The Last Gunfight: The Real Story of the Shootout at the O.K. Corral - and How It Changed the American West

After setting the time and period issues, Mr. Guinn tells a fascinating tale of how despite the great distances, hard living conditions, and personal ambitions of the participants, death and destruction could not be avoided. Justice has nothing to do with the OK Corral. The tale brings such realism to mind that you feel like you have to kick of the dust from your boots when you are done and get a shot of whiskey. In the final analysis, this was not a story about good vs. bad, lies vs. truths, or laws vs. the lawless. It is a solid story about who could shoot first to kill and and then live to justify it.

A lot of good information, but a little too much mind reading. I got a sense that Guinn was disdainful of the Earp's quest for success. He also told me much more than he would have had any way of knowing, about what people thought & felt. A little more examples of what led him to his conclusions and a little less superiority would have impressed me more. Still, for those interested in the old west &/or the Earp brothers I would recommend the book. Just read with a skeptical eye.

Every wonder about what really happened in the shootout at the O.K. Corral? I didn’t, but picked up Jeff Guinn’s The Last Gunfight anyway. It is my habit to read on topics about which I have no knowledge. Opening the pages of this book confirmed the efficacy of my reading approach. Gunn starts the book off by presenting biographical information about those involved in the fight. Each is put into context. History, geographical details, economic insights, and verbal pictures of how life was lived in the era provide nuance and detail to what is to come. The last sections of the book describe the altercation, the trial of Wyatt Earp and his brothers, and the impact of those days on the region. Essentially, Guinn confirms the fact that we will never know the true story of what happened on October 26, 1881. If you are familiar with this story, this book may not be for you. If what you know has come from fiction, you might take a look. No one can come away from the volume without a clearer understanding and a better appreciation for life in “the West” in that era. The reading of Stephen Hoye is a plus.

Great deal of information on the shootout. The book gives details that dispels the numerous myths surrounding the showdown. However, I found the narrator distracting.

I found this book very interesting and continually found myself making Google searches to see what these characters looked like. Obviously nothing like the movie Tombstone, I can't imagine what the old west was really like. This book made me wonder how anyone found it safe to walk the streets in Arizona in the late 1880's.

I listened to the book twice and will probably find it in the que again. Great book if you want to know what really happened at the OK corral.

Having always been a history buff regarding western history and living in areas full of historical figures, I never quite knew all that much about the true story behind Tombstone, the Earps, the Clantons, or the OK corral. I heard stories where the “noble” Earps weren’t exactly all that honorable, but never in all that much detail. Having recently moved to Tucson, I visited Tombstone and was amazed to see the history there and how much of the myth behind this town is only that, myth. Upon reading reviews this book said it gave a whole different point of view regarding the Tombstone events, I knew I had to listen to it. I am quite pleased with the wealth of new and less known information regarding not only the key figures of the OK corral gunfight, but also the town of Tombstone, life during that time period, and southern Arizona history. The book uses information from public accounts and court documents, but does not do so in a dry fashion. Instead it is woven in the storytelling, and makes what could be boring transcript, into an interesting account of history. This book does not sugar coat the truth and will show you the real person behind the men we saw as heroes once.

This is a good listen for anyone interested in western history. Finding the truth about the western legends is enlightening. If you have read anything about the Earp brothers, this is a must.

I truly could not put this down. Whether a casual fan of this legendary story or a historian of frontier America, this book will provide a very new and thorough look at the events before during and after the gun fight.

This is a nice historical look at Wyatt Earp and the O.K. Corral. An enjoyable book.