The Earp Brothers of Tombstone: The Story of Mrs. Virgil Earp

by Frank Waters

Book Overview

The Earp Brothers of Tombstone and the famous fight at the O. K. Corral are well known to American history and even better known to American legend. This composite biography of Wyatt, Morgan, Virgil, James, and Warner Earp is based on the recollections of Mrs. Virgil Earp, dictated to the author in the 1930s, and amplified by documents he unearthed in 1959. In his review of the book for Library Journal, W. S. Wallace stated that he...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0803258380
• ISBN13: 9780803258389
• Release Date: April 1976
• Publisher: Bison Books
• Length: 247 Pages
• Weight: 0.62 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

I love this book.

Having read SO many books on the subject already, it is an interesting twist on the real-life story and from a reliable source. Allie is first and foremost, an honest Irish woman and telling it 'like it is' and as she sees it. She didn't like Wyatt so much and I have always felt that Virge was a better man and lawman all around, he just didn't get the credit. I feel more sorry for Mattie now that I hear Allie's opinion about how Wyatt treated her. It is sad that these women, for reasons hard to fathom, were not allowed to mingle with most of the townspeople. I wouldn't have stood for it myself. It looks like not only Sadie was responsible for bad blood between Behan and Wyatt and also Bessie's daughter, Hattie, who was, apparently sweet on a McLaury. Such great times, though tough and sometimes even more than that. It is like being there.........

Lots of area history.

I liked the fact of the amount of history in the book. The way the writer describes some of the scenery, it feels like you are there. Allie did not like Wyatt....she was a little snip. I would have like to have known what happened to Morg's wife and some of the others. And somethings she would not tell..... Overall I found it very interesting.

A counterpoise

This book is an excellent counterpoise to the silly, inaccurate and self-serving blather which usually passes for a biography of Earp's life. While it has problems, here and there, it is, by orders of magnitude, more accurate than books which claim Earp was a lawman, primarily, or cleaned up any western town, of which several more have been published in the last few years. Read it, look up the very accurate records kept by the justice department regarding who was a Deputy US Marshal (including special deputies, commissioned for one purpose or another), and who was not, and decide for yourself which story is correct: the intrepid lawman, or the pimp who abandoned his common-law wife; the wealthy gambler and real estate magnate, or the lazy ne'er do well who ran out on a ...mortgage; the unfailing courageous battler for law and order, or the braggart who had his face slapped and gun taken by a real US Marshall in Alaska.

The Best Book on the Earps

This book is a remarkable treasure. A painfully honest look at the Earp brothers from the point of view of Virgil's wife. Unbalanced in it's own way as all memoirs are, it's still the most credible account we have of this troubled but fascinating family. Waters has been under attack lately by a new generation of Wyatt Worshipers but his book stands out among the volumes of Earp literature as a light in a dark forest. Read this as an antidote to Casey Terfertiller's love letter to Wyatt that passes itself off as a objective biography.

Information without all the hype

I read this book a few years ago soon after the move Tombstone appeared on the big screen. I agree with the other reader that the book lacked the hollywood glitz but I really appreciated it. It was very informative and shed light on the Earps from a different angle. It really made the reader think. I went and watched the hollywood movies after reading the book and had a different impression all around. I am still researching the life and times of the Earps. I find that time period facinating. If you are looking for glitz you won't find a lot of here. But if you are looking for a good story with good facts of objective nature, then dig in.