some time. As the book slowly leads into Wyatts story, it seems the author had no cohesive approach to how he was going to provide his research in a logical order. Lots of jumping back in forth over various years as contributing contemporaries from Wyatts life come into and leave the view. There doesnt seem to be alot of detail here as much of this was never independently documented, it was all recorded via word of mouth and legend, thus a grain of salt has to be taken with all of this. The Earp story itself is extremely short regardless of all the build up in previous chapters and folklore with the bulk focusing on the Tombstone gunfight and the various lawsuits and criminal charges the encircled the incident. Wyatts later life with Josephine and his dabbling in Hollywood was surprisingly brief as I would've thought that era would've had more of a historically documented account.
Often Isenberg comes off as sounding arrogant and with an agenda, that to destroy the lore of Wyatt Earp and portray him as honestly as possible. Whether this account of history is anyones guess as its really based on ones interpretation. In just over 220 pages, the evidence just wasn't provided here. Still and interesting read and has encouraged me to look at Earp, Holiday, Curly, Ike, and the others in a much different light and not fall for the classic Hollywood romanticism that it is so well known for.
Ive had this sitting on my shelf for quite sometime and have been neglecting my duty of reading and reviewing a book that I wasnt sure how interested id be in reading it. The conflict, I love reading about history, however I am not a huge fan of westerns and that part of Americana. In fact the only western films that I really enjoy are Unforgiven and of course Tombstone, and thanks to the latter, that is where my interest in Wyatt Earp: A Vigilante Life took shape.
Going at this with the attitude of only knowing Hollywoods renditions of the old west and various History Channel like documentary shows was all I had to go by. Immediately upon opening the book, I am faced with the controversial approach Mr. Isenberg was going to take in his work. He was very open to the fact that he was not going to sugarcoat Earp like how he accuses Hollywood and various other authors have done for decades.
Destroy the romanticism that western fans have as well as destroy the man himself or rather, the image that he spent much of his life projecting that apparently was quite the exaggeration of reality. Like that saying goes, the victors are the ones who write the history books, in this case all of that gets called out for what it is. Tall stories to inflate ones ego and ever expand ones false legacy.
With all of that being said, the book itself is very scatterbrained. The author sets the pace at the beginning with some discussion of Earp family heritage and settlements, which does seem to drag on for quite some time. As the book slowly leads into Wyatts story, it seems the author had no cohesive approach to how he was going to provide his research in a logical order. Lots of jumping back in forth over various years as contributing contemporaries from Wyatts life come into and leave the view. There doesnt seem to be alot of detail here as much of this was never independently documented, it was all recorded via word of mouth and legend, thus a grain of salt has to be taken with all of this. The Earp story itself is extremely short regardless of all the build up in previous chapters and folklore with the bulk focusing on the Tombstone gunfight and the various lawsuits and criminal charges the encircled the incident. Wyatts later life with Josephine and his dabbling in Hollywood was surprisingly brief as I would've thought that era would've had more of a historically documented account.
Often Isenberg comes off as sounding arrogant and with an agenda, that to destroy the lore of Wyatt Earp and portray him as honestly as possible. Whether this account of history is anyones guess as its really based on ones interpretation. In just over 220 pages, the evidence just wasn't provided here. Still and interesting read and has encouraged me to look at Earp, Holiday, Curly, Ike, and the others in a much different light and not fall for the classic Hollywood romanticism that it is so well known for.
February 19, 2025
I became interested in learning more about Earp after watching 1993's Tombstone with my son. It's a great film. Highly entertaining. But the ending, in particular, where Wyatt goes on a vigilante spree after infamous gunfight at the OK Corral and death of his little brother Morgan gave me the distinct impression that they were glossing over *a lot* of details.
I had no idea.
If Isenberg's book could be distilled into a single point, it's that our perception of Earp as a historical figure is mostly an invention, cultivated by Earp in the later stage of his life.
Earp lived to be 80. He died in 1929. After being accused of of rigging a boxing match he was asked to referee in 1896, Earp basically spent the rest of his life trying to reframe his legacy as an upstanding lawman who did what was right against impossible odds.
He achieved this by hiring a biographer who deigned to dispute many of Earp's lies, omissions, and outright theft of credit for his deeds in his past. He also served as a consultant to the emerging Hollywood studios and their development of Westerns pictures. In fact, when Earp died, two of his pallbearers were stars of the genre.
Earp was forced to engineer this effort because the media landscape of the day would not allow him to escape his notoriety. His usual course of action was to move frequently - never staying for more than 2 years in any one place - and reinvent himself.
The real-life Earp was as familiar with the inside of a jail as he was with a Marshal's badge, having spent time behind bars in 5 different states before ever heading West for Tombstone. Horse thief, bootlegger, running crooked games of faro, prostitution - Earp did it all.
Very little of Isenberg's book focuses on the gunfight at the Ok Corral. It was just another event in a very long and complicated life. In fact, Isenberg treats it almost like wallpaper in the telling of Earp's time on Earth.
If the over 60 pages of notes, select bibliography, acknowledgements, and index is any indication, Isenberg's book was feverishly researched and sourced.
That said, the book can be somewhat of a dry read. Almost a book one would reference if they were taking a class about Earp and his era. Isenberg's book is less about the subject himself than the culture and circumstances that could lend to the creation of a figure like Earp. It explores with a fine-tooth comb ow truly nebulous America was after the Civil War and how people like Earp could exploit that uncertainty for their own benefit.
Through a modern lens, Earp comes off as horrible. He was a criminal and a swindler, there is no doubt. But, at the same time, I feel like there is sympathy there. Earp chose a deliberately difficult path in life. Mostly because he could not envision any other way to conduct himself.
I had no idea.
If Isenberg's book could be distilled into a single point, it's that our perception of Earp as a historical figure is mostly an invention, cultivated by Earp in the later stage of his life.
Earp lived to be 80. He died in 1929. After being accused of of rigging a boxing match he was asked to referee in 1896, Earp basically spent the rest of his life trying to reframe his legacy as an upstanding lawman who did what was right against impossible odds.
He achieved this by hiring a biographer who deigned to dispute many of Earp's lies, omissions, and outright theft of credit for his deeds in his past. He also served as a consultant to the emerging Hollywood studios and their development of Westerns pictures. In fact, when Earp died, two of his pallbearers were stars of the genre.
Earp was forced to engineer this effort because the media landscape of the day would not allow him to escape his notoriety. His usual course of action was to move frequently - never staying for more than 2 years in any one place - and reinvent himself.
The real-life Earp was as familiar with the inside of a jail as he was with a Marshal's badge, having spent time behind bars in 5 different states before ever heading West for Tombstone. Horse thief, bootlegger, running crooked games of faro, prostitution - Earp did it all.
Very little of Isenberg's book focuses on the gunfight at the Ok Corral. It was just another event in a very long and complicated life. In fact, Isenberg treats it almost like wallpaper in the telling of Earp's time on Earth.
If the over 60 pages of notes, select bibliography, acknowledgements, and index is any indication, Isenberg's book was feverishly researched and sourced.
That said, the book can be somewhat of a dry read. Almost a book one would reference if they were taking a class about Earp and his era. Isenberg's book is less about the subject himself than the culture and circumstances that could lend to the creation of a figure like Earp. It explores with a fine-tooth comb ow truly nebulous America was after the Civil War and how people like Earp could exploit that uncertainty for their own benefit.
Through a modern lens, Earp comes off as horrible. He was a criminal and a swindler, there is no doubt. But, at the same time, I feel like there is sympathy there. Earp chose a deliberately difficult path in life. Mostly because he could not envision any other way to conduct himself.
November 17, 2020
First the positives: the book is well-written, interesting and informative. I like the context the author places around the events and traditions of the times.
The negatives: the author clearly does not like Wyatt Earp and this bias affects his analysis. The author adds far too many cultural Marxist references that also tend to warp his perspective.
Overall: a good read for those interested in the subject.
The negatives: the author clearly does not like Wyatt Earp and this bias affects his analysis. The author adds far too many cultural Marxist references that also tend to warp his perspective.
Overall: a good read for those interested in the subject.
February 13, 2022
Well, I will never be able to watch Tombstone again without critizing every aspect of it. Very eye opening and poignant book, nothing like a well researched book to put tall tales in their rightful place.
January 10, 2021
I definitely have a place in my heart for bios about 19th adventurers. This one is fascinating and very well researched.
January 2, 2025
Life was very different from what I'm seeing on Gunsmoke, but that is true of most movies and tv shows I've watched that were "based on a true story."
June 5, 2022
Very good book. It contradicts Hollywood a lot, but I kind of expected it to, in one way or another. There have been so many movies about Wyatt Earp, and the O.K. Corral that it's hard to know what to believe. Isenberg backs up his facts.
This part was added after I finished the book.
This was a great book the author left our or addressed some of Earp's myth that was never able to be proven. Or he mentioned statements made by Earp that were refuted by others and some were proven to be untrue.
Wyatt Earp was pretty much a scoundrel as a lawman and kept the laws that benefitted him and his family.
The Earps were gamblers and lawmen, which seems to have made it hard to keep some of the games they ran honest.
All in all they were trying to succeed in life and bent the rules more than a little bit.
This is a great book about Wyatt Earp, I would recommend it to anyone interested in the biographies of the old west.
This part was added after I finished the book.
This was a great book the author left our or addressed some of Earp's myth that was never able to be proven. Or he mentioned statements made by Earp that were refuted by others and some were proven to be untrue.
Wyatt Earp was pretty much a scoundrel as a lawman and kept the laws that benefitted him and his family.
The Earps were gamblers and lawmen, which seems to have made it hard to keep some of the games they ran honest.
All in all they were trying to succeed in life and bent the rules more than a little bit.
This is a great book about Wyatt Earp, I would recommend it to anyone interested in the biographies of the old west.
October 25, 2016
I actually own a small card game titled "Wyatt Earp" that is essentially a rummy variant. The theme itself is paper thin, but there are small boards that depict various famous outlaws from the Wild West and ostensibly it is Wyatt Earp who is believed to have dealt with them all. Having now read this book, I wonder if he should be the titular character...or if he should have his own outlaw board in the game!
I was rather surprised at how varied a life he led, dabbling in the world of bordellos and horse thievery to his main profession as cardsharp. I always imagined (as I'm sure most did before they read this book) that he went around apprehending outlaws and occasionally doing so via his six-shooters. As with most things in life, the reality is far more complex (and far murkier) than the fantasy.
Isenberg does an excellent job walking us through the various points in Earp's life and an especially admirable job working up to the (in)famous incident at the O.K. Corral. However, too often the book seems to read like a laundry list of events in Earp's life ("first Earp lived here and did some stuff, then he lived there and did some other stuff") though I often have that same criticism for other biographies I read. In addition, the end of the book (post O.K. Corral) seems a bit rushed, as though everything about Earp's life was anticlimactic after that point -- which may very well have been true.
Overall, it was an eye-opening read about a man and a time in our country's history that we probably would have a hard time relating to here in the 21st Century, but it was an enlightening and entertaining read nevertheless.
I was rather surprised at how varied a life he led, dabbling in the world of bordellos and horse thievery to his main profession as cardsharp. I always imagined (as I'm sure most did before they read this book) that he went around apprehending outlaws and occasionally doing so via his six-shooters. As with most things in life, the reality is far more complex (and far murkier) than the fantasy.
Isenberg does an excellent job walking us through the various points in Earp's life and an especially admirable job working up to the (in)famous incident at the O.K. Corral. However, too often the book seems to read like a laundry list of events in Earp's life ("first Earp lived here and did some stuff, then he lived there and did some other stuff") though I often have that same criticism for other biographies I read. In addition, the end of the book (post O.K. Corral) seems a bit rushed, as though everything about Earp's life was anticlimactic after that point -- which may very well have been true.
Overall, it was an eye-opening read about a man and a time in our country's history that we probably would have a hard time relating to here in the 21st Century, but it was an enlightening and entertaining read nevertheless.
January 6, 2014
This was a fascinating biography, though it made me glad I didn't have an idealized picture of Wyatt Earp in my head. As it turns out, Earp was a horse thief, gambler, and con artist among other non-admirable traits. He was also a master of constructing his public image in the dawning age of media celebrity, and that's perhaps the most instructive element of this book. It made me want to write about anti-heroes with a good sense for the public mood.
July 14, 2013
Book is well researched but author a definite dislike of his subject, Wyatt Earp. I appreciate his refutation of various myths but feels he goes a bit far when interpreting a comment by Bat Masterson to accuse Earp of homosexual activity.
August 16, 2013
Wyatt Earp: A Vigilante Life left much to be desired. It was scant and the author completely glosses over the women of Earp's life. The last third of the book barely mentions Joesphine. I was very disappointed in this telling of Earp's story.
March 12, 2014
This was a good biography of Wyatt Earp. There wasn't any information that particularly jumped out at me as being new, but it was a fairly unbiased and realistic look at the man, separating him from the legend that television made of him.
February 21, 2015
Isenberg gives a good unbiased view of the life of Wyatt Earp seeking the man behind the legend. Readers also get looks at many aspects of the Old West painting the landscapes of Earp’s life.
My copy came through Goodreads First Reads.
My copy came through Goodreads First Reads.
July 13, 2013
Interesting book that shows Wyatt Earp probably the way he really was. Interesting information on the dark side of Dodge City, Wichita and of course Tombstone in Earp's time.
Great Read
Great Read
September 1, 2013
I've read quite a few books about Wyatt Earp and this one ranks as one of the best! Takes apart the "myth" about Wyatt Earp in a very well written and concise manner.
October 28, 2013
It's sure going to be hard to watch those reruns of Wyatt Earp now on the Western Channel!
January 21, 2015
I won this book in a goodreads giveaway. I was really disappointed with this I thought it would be really interesting but I found it rather dry and boring.
August 10, 2014
Wonderful book - couldn't put it down - highly recommend it!
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