Wyatt Earp: The Life Behind the Legend Paperback - 1999

First line

NICHOLAS PORTER EARP, a widower with one son, married Virginia Cooksey in 1840, and five years later moved the family from Kentucky to Monmouth, Illinois.

From the rear cover

"Quite impressive. I doubt if there has been or will be a more deeply researched and convincing account." --Evan Connell, author Son of the Morning Star: Custer and the Little Bighorn

"The book to end all Earp books--the most complete, and most meticulously researched." --Jack Burrows, author John Ringo: The Gunfighter Who Never Was

"The most thoughtful, well-researched, and comprehensive account that has been written about the development and career of an Old-West lawman." --The Tombstone Tumbleweed

"A great adventure story, and solid history." --Kirkus Reviews

"A major contribution to the history of the American West. It provides the first complete and accurate look at Wyatt Earp's colorful career, and places into context the important role that he and his brothers played in crime and politics in the Arizona territory. This important book rises above the realm of Western biography and shows the development of the Earp story in history and myth, and its effect on American culture." --John Boessenecker, author Gold Dust and Gunsmoke

"The ultimate Wyatt Earp book." --Professor Richard Brown University of Oregon

Media reviews

Citations

• New York Review of Books, 03/24/2005, Page 31