Tombstone

The Earp Brothers, Doc Holliday, and the Vendetta Ride from Hell

By: Tom Clavin

Narrated by: Johnny Heller

Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

The true story of the Earp brothers, Doc Holliday, and the famous Battle at the OK Corral, by the New York Times best-selling author of Dodge City and Wild Bill.

On the afternoon of October 26, 1881, eight men clashed in what would be known as the most famous shootout in American frontier history. Thirty bullets were exchanged in 30 seconds, killing three men and wounding three others.  

The fight sprang forth from a tense, hot summer. Cattle rustlers had been terrorizing the back country of Mexico and selling the livestock they stole to corrupt ranchers. The Mexican government built forts along the border to try to thwart American outlaws, while Arizona citizens became increasingly agitated. Rustlers, who became known as the cow-boys, began to kill each other as well as innocent citizens. That October, tensions boiled over with Ike and Billy Clanton, Tom and Frank McLaury, and Billy Claiborne confronting the Tombstone marshal, Virgil Earp, and the suddenly deputized Wyatt and Morgan Earp and shotgun-toting Doc Holliday. 

Best-selling author Tom Clavin peers behind decades of legend surrounding the story of Tombstone to reveal the true story of the drama and violence that made it famous. Tombstone also digs deep into the vendetta ride that followed the tragic gunfight, when Wyatt and Warren Earp and Holliday went vigilante to track down the likes of Johnny Ringo, Curly Bill Brocius, and other cowboys who had cowardly gunned down his brothers. That "vendetta ride" would make the myth of Wyatt Earp complete and punctuate the struggle for power in the American frontier's last boom town. 

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Press  

“With a former newsman’s nose for the truth, Clavin has sifted the facts, myths, and lies to produce what might be as accurate an account as we will ever get of the old West’s most famous feud." (Associated Press) 

©2020 Tom Clavin (P)2020 Macmillan Audio

Great fun read, western history.

I have read two other books on tombstone and the gunfight at the OK corral. this is a really great read, full of historical facts, information which other books normally overlooked. the narration was fantastic. I highly recommend this one.

Tom Clavin Plus Johnny Heller Equals Gold

Tom Clavin writing alone, or with frequent writing partner Bob Drury, is always excellent. His writing style is straight forward, no holds barred, and unbiased. It's just straight facts whether you like them or not. The most unfortunate thing to happen to history is revisionist history. Clavin sticks to the truth. And the story of Tombstone, though not at all like the Hollywood version, is just that. And the Earp brothers, Doc Holliday, and the rest of the characters, warts and all, come out in full force. These characters are often more anti-heroes than heroes. But that's who they were and how they lived. Thank you Tom Clavin for making these stories so much fun, entertaining, and better than fiction.

Johnny Heller's narration complements Clavin's (and when applicable Drury's) books perfectly. It's always a plus to see him narrating his work. His nuanced, gravely voice is perfect for the wild Wild West. All around spectacular.

gripping narrative and perspective

an excellent accounting of an event we all know at least a little about. the narrator was perfect for this book. I will definitely listen to this one again.

Tombstone

I learned a great deal of history with this book. I felt the narrator did an excellent job and filled in many areas I simply did not know.

Great book, would highly recommend

Great narrator and very well written. highly recommended and puts a lot of the myths to bed.

informative and enjoyable experience

loved it. learning the truth about the characters involved in taming the west is always a pleasure.

Absolutely Fantastic!

First, and foremost, Johnny Heller as narrator is a complete game changer. Having read 3 of Clavin’s books, “Wild Bill,” “Dodge City,” and now “Tombstone,” Heller makes Wild Bill & Tombstone come to life. I liked Dodge City, but the different narrator made it less interesting.
If you’re like me, and love the 1993 movie Tombstone, this book does an excellent job of connecting the dots of an otherwise condensed story in the movie. You will come away with a better understanding of the context surrounding the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral. You won’t be disappointed!

Hard to follow

This book is fairly inaccessible if you don't have a solid grounding in both American history and the history of the settling of the West generally and Arizona specifically. there are far too many people, events, and moving parts in this story to reasonably track in a book of this length. If you are well educated the areas I mention here, the thread of the story is reasonably well told.

It's a daisy!

This is an excellent book as a follow up to the Tombstone & Wyatt Earp movies because of all of the background history of all people involved. Cant wait to listen to again and will probably buy the Book to put on the shelf.
Enjoyed it very much.

Outstanding book

I learned so much by this book. I thought I knew a lot about the history of the old west and some of the players but this in-depth book gave me a ton of knowledge . So interesting and kept me going from chapter to chapter!!