Deadwood's Al Swearingen: Manifest Evil in the Gem Theatre

by Jerry L Bryant, Barbara Fifer

You’ve followed his wicked misdeeds and cuss-filled rants on the HBO series Deadwood (as played by Ian McShane), now go inside the life—and death—of the real Al Swearingen with Farcountry Press’ newest release, Deadwood’s Al Swearingen: Manifest Evil in the Gem Theatre. Meticulous research and lively writing by Deadwood historian and HBO consultant Jerry L. Bryant and co-author Barbara Fifer shed new light on Al’s scandalized childhood in Oskaloosa, Iowa, his nefarious dealings at his saloon and brothel in gold-rush-era Deadwood, and his brutal death (was he murdered?) in a Denver rail yard.

Genres: History, Westerns

163 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 27, 2018

Reviews

[JPLS · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been hooked on the mysteries of Deadwood, South Dakota since HBO debuted a series on its wild past in 2004. The main, and most interesting, character was "Al Swearengen" played by Ian McShane. While there are some similarities between HBO's Swearengen and the actual Swearingen, I think Jerry L. Bryant and Barbara Fifer's book separates fact from fiction more than anything else on the subject.

Sadly, there's not a ton of public record covering Swearingen, so "Deadwood's Al Swearingen" does more to focus on the history of "The Gem Theater", the biggest business venture Al ever embarked on. We hear of all the interesting acts that Swearingen brought to Deadwood over the years, the newspaper reports of crimes perpetrated in and around The Gem, and of all the rebuilds and refurnishings it went through.

There's also a good deal of information covering the Swearingen family, like Al's twin brother Lem. You'll seem some familiar names pop up if you're a fan of HBO's "Deadwood", the likes of Dan Dorrity (Doherty), Sol Starr (Star), Wild Bill Hickock, Johnny Burns (Brynes), and Seth Bullock turn up throughout the book.

Deadwood's great fire, their flood, Al's death, and his tumultuous relationships with women are the main highlights of this particular book. It's an easy read, especially for anyone already familiar with the locale, era, or people involved. There's everything from photos of the town and Swearingen himself, to official documents throughout the period helping us to keep a frame of reference in the book.

"Deadwood's Al Swearingen: Manifest Evil in the Gem Theater" is just as fluid as it is detailed, and I would recommend it with vigor to anyone interested in the more prominent names of the old west. Al Swearingen wasn't a famous gunfighter, but that just means that the tale of his life lasted longer than most the names we recall from those times.

There are still plenty of questions surrounding the life and times of Ellis Albert Swearingen, but Jerry L. Bryant and Barbara Fifer put together the most complete retrospective of the man possible. Far Country Press published a "Gem" with this one.

-JPLS

[Robyn Kiser · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is entirely misleading. I was under the false impression that this book would be basically a biography of Al Swearingen, it was not, instead it was just about Deadwood and The Gem Theater in general. It seemed to me like the authors just gathered a stack of old newspapers articles threw them together and slightly expanded on them and viola a book! If you’re interested in Al Swearingen don’t bother.

[Chase Judd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Considering there is little available information about Swearingin, the authors did a great job of gathering information from news papers and census information. Overall, an interesting read that shows how many liberties the TV show took.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Does a solid job of piecing together the few remaining documents (primarily court documents and often very biased newspaper articles) about the enigmatic - yet now infamous- saloon owner Al Swearingen to give us an insight into his shady life and the violent times of 19th century Deadwood.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting true story.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dead wood For Real

Any fan of the HBO series and film on Dead wood will be intrigued by the stories of the historical Deadwood. The characters are quite lively yet tragic.