Dodge City: Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and the Wickedest Town in the American West

by Tom Clavin

Now in paperback, the New York Times bestselling story of the taming of the Wild West, set in Dodge City, the most depraved and criminal town in the nation.

The instant New York Times bestseller!

Dodge City, Kansas, is a place of legend. The town that started as a small military site exploded with the coming of the railroad, cattle drives, eager miners, settlers, and various entrepreneurs passing through to populate the expanding West. Before long, Dodge City’s streets were lined with saloons and brothels and its populace was thick with gunmen, horse thieves, and desperadoes of every sort. By the 1870s, Dodge City was known as the most violent and turbulent town in the West.

Enter Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson. Young and largely self-trained men, the lawmen led the effort that established frontier justice and the rule of law in the American West, and did it in the wickedest place in the United States. When they moved on, Wyatt to Tombstone and Bat to Colorado, a tamed Dodge was left in the hands of Jim Masterson. But before long Wyatt and Bat, each having had a lawman brother killed, returned to that threatened western Kansas town to team up to restore order again in what became known as the Dodge City War before riding off into the sunset.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Tom Clavin's Dodge City tells the true story of their friendship, romances, gunfights, and adventures, along with the remarkable cast of characters they encountered along the way (including Wild Bill Hickock, Jesse James, Doc Holliday, Buffalo Bill Cody, John Wesley Hardin, Billy the Kid, and Theodore Roosevelt) that has gone largely untold―lost in the haze of Hollywood films and western fiction, until now.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Westerns, Biography, American History, Audiobook, Historical

447 pages, Paperback

First published February 28, 2017

About the author

Tom Clavin is the author/coauthor of eleven books. His most recent is That Old Black Magic: Louis Prima, Keely Smith, and the Golden Age of Las Vegas.

His articles have appeared in Cosmopolitan, Family Circle, Men's Journal, Parade, Reader's Digest, and others.

He was a contributing reporter for the New York Times for fifteen years.

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dodge City: Bat Masterson, Wyatt Earp and the Wickedest Town in the American West by Tom Clavin is a 2018 St. Martin’s Griffin publication.

This is an extremely interesting history of the time Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson spent in Dodge City, Kansas.

The landscape and atmosphere of the city, is very vividly drawn, and might be a bit different from the preconceived notions we have, based on westerns we’ve watched on television. The information provided here might also come as a surprise for many. Books, movies, and television have exaggerated and embellished the facts to the point where it is has become hard to separate fact from fiction.

Clavin did a great job of explaining how the legends were born, how these fantastical stories originated, then proceeded to break down the real, true story of Dodge City, Bat Masterson, and Wyatt Earp. I found the reality to be just as fascinating as the overblown legends.

While I love history and historical fiction, excepting a handful of western historical romance novels, I occasionally indulge in, I have never been especially interested in reading a pure Western. (More on that later)

However, years ago, I lost a coin toss with my husband and had to watch ‘Tombstone’, the movie starring Val Kilmer and Kurt Russell. While initially, I sat on the sofa sulking, because westerns were my least favorite kind of movie of all time, before long, I was completely caught up in the comedy and drama, as well as the incredible acting performances.

A small seed was planted back then, which made me want to learn more about Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday. But I never acted on that curiosity because I just wasn’t quite ready to consider reading American Western history- fact or fiction, just yet.

However, that movie did help me better understand who many of the players were in this book and is also why the true story behind these infamous characters was so surprising to me. While I was somewhat familiar with Wyatt Earp’s background, I knew next to nothing about Bat Masterson, which made the portions of the book pertaining to him of greater interest.

The lives of Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp did intersect on several occasions, and this book shows the true nature of their dealings with one another. I enjoyed reading about Dodge City as well. In recent years, the city of Tombstone, thanks in part, to the above- mentioned motion picture, has overshadowed Dodge City. However, the city was certainly… lively! The moral compass was not exactly pure to say the least, perhaps even shocking in some ways.

While history buffs may be well versed in this period in American history, even the most knowledgeable will discover some new information about the two men featured in this book, or about Dodge City and some of its inhabitants.

For someone like me, who has avoided anything that might be even remotely defined as a traditional or pure western for years, this book was very enlightening!!

Overall, this is a well organized book, quite interesting, and a much welcomed change of pace for me.

4 stars

*Personal note:

This has nothing to do with this book per se- I just wanted to share this so I didn't offend anyone who enjoys western literature. It’s not that I dislike the genre or hold it in disdain for any specific reason, even though I might have given you that impression.

One thing I’m sure some of you have noticed, is that I burn out on trends easily, or get bored reading the same type of book over and over again. In fact, the second I see a trend developing, I run as far away from it as possible. That might help you understand why, for the majority of my life, westerns have been at the bottom of my list.

Growing up, the only kind of movie my father, who just turned eighty, would pay money to see, was a western. I don’t recall his ever having gone to a theatre to see a movie of any other genre. No war movies, no comedies, dramas, crime stories- not once, not ever, that I can recall. I kid you not, I’ll swear on a stack of Bibles that the last movie he went to see was Tom Horn starring Steve McQueen, way back in 1980!!

Not only that, television was saturated with westerns. The Virginian, Bonanza, The Big Valley and of course Gunsmoke, just to name a few. My father never missed an episode of Gunsmoke until it went off the air.

By the time I turned eleven or twelve, the popularity of westerns had begun to seriously wane, thankfully giving way to a multitude of cop shows. (I burned out on those too, eventually- but still remember some of those programs fondly. Movies were a lot more diverse too-but still followed trends- remember all those disaster movies? UGH!) Still, I was vastly relieved to be free of westerns for a while!!

However, I was not off the hook just yet. It was just my bad luck, that my husband loved westerns almost as much as my father… 🙄🙄 …

Which is how I ended up on the losing end of that coin toss and wound up watching Tombstone, which eventually become one of my all-time favorite movies. Ha!

I think over the years, I just got into the habit of automatically passing over westerns, without thinking about it. Now I am ready to see what kind of great stories I’ve been missing out on!! This book was a great place to start. A refresher course on the wild, wild west, so to speak. I also recently discovered Tom Clavin has a new book out- about…. Wait for it… Tombstone!! So, stay tuned for more adventures with the Earp Brothers and Doc Holliday and the vendetta ride from hell!

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clavin’s book is more than the history of the Earp and Masterson brothers, it is also the history of Kansas and mostly of Dodge City. Clavin provides a brief history of the discovery of the West from the Spanish, French to Lewis and Clark. The author tells about Zebulon Pike who spent some time exploring the area around what became Dodge City. But the primary focus of the book is the period from 1870 to 1880s in Dodge City. I loved the description of Kansas the author provides of what Francisco Vazquez de Coronado wrote, “short grass covered with mounds of prairie dogs, badgers, coyotes, wolves, antelope, deer, birds and 5 million buffalo” (American Bison). I can just picture it.

Clavin points out that Dodge City was founded at the head of the Santa Fe trail and an Army fort (Fort Dodge) was built to protect the trail. When the Santa Fe railroad reached Dodge City, the Texas cattle drives rolled into the rail head. Clavin discussed the various gunslingers home to Dodge City such as Dirty Sock Jack and Dynamite Sam. Of course, he tells the stories of Wyatt and Bat taming the town.

The book is well written and meticulously researched. The book is written in an easy reading style closer to a novel than a history book. In the opening of the book, the author tells of his problems separating fact from fiction about the Earp and Masterson brothers. He said he did his best to present only proven facts. I learned a great deal about Kansas and Dodge City from the book. As a fan of the T.V. show “Gunsmoke”, I recognized Delmonico’s and the Long Branch Saloon.

I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. The book is just over thirteen hours long. John Bedford Lloyd did a good job narrating the book. I enjoyed his baritone voice. I had only one fault with his narration in that he mispronounced the Arkansas River. It is not pronounced like the state but the emphasis is on Kansas. Lloyd is an actor and award winning audiobook narrator.

[Jay Schutt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was excited to read this book because as a boy growing up in the 50's and 60's I couldn't help but watch a lot of the TV westerns that were being shown then. Shows like "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp," "Bat Masterson" and "Gunsmoke" to name a few. "Gunsmoke" was set in Dodge City, Kansas. The other two were not, but the men depicted in those programs spent a lot of time there together in real life. That is what this book is about.
The hay-day of Dodge City was the decade of the 1870's. Lawlessness ruled the area until Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson - along with their brothers - came to Dodge and eventually became peace-officers either as U.S. Marshal, sheriff or as deputies. The evolution of Dodge City from a rowdy cow-town to a more civilized community was a result of these brave men and other notables as "Doc" Holliday and "Wild Bill" Hickok.
The author used the timeline method to tell the story of Dodge City and the travels of Earp and Masterson, their meetings in other towns and their travels from Kansas to such places as New York City and throughout the west including Los Angeles and even Alaska. He gathered much of his information from vast amounts of newspaper accounts of events of the times and historical societies.
The book was easily read and contained many stories and anecdotes about other colorful, larger-than-life characters who crossed paths with Earp and Masterson in the Old West.
A really enjoyable read.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Truckloads of books have been written about the Earps and their stay in Tombstone. Fleets of trucks would be required to transport everything written on the fight at the O.K. Corral. What is often ignored is the fact that these worthies maintained law and order in Dodge city before moving to Tombstone. In this endeavor they were associated with Bat Masterson, a lawman who just may have cut a wider swath than Wyatt Earp.

In spite of the fact that all of this stuff has been written about until Hell wouldn't have it, I just can't get enough of it; it's a damn poor author who can't sell me a book on the American west. Clavin does as good a job as anyone, introducing us to not only the Earps and Masterson but also all manner of colorful lawmen and miscreants, the proliferation of which was encouraged by a baffling array of law enforcement organizations and jurisdictions. Some of the details provided by Clavin conflict with what has been written about the west by other sources, but who really knows who has it right? This book rings true and I can't find fault with it, other than the fact that Clavin seems to think USS Monitor was a submarine. Monitor worked very hard at not becoming a submarine.

Most enjoyable and guaranteed to thrill any fan of the Old West.

[H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Around Dodge City, and into territory on west, there’s just one way to handle the killers and the spoilers: that’s with a U.S. Marshal, and the smell of gunsmoke!” “Gunsmoke!… the story of the violence that moved west with young America, and the story of a man who moved with it. I’m that man… Matt Dillon. United States marshal… the first man they look for, and the last man they want to meet… it’s a chancy job, and it makes a man watchful… and a little lonely.”*

This was the opening for the radio show that proceeded the long-running TV series. It shaped my expectations for what I would find in Clavin’s book.

This doesn’t quite qualify as either a “history” or a multiple “biography.” It isn’t just about Dodge City, though the named parties, Earp and Masterson and their brothers and friends all seem to find their way there. It isn’t quite chronological, hunting back and forth with each new character that is introduced.

It is more a collection of anecdotes, attributed quotes leavened with plenty of conjecture. Having worked through that checklist, I am happy to state that it is highly entertaining, as long as you aren't very particular about determining what is entirely fact from what might be or what should be.

I took my time (over 6 months) savoring the stories and letting the mixture marinate in my mind. If you are very interested in what life on the Western Frontier was like or want to know more about these characters, this is a good place to start.

* The show was one of the best dramas on radio with a great cast of character actors. It still can be heard on Sirius/XM Radio Classic or here https://www.oldtimeradiodownloads.com...


You may wish to skip the rest of this since I am incapable of resisting a deposit of some of my favorite excerpts from this book.

"1877, Robert Wright recorded the names of those he had recently encountered. They included Dirty Face Charlie, The Off Wheeler, The Near Wheeler, Eat ’Em Up Jake, Shoot ’Em Up Mike, Stink Finger Jim, Frosty, The Whitey Kid, Light Fingered Jack, Black Kelley, Bull Whack Joe, Conch Jones, Black Warrior, Hurricane Bill, Shoot His Eye Out Jack, Rowdy Joe, and The Stuttering Kid."

"The merchants later claimed that before the buffalo virtually disappeared from the Panhandle, the outpost had purchased over 150,000 hides. Such brisk business put money in the pockets of the hunters, offering businesses like saloons and brothels the opportunity to be established."

"The killings and other forms of violence, especially by the cowboys—with “cow boy” being a derogatory name given to the trail riders, devoid of the romantic image of today—instilled more fear in the citizens and those businesspeople who did not depend on selling alcohol. It was beginning to get crowded up on Boot Hill, with grave markers informing that recent additions included Horse Thief Pete, Pecos Kid, and Toothless Nell."

"They would enforce the new laws, which included no horses or other animals in saloons and no guns allowed north of the “Dead Line,” which essentially was the railroad-tracks separation between the respectable section of the city on the north side of Front Street and the “anything-goes” section between Front Street and the Arkansas River."

"Wyatt and Bat were intelligent but not necessarily educated young men, yet they and Charlie Bassett, the Ford County sheriff, were now responsible for enforcing the rudimentary and flawed system of justice trying to take hold on the frontier. If it worked in Dodge City, it could spread to the rest of the Wild West. And Wyatt and Bat were indeed still young men."

"…undesirable would be ranch owners and trail bosses looking for other cow towns in which to sell their cattle if, ironically, the law made Dodge City too dangerous for their employees. Wyatt imparted to his outgunned team three guidelines: One was to try to politely reason with a man, because he was not as dangerous when in the middle of a conversation. The second was if a deputy had to shoot, do it deliberately and accurately, because often the quickest man was off the mark. Third, don’t shoot to kill, because wounding a man usually disabled him enough and he would be worth more money that way."


"Just two years after Wyatt gambled there, and a year after the new device was installed in the White House, lines were strung to give Deadwood the distinction of being the first community west of the Mississippi River to have telephone service." Extraneous?


"One day, rather incautiously, Francisco “Pancho” Griego did not. He and Allison had previously had a couple of standoffs. In early November 1875, Griego accepted an invitation from Allison to have a drink at Lambert’s bar in the St. James Hotel in Cimarron, thinking the gunman wanted to settle their differences. Poor Francisco was wrong. After the bartender had served them and gone back into the kitchen, Allison’s six-shooter fired three times. The next day, Allison was back at Lambert’s. It was reported that he performed a “war dance” where he had killed Griego. Then he took his clothes off and continued cavorting, with a ribbon tied to his penis. A cowed court ruled on November 10 that the death was justifiable homicide—the justifiable part being if Griego was stupid enough to think Allison would make peace with a handshake, he deserved to die."


Really ? "Her tempestuous personality could be attributed to her mother being a member of the Hatfield family that wound up feuding with the McCoys."

Really ?
"She headed west and wound up in Wichita, working as a prostitute in the brothel run by James and Bessie Earp. It would seem highly unlikely that she did not encounter Wyatt. (Some have speculated that she knew him all too well but both denied it out of respect for Holliday.)"

"Billy the Kid’s death was another indication of the Wild West moving toward becoming less wild, as one by one its most colorful outlaws exited the stage."

"The cowboys were stealing everything in sight and continuing to raid across the border. This was not the place the Earps wanted to live in, but they were not about to pick up stakes and leave, either. Virgil was not one to shirk responsibilities, and his brothers were not going to leave him to fend for himself. There have been many accounts of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral,"

"By this time, Dodge City had found itself settling into early middle age, far from being the wickedest city in the West. In November 1883, the same month that Luke sold his interest in the (saloon)"

"The Ford County Globe “regretted” the peaceful conclusion to the war, according to its June 12 editorial: “To make this abrupt settlement is very agreeable to our people, but rather rough on the press at large which has so gloriously feasted on our misfortune, to be so ingloriously cut off from publishing any further soul-stirring scenes from the late battlefield of Dodge City.”"


"From Kansas, Bat went west to Denver. For several months he served as a deputy sheriff of Arapahoe County, and then he traded that in for a much more lucrative job as a faro dealer at the high-tone Arcade gambling house. If he and Wyatt had been concerned about never crossing trails again, that evaporated when Bat learned that his friend was dealing faro at another of Denver’s top sporting establishments,"


"That year also saw the last mass killing of buffalo in the United States. One of the participants was Theodore Roosevelt. This was the last blow that put the American bison close to extinction. By then, even Buffalo Bill was calling for protection of the animal, but it would still be years before adequate preservation efforts took hold. One of their champions would be President Roosevelt, who by then was friends with the former buffalo hunter Bat Masterson."

[Nic · Rating 1 out of 5]

Reviewed for Netgalley
3 stars for the thorough research, but no stars for the dreadful execution.

The blurb and title of this book are severely misleading. Claiming to be an account of the days when Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson came to Dodge to help friend Luke Short, it is instead a collection of stories of a variety of places, people, and occurrences in the Old West.

One hundred pages in, and the tale hasn’t reached Dodge yet. Instead, readers have gotten a history of the Earps, the Mastersons, the killing of the buffalo, brief accounts of forts in the location that would one day become Dodge City, and lots of Old West name dropping. The pace is glacial, and the author cannot stay on topic.

Having finally reached Part Two, I thought we might get a glimpse of the Dodge City that the legendary lawmen teamed up together to tame, but no. Instead, we get brief accounts of outlaws who passed through Dodge City at some point, but none of the incidents written about actually took place in Dodge. This is followed by Samuel Colt and his creation of the famous Walker Colt six-shooter and then we’re right back to buffalo hunting.

Finally, after a 122 pages, Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson become lawmen in the lawless Dodge City. Unfortunately, the pace does not pick up at that point. Despite being quite a history buff, I found my interest lagging more and more. The writing is all over the place with very little focus and too many side stories that add nothing to the subject matter that was promised in the blurb. This book would be better marketed as a collection of short truths about the Old West and the characters who made it so infamous. I ended up doing a lot of skimming and gave up before I reached the end.

[Blaine DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the West, love the heritage of the West and have been fortunate to have made it to both Deadwood and Tombstone. The only one of the Big 3 I have yet to see is Dodge City and so I was anxiously looking forward to reading this book.
There are some things that could have been better in the book, but it was just super fun for me to read about Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson and all the sheriffs and outlaws and cowboys who helped make the central Plains town of Dodge City into one of the wildest and wickedest towns in the West. So many stories and tales and the author tries his best to dispel myth from legend. Even the short chapter on Deadwood was wonderful. If you like the Old West, or if you are a lover of history, or of American Heritage than this is a great book for you!

[Jaksen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Giving up on this one. I enjoy nonfiction; I've read 800+ page tomes on dusty old King George III, but this book...

Can't get much dustier, dryer or uninteresting, IMO. I'd hoped to learn a lot about Dodge City, the 'old West,' and who did what to who and why, but nah...

When I felt myself nodding off in the middle of the day while trying to read- and with hot coffee to fortitude me - during a snowstorm that changed to ice then rain and back to snow, well...

I'm setting it aside. I'll donate to a library book drive and pass it on to someone who might care more than me.

[Joyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a native Kansan, I can seldom pass up a book about my home state. This provides both an interesting look at Dodge City and at the lives of Earp and Masterson, both there and elsewhere. Lots of interesting pieces of information--I hadn't realized that Masterson was raised very near where I grew up; might have been more interested in the tv show Bat Masterson starring Gene Barry from the late 50s-early 60s. One annoyance on the audio: the mispronunciation of the Arkansas River, which is not pronounced like the state Arkansas when it runs through Kansas. (Instead accent is on second syllable, like Kansas). That aside an entertaining look at a small piece of the west and US history. This might also be a good suggestion for fans of Westerns.

[Jeanette · Rating 3 out of 5]

The photos are extraordinary. 5 star

It's interesting but so broken into separate and individual gun fights or other show downs that it becomes like reading dry history. Always more name drop nicknames and association fusing per page. Too many moving parts to read within the same level of cognition and research it took to keep it all straight to daily timelines as recorded. They are forever moving across 3 or 4 state areas too. I especially like all the information on Dull Knife and his group. And their outcomes.

Not too difficult to live through all of these jobs and encounters for these two men? For me, hard to believe that they both got to any old age.

[Oreoandlucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A longer review is available on my blog:
http://reviewsofbooksonmynightstand.b...

Clavin is a wonderful writer. While a non-fiction writer's first goal should be to disseminate information, many are unable to do so in a palatable way. Not so with Dodge City. This book has all of the excitement and fun that can be gleaned from reading a novel while still giving one an amazing amount of information that readers can use to impress their friends. The amount of creative nicknames that some of the residents had, alone, will bring hours of entertainment. The book is incredibly well researched, which was difficult because, as the author mentions in the book many times, much of the information surrounding Dodge City, Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson is more legend than fact. Any reader that enjoys history will likely enjoy this book and I highly recommend it to anyone looking to read the true stories about the Wild West.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy of this book for review purposes.

[Bill Spiegel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I work part time in Dodge City right now, and the town is much milder now than it was 135 years ago. Yet, as I drive down Front St. and Wyatt Earp Blvd., it is pretty remarkable to think about all the history that took place in this small town.
This book is packed with stories and history, which this Kansan finds extremely interesting. Bat Masterson, Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday - all in Dodge at the same time? There were bound to be some fireworks, with all of the cowboys in town (thanks to cattle drives from Texas ending up in Dodge City). And Clavin's book doesn't disappoint.
It's a good read. What a time that must have been.

[Eli - Bookworm & Vine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve enjoyed all of the Tom Clavin books so far. Well researched, easy reading and informative.

[Alexw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Both Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson are horse thieves before they become lawmen, and both have their brothers gut wrenchingly die in their arms from gunfights. Wyatt is arrested 3 times for being in brothels and Bat is shot in the groin which causes him to limp for the rest of his life and use a cane. Bat becomes a famous sportswriter in NYC.
The number of gunfights these two experienced was amazing! They buffaloed combatants (hit them over the head with the butt of their pistols) more often than shot people. They truly showed how the west was won.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grew up in rural Kansas, so the history of the midwest, especially the Old West era in Kansas, is near and dear to me. My husband is a huge fan of the fictionalized television show about Dodge City, Gunsmoke. I was so excited when I learned this book was coming out! I knew immediately my husband would love it. Reading about Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, Doc Holliday and other real characters and events in Dodge City will make him so happy! His book is on order....I can't wait for it to arrive!

Tom Clavin starts out by giving information about southwest Kansas before white settlers arrived. It was filled with Indian tribes fighting for territory, millions of buffalo, and wide open grassland. He talks about the conquistadors who came through exploring in the 1500s and Lewis & Clark in the early 1800s and those who followed after. Then Clavin moves into the era of westward movement, cattle drives, railroads and lawlessness in the prairie.

This book is just crammed full of well-researched information. At times, it seemed a bit disorganized but the history was interesting, even if not always related in linear fashion. Technically, the book really isn't just about Dodge City but relates stories about people, events and the history of the region.

I had to read this book a little bit at a time. When my brain went into fact-overload, I would take a break and come back later for more. Clavin gives factual insights into what Dodge City and the Old West was really like, and how the exaggerated stories in books and movies came about.

A wonderful read for anyone who enjoys history! Just keep in mind that this book is a non-fiction history, not a fictionalized story. Don't expect simple entertainment, but a journey through the real history of the region, the era and some of the famous people who battled to tame the west.

Tom Clavin is the author of 11 non-fiction books on famous people including Roger Maris and the DiMaggio brothers.

**I voluntarily read an Advance Readers copy of this book from St Martin's Press via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.**

[Steven Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Want to know about the role of lawmen in old Dodge City? This is a good entree to that subject. There are two key actors in this book--Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson. Other characters abound, too, including the several brothers of each, many of whom went into law enforcement themselves. Over the course of the book--which covers the peregrinations of Earp and Masterson--we run into many iconic figures of the day--Buffalo Bill Cody, John Wesley Hardin, Wild Bill Hickock, Doc Holliday, and so on.

And then another key actor--Dodge City itself. The town began to grow with a vengeance as the railroad ran through. This made Dodge City attractive for a while to cattle drives from Texas and elsewhere. This produced a population surge. Buildings went up--including saloons. The end result was flammable. Cowboys would come into town after getting paid, get drunk, get into fights. With one another and with townspeople. Boot Hill came to be as one result. Into this toxic environment, lawmen entered the picture. Earp and Masterson were among these.

Over a period of about ten years or so, Dodge City was very much alive. Warp, Masterson, their brothers, and their deputies began to reduce the carnage to bring a certain degree of order into the community. They also made some enemies.

The book traces their time in Dodge City, their movement elsewhere, the tensions among various actors in Dodge City and elsewhere (think Tombstone and the OK Corral). We also learn of their later lives. There is more information on Earp's life than Masterson's, but the book does a nice job of giving readers a view of these two men.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Nonfiction American History. I enjoyed this one more than others after peeking at some of the other reviews. What bothered a lot of people didn't even appear on my radar. I think I was born a century too late because this time in history fascinates me so much.

I enjoyed this one, especially all the stories about of the different famous (or infamous in some cases) people back then. I was completely drawn in by this. I also enjoyed the audio narration. So 4 stars.

[Melora · Rating 4 out of 5]

This started off very well, and I thoroughly enjoyed the first half or so. Tom Clavin tells the stories of the early years and careers of Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, Charlie Bassett, Bill Tilghman, Doc Holliday and others, and their part in the “civilizing” of the west, in a style reminiscent of classic western novels (and read by John Bedford Lloyd with an endearingly corny western drawl). My ideas about the settling of the American West before starting in on this were rather vague (though Clavin cites Laura Ingalls Wilder a time or two, which made me feel right at home), but Clavin provides just the right amount of background information on conflicts between the U.S. government and Indian tribes, Manifest Destiny, the growth of railroads, and so on.

Focusing mainly on events in the 1870's, Clavin focuses on but certainly does not limit himself to the founding, growth, and taming of Dodge City. Clashes with various Indian tribes, settlers, and cowboys alternate with tales of our several protagonists' efforts to make livings in saloon keeping, law enforcement, and gambling. The family bonds and romantic entanglements of the Wyatts, the Mastersons, and Doc Holliday with various women add another element of interest. Sticking more faithfully to his characters than to Dodge, Clavin follows Bat, Wyatt, and other sometime law enforcers all around the West, to Montana, California, New Mexico, etc. He tells many fine tales, but after a while his episodic narration, switching frequently from one to another of his large cast (and I did have trouble keeping track of who was who among the secondary characters), becomes a little repetitive. Apparently, “settling” the West involved a whole lot of chasing down cattle rustlers, dragging drunken cowboys into the calaboose (a useful synonym for “jail” which is surely due for a revival), and dealing with corrupt politicians. Again and again and again. Who'd have thought? Okay, actually that's just what you would have thought, but after a while the routine feels tiresome.

Things pick up nicely again towards the end, though, when Clavin wraps up the lives of his major characters. Bat Masterson, who has the last word, has a delightfully surprising second career. He winds up as a popular journalist in New York City, friends with Theodore Roosevelt, reporting on boxing, mentoring young writers (including Dorothy Day, which is a pairing I'd never have imagined). His later years and death, in 1921, provided an unexpected and intriguing transition from the Wild West in which he originally made his reputation to the 20th century.

[VPM · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is very well researched but it did not hold my interest. I skipped large portions.

The two interesting things I learned from my reading are that people like Bat Masterson and the Earps moved around A LOT and over great distances all across the West, and, many figures from the Wild West lived well into the twentieth century.

[Susan Paxton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun reading, but it took a while to get there. Once the author gets to the point where his exposition is done and the pure story telling starts, the book is enjoyable, and the characters, even the minor ones (Mysterious Dave Mather!) will stay with you.

[Clay Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great details of all the interesting people and events of the Old West town.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars ...

This was pretty much exactly what I wanted it to be ... the true story of the "Wild West" shenanigans of the 1870s/1880s starring the characters of legend and lore ... or, at least, as close to "true" as we can get at this point in time. Sometimes these types of books read like textbooks, but that was not the case here so I'll certainly be reading more from Mr. Clavin ... next up is 'Tombstone' (Tombstone: The Earp Brothers, Doc Holliday, and the Vendetta Ride from Hell). There were times when he strayed quite a ways from the primary thread with seemingly irrelevant, inconsequential, and meticulous details, but that's my only issue and it's a minor one. For the most part, this was very "readable" and full of vivid depictions of life and drama of the late 19th century "Wild West". OH, and yes, it has pictures! 😝

[John Devlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Clavin does a solid job of trying to tie so many threads together but the tapestry is largely guesswork….the lives these men led was violent and peripatetic…they were a singular bunch fueled by the expansion of the West, the unlimited horizon, the stamina of a good horse…and brothels and gambling and gun fights…

[Carlymor · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. This is a larger than life book about two larger than life people. Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp, as well their families led very exciting and dangerous lives. Even though the author tried to weed out the false stories, their lives were still quite legendary. This is a well researched and very interesting book!

[Autumn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could see that if I was reading this book it would drag a bit but with a good narrator on double speed I was interested the whole time. Historical, non-fiction/biographical is my favorite genre.

[Dachokie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wild West “Who’s Who” …

This book was reviewed as part of Amazon's Vine program which included a free copy of the book.

I’ve never taken any particular interest in America’s western adventures in the 1800s and I’m not a big fan of Western movies (although HBO’s “Deadwood” was certainly a worthy watch). With that being said, I gave DODGE CITY a shot and found myself more immersed in the story than I ever could have imagined. Tom Clavin provides a clearly detailed history that manages to separate myth from reality to paint a clearer and more accurate portrayal of the “Wild West”.

First of all, the book’s title is a little deceptive. While Dodge City serves as hub of connectivity amongst many of the individuals and stories outlined in the book, Clavin’s focus is centered more on the lives of Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, their families and to a large degree, Doc Holliday.

Chronologically written, Clavin painstakingly traces the roots of the frontier town and how it became the glue that bonded so many of the legendary and infamous names we often associate with the “Wild West”. The author dismantles the oft-embellished tales that made men like Earp, Masterson and Holliday more like the “Western American Superheroes” they are so frequently portrayed in books and cinema. While the accolades and lore certainly add flair and make for great storytelling, the actual truth behind these men (flaws and all) don’t diminish their significance, but makes them appear much more complex, intelligent, interesting and diverse. This book sets and example of how the truth can make history more interesting.

What really makes this book hum is Clavin’s fluid writing style which manages to condense almost a century of history into an entertaining brew of one exciting story after another. The chapters are brief, yet hearty; they allow the book to be read in short doses that can become somewhat addictive … I found myself always wanting to make time to read a extra chapter or two. The book’s biggest draw, however, is the history itself. I found DODGE CITY to be a one-stop shop for almost EVERY famous/infamous name associated with the American West. In addition to detailing the lives of Earp, Masterson and Holliday, we discover that these men crossed paths at some point with Buffalo Bill Cody, Wild Bill Hickok, Pat Garrett, Billy the Kid, John Wesley Hardin, the James Brothers (Frank and Jesse) and even President Teddy Roosevelt. The common bond between Earp and Masterson that led to these interactions was their off-and-on employment as lawmen and their nomadic nature (they never seemed content to stay in one place for any lengthy period of time … including an excursion to Alaska, of all places). The lawlessness associated with the general dangers of the frontier mixed with drinking, gambling, prostitution and the penchant for settling scores with firearms certainly provides a treasure of stories to be told; Clavin surely takes advantage of this. Although, Earp and Masterson are glorified as deadly “gunslingers”, they were actually more likely to use brains and “buffaloing” (pistol-whipping) than a six-shooter to maintain order. In addition to the more tempered nature of enforcing laws, we find that there were numerous occasions where Earp, Masterson and Holliday were on the wrong end of the law themselves. Some of the most interesting aspects of the book involve the ongoing problems these men experience with gambling, drinking and women. Surprisingly, many of the individuals covered in the book (who survived the violence) lived to be quite old (in their 80s and 90s).

What I really found fascinating was how the lives of these men traversed the almost primitive-like history of the dirty and dangerous world of gun fighting, buffalo hunting and battles with various Indian tribes to the turn of the 20th Century. It is hard to imagine a storyline that covers the dusty O.K. Corral gunfight and a world of stagecoach robberies to covering heavyweight boxing matches in New York City and an appointment by Teddy Roosevelt, but DODGE CITY does just that. An era that includes two worlds: one with Jesse James and another with Al Capone and even Ty Cobb.

DODGE CITY is certainly an enjoyable and enlightening read. This is one of those books that allows your imagination to play out the stories being told and those stories come, one after another. Wonderfully written history that grabs readers from start to finish.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

If there is a "star" of this book, it is not Wyatt Earp or Bat Masterson, but Dodge City itself. While Dodge deserves top billing, this is not so much a book about the history of the city as it is a collection of tales that are threaded loosely around famous (or perhaps infamous) people associated with Dodge City. The stories are not exclusive to one location, if there is a story to tell of a once-inhabitant, it is threaded into the pages of this book if it happens in Dodge, Tombstone, or anywhere else in the country. I found the stories enjoyable, even if the book may not be as aptly named as I expected. The book is organized into four parts, although I use the word "organized" loosely. The sections seem near the verge of being tangential before the next Act begins. For this type of storytelling, I think it works and keeps things more interesting than having a single story arc between the covers. Especially when the subject matter themselves are restless men who served in many different professions, in many different places, with many different lovers over the course of their lives.

The book made these larger-than-life legends very relatable and human in a way that I've never experienced before. Usually when I read about Wyatt Earp or Bat Masterson I can still imagine them only as their sepia-toned, one dimensional photographs represent. This book really brought them to life in a realistic way that is much more endearing than looking at old pictures, or watching costumed actors portray them in TV and movies. Dodge City shows a more human side of these legends of the western frontier.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with this much-anticipated arc for review.

[Cody · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dodge City by Tom Calvin is an interesting and informative read, but comes up a bit short in several important instances. The city itself, alongside Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson, do indeed become central pillars throughout the book, as expected from the title. However, the book encompasses a wide variety of different historical figures and events from so many different timelines it lacks focus. Many of the shootouts, criminal activity, outlaws, lawmen, cattle drivers, businesses, etc. are simply retold before quickly jumping to the next event without any sort of political and sociological depth. Many names are quickly forgettable or unimportant. Too much is tried to be told, and the book would focus better with the idea that "less is more." For example, Wyatt Earp's many siblings are sporadically placed throughout the book, and most of it was simply unrelated to the activities happening in Dodge City. It's rather uneven. The book would benefit from perhaps a more centralised focus on Bat Masterson, who for the most part is the main historical figure covered. If someone were new to the studies of Dodge City or any of the people that shaped it, this book wouldn't give them a proper understanding of the history behind it. That is unfortunate because a lot of important information is covered, it just needs greater depth and connection. A missed opportunity perhaps. It's frustrating because Dodge City really was an important aspect of the frontier history of America.

Rating: 2.5/5

[Mary Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is really a collection of stories about different characters. Unfortunately, most of these characters are neither interesting nor memorable. There are perspectives and insights into the time and place sprinkled throughout this hefty book. And, this is one redeeming aspect. So, if you want to learn a bit more about hunting buffalo, this book provides that. Or, if you are interested in how towns evolved in the West after the Civil War, this book will give you that information. My problem was Clavin's writing style. His sentences are long, long-winded, dry and passive. I read many books detailing historical events and I know it's possible to make history come alive though a lively and engaging prose. Unfortunately for the reader, Clavin does not succeed.

[Socraticgadfly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Repeats legends while claiming to refute them.

The biggest legend uncritically repeated is that of Big-Nose Kate.

Yes, she was from Hungary, and yes, her father was a doctor.

He never worked for Emperor Maximilian, though, and the family came to the US straight from Hungary. Nor were the family descendants of nobility.

And, these legends have all been refuted long ago.

There are lesser errors here, too. None big, and none of them would get more than a star dinged.

But this one gets the book a huge kick.