Tombstone: An Iliad of the Southwest

Historians of the Frontier and American West

by Walter Noble Burns, Casey Tefertiller (Foreword)

Alternate cover edition of ISBN-13: 9780826321541, ISBN-10/ASIN: 0826321542

First published in 1927, Tombstone defined the legend of lawman-gunfighter Wyatt Earp. A mixture of fact and fiction, Walter Noble Burns's portrayal of Earp has profoundly influenced subsequent generations of historians, novelists, and screen writers. Born in 1849, Earp grew up on the Missouri-Kansas frontier and first came to notice as a no-nonsense town marshal in rip-roaring Dodge City, Kansas. Moving to wide-open Tombstone, Arizona in 1879, he became a businessman and deputy United States marshal where he was soon joined by his four brothers. In Burns's narrative, the Earp clan represents law and order in the lawless, chaotic Old West. The collision between civilization and frontier explodes in the bloody and legendary shootout at the OK Corral between the Earps and the Clanton-McLowery gang. The Earps prevailed, but the subsequent shootings of two Earp brothers drove the calm, courageous, and somewhat emotionless Wyatt to take the law into his own hands. In a personal rage, he hunted and killed the treacherous "assassins." Wyatt Earp's most recent biographer, Casey Tefertiller, discusses the influence of Tombstone on the history and legend of Wyatt Earp and the Old West.

Genres: History, True Crime, Nonfiction

412 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1927

About the author

Walter Noble Burns was a writer of Western history and a Western fiction author, notable for his book, The Saga of Billy the Kid (1926).

Reviews

[Cameron Copper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a fun read about the Old West. Today's cinematic perception of this place and time in the world feel a little cliche and overdone, but going back to this text, which was originally written in 1927 if I'm not mistaken, really relates to the reader how far away this time in America's history the late 1800's really were.

Several topics in the book, including race, have massively shifted in the common vernacular since Burns wrote the book. Recognizing these short fallings of the book, the remainder of this collection of stories paints a non-elegant snapshot of the world. While demonstrating how rough-and-tumble the world was, Burns also stirs a burning fire inside to have seen a world that was largely untouched by humans; where horseback riding and the kindness of a stranger were elements of living; where warring factions of people-groups battled for supremacy; where life was not guaranteed.

I am fascinated to read books like this one. Written almost 100 years ago, about a time that was almost 150 years ago, we see that so much has changed for the comfort level for bulk of society. We also see that humanity in a modern sense has always battled with the have's and have not's. Justice depends on the delegator.

I enjoyed this book. I look forward to my next Burns book. This is a fascinating anthropological read.

[Doug Hocking · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's odd to think that much of Tombstone's history comes from this book. It is at best an historical fiction. The book is delightfully written and fun to read. This and a few other books, written not as histories, but to sell books, form the basis of Tombstone history. With at least one side lying, court cases, letters and newspaper articles don't come much closer to the truth. No wonder historians of Tombstone argue so vehemently to this day. Tombstone is a great western story and should be read by anyone interested in western history.

[SB · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is definitely a dated book.
The Tombstone story very much belongs to a specific period and if you're reading it you have to take that into account as well as when Burns wrote.
At the same time I can see why Burns' work was so popular, this book is excellent for stories about and around Tombstone. It's readable and enjoyable most of the time. Burns gives colour to a whole cast of characters in a very readable and entertaining book.
Definitely racist though. Expect that.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a challenging rate because there are some racist sections of language in this collection of Western stories. It felt like your out of touch grandpa regaling you with tall tales. It was, in spite of that, a rollicking read. I’d never heard of John Slaughter, he was a badass.

[Darth Jader · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you wanted a complete history of Tombstone, Arizona from it's massive rise, to it's heyday as a pioneer mining town of the old west, to it's ugly downfall after the mines flooded, this book is not for you. This book mainly focuses on the rise of the Earp brothers and follows their exploits throughout a two year period. The author does a really good job painting a picture of each of the Earp brothers that mattered in the history of tombstone (apparently the younger two weren't that important to the town in the eyes of the author) and their numerous enemies from the Clantons, Curly Bill, to Sherriff Behan. I will say that, while I enjoyed reading about the rise of the Earps and Doc Holliday together with the rise of tombstone, I did find myself wondering if every story was true. There are a few stories in this book, most notably how Wyatt Earp diffused a mob of almost a hundred armed people by just aiming at the front lines with his shotgun and talking his way out of it, that lead more toward fiction than nonfiction. Then I remembered in the introduction, the author himself says this book is a combination of truth and fiction as he was just taking these stories from the local newspapers at the time (which were known for sensationalizing almost every story). I know a lot of people will be upset that this book isn't the true history of the Earps and Tombstone, but I would argue that we don't actually know the truth because of the times and how stories in the old west always seem to blend fact and fiction. The one thing I did not really like about the author's stance is that he paints the Earps as ultimate heroes and the other outlaws as villains. I think that is definitely not the case and there is an argument to be made that the Earps and Doc Holliday were just a bad as the outlaws were. There is about a hundred pages after the downfall of the Earps that chronicles some other notable figures in Tombstone's history and the downfall of the town to where is stands at the time of writing the book. These stories are pretty interesting, but brief and I wish more time was dedicated to telling them more completely. And that is the biggest issue i have with the book (along with all the obvious fake dialogue) is that the book barely dedicated any time to the history of the town itself, while focusing a bit too much on the story of the Earp, Doc Holliday, and their numerous encounters with outlaws along the way. However, I do think this book is just one of many about Tombstone in this time period that should be read to allow the reader to form his/her own opinion of the true history of the town and its numerous characters that inhabited it.

[D · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun historical biography of the town of Tombstone Arizona.

[Monty · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the classic and standard works on the history of the town of Tombstone Arizona. The centerpiece chapters cover the arrival of the Earps and their rocky relationship with some of the local denizens including the Clantons and others. The book is mostly factual, based upon articles printed in the local newspapers, especially the Epitaph and the Nugget. From my reading of this book, it seems to provide the lion's share of the material we accept as Gospel relating to the Gunfight at (or near) the OK Corral. Subsequent books have clarified and modified some of the info, but Burns seems to be the original print narrative of the tale.

[Robert Mahon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm something of a "Tombstone buff"....and enjoyed this book greatly. It fills in many of the gaps and helped paint a much better and authentic picture of what was going on in that part of the country, in the couple decades after the civil war.

[John E]

Really a rollicking telling of the rise and fall of the bandits of the Tombstone region. Little about the rise and fall of the economy or growth of the town itself. Florid writing with lots of shooting.