And the Wickedest Town in the American West - Bat Masterson

This was a good bio of 2 of the Well know Lawmen of the wild west and the town they helped tame. Did have lots of good stories of their lives and travels. Also many side stories of others who they encounter during their lives. What I really noticed is how much traveling they did when all they had was horses, wagons/stages and trains, all very slow back then. Mr Clavin just brings together many other bios written before in to one book. Not a lot of excitement in this book. Even the gun fights did not sound overly exciting. This would be OK for some who does not know much about the "Old West". I lived in Dodge City for little over 1 year and they really do not talk much the early days any more. It's a boring town.

This was a good bio of 2 of the Well know Lawmen of the wild west and the town they helped tame. Did have lots of good stories of their lives and travels. Also many side stories of others who they encounter during their lives. What I really noticed is how much traveling they did when all they had was horses, wagons/stages and trains, all very slow back then. Mr Clavin just brings together many other bios written before in to one book. Not a lot of excitement in this book. Even the gun fights did not sound overly exciting. This would be OK for some who does not know much about the "Old West". I lived in Dodge City for little over 1 year and they really do not talk much the early days any more. It's a boring town.

There are plenty of well researched incidents, dates and individuals related here, but the writing is an uneven mix of deadpan reporting and breathless recounting more suited to the early days of the dime novel that mythologized the characters portrayed-- the Earp brothers, Bat Masterson, Doc Holliday, and their many sweethearts, wives, enemies, and acquaintances that make appearances in a sometimes disjointed narrative.

This recent, popular western history book ostensibly focused on the frontier town of Dodge City, Kansas is a disappointing chore to read. The meandering text follows the exploits of western legends, Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson before, during, and after their time in Dodge City. Facts, events, places, and references to other western characters bounce around like ping-pong balls in a hopper forcing the reader to sift through the pages in order to construct some sense of continuity of time, lives and area geography. The author's research seems at times commendably accurate and other times jaw-droppingly incorrect. This inconsistency undermines the authoritativeness of the book. Finally, there's little comparative substantiation of Dodge as the "wickedest" town in the American West; there's not even a map or diagram of Dodge City included in the volume. Clearly in need of style, research, and format editing, this book almost reads like an early draft rushed to publication.

I read a great deal about "wild west" history and am always looking for new perspectives on the same topics, which often become worn out through constant rehashing of events and sometimes rather scant evidence. In recent years there seems to be a popular trend of city histories that revolve around a specific crime, and, in the process of investigating that crime, look at the development of the urban area. We see this with books on Chicago (Devil in the White City), New Orleans (Empire of Sin), and others. Tom Clavin writes an extremely interesting story of Kansas' Dodge City and centers his narrative on the activities of Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson. He explores the vice and criminal element, which were often the same as the civic element. The story culminating in the legendary Dodge City War in which Earp and Masterson lead a group of gunfighters to defend the business rights of fellow gunslinger Luke Short. Clavin tells the story well, but I don't know how much new he adds to the story. Dodge City is boldly written on the cover, but really this is the two gunfighter/lawmen's story. So I give this book four stars because it is a well told story, but I would like to have seen the book focus more on the city itself, its development as a city of business and culture, and have it people with far more of the very colorful characters who lived there (for example, Chalk Beeson who ran the Long Branch Saloon before Short and was deeply active in the development of Dodge). So if you want a good read, and you are new to wild west history, this is a good fit for you. If you are conversant with that field and want a deeper knowledge of Dodge's growth, I'd suggest William Shillingberg's fine academic study.

Well researched but more a historical textbook than a historical novel. Too many diversions into cousins, nephews, uncles, and their individual lineage. Reads like the term paper that required 10,000 words where the story could be told succinctly in 1000 words. Would be a great text book but is a painful read.

I was hoping for a more "academic" history of Dodge City: the town made famous by the fictitious Marshall Matt Dillon and the long running (20 years!) TV western Gunsmoke. Dodge City was for many years one of the most important frontier towns, standing near the cattle-driving Chisholm and Santa Fe Trails and leading to the railheads that took cattle eastward. Dodge City had its beginnings in the post-Civil War era (1871) and the heating up of the Indian Wars, especially with the Cheyenne, causing the Army to construct Fort Dodge. Buffalo hunters used the area both to hunt and to sell their hides and bones.

For some 15 years Dodge was a boomtown containing saloons (especially the famous Long Branch Saloon), brothels, gambling halls and even a ring where Mexican bullfighters fought specially selected longhorn bulls. It was also home to some of the most famous western lawmen such as Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson as well as a host of infamous gunfighters. As the railroads increasingly led to greener pastures in the far west and especially with the closing of Fort Dodge in 1882 and the westward extension of the quarantine line for Texas cattle due to the cattle disease known as Texas Fever, Dodge City's hey day as a frontier boom town was largely over by 1886.

This book tells the tale in a popular history style with an emphasis on the more glamorous gunfighters and locations in and around Dodge. It's a fast and easy read that's entertaining but not too deep. Unfortunately, it discusses little about the area's importance during the Indian Wars and the Buffalo trade which had such serious repercussions for Native-American tribes. It also isn't a good source of information about the social history of the frontier and the pioneers who traveled west by the thousands during that era of rapid American growth. But as a fun to read story about Dodge City and the iconic gunfighters that briefly made it their home, Dodge City: Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and the Wickedest Town in the American West is an entertaining diversion. The title says it all.

The topic was interesting and it revealed new information, but the syntax was terrible. Organization and the author/s thought process did not reach the standard that I think a published writer should demonstrate.

One helluva ride!

This is non-fiction, though it reads like some of the best Western fiction out there. And it's populated by an "all-star" cast: the Earp boys, the Masterson brothers, Luke Short, Jesse and Frank James, Billy the Kid, Doc Holliday, Mysterious Dave Mather, Charlie Bassett, Bill Tilghman, Clay Allison, John Wesley Hardin, and many more.

The element that ties all these hard cases together is that at one time or another, during Dodge City's heyday as the railhead destination for the big cattle drives, they all spent time there, particularly during the years when Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson were periodically "lawing" the town. So, many of their stories end up interweaving, often in surprising ways.

But the book isn't provincial to Dodge alone. The Old West was a landscape in which many of the players wandered widely and often, and the stories related in this book follow those players even when the action may wander to other locales.

I found this book to be hugely entertaining, as well as informative. And even though I am an Old West groupie, there was material in here that was new to me. But even the material with which I was already familiar was presented in such a way that I was kept constantly engaged.

I recommend this book without reservation to anyone who has an interest in the Old West. Find out why it was "Wild"!

I love stories - both true and fictional - of the old west and have been eating them up avidly for decades. I've explored Tombstone and Deadwood, Bisbee, Jerome, Calico, and San Francisco's history intimately but before Tom Clavin's new book I wasn't so familiar with Dodge City's colorful history. I knew about The Dodge City War - a bloodless battle over the Long Branch Saloon - but mostly I knew about it from movies. Now I am well and happily schooled on the subject.

Dodge City: Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and the Wickedest Town in the American West is non-fiction and very well researched. It is lively, never dry; Clavin's style makes the book enjoyable easy reading as he tells us tales of Earp, Masterson, Wild Bill Hickok and lots of other historical figures during their time in this very wild western town.

The evolution of Dodge City is fascinating reading and Clavin, a gifted storyteller, brings the town and its people to full life. I really enjoyed this book with its look at the pre-OK Corral Earps and Masterson. It's the kind of book that ought to be used in schools to foster an enjoyment of history in kids. It would also make a great gift for the Wild West aficionados in your life.

This is a wonderful topic poorly covered. The writing isn't very good, in fact most of the book could be handled in one sentence: "a bunch of people went from town to town doing the same stupid stuff over and over agin." Instead we get a travelogue of towns with the same people doing the same stupid things, in detail. The editing ovbiously isn't good, and to top it off, there were several "facts" that were simple incorrect.

An easy, albeit scattershot, read for western fans. One pages through it as though the author Googled "Dodge City" and expounded on ALL the hits. And dare I suggest Earp and Masterson were heroic figures to the author at the outset? One comes away impressed with both, but based on the famously sketchy sources is this impression really warranted? Does all the evidence back it up? Or has the author chosen favorably for effect? Since western tales are notoriously "tall." much must be taken with a grain of salt. It will forever be thus. It also chafed when the author tried to insert his Gabby Hays persona into his story telling. E.g., "The tips of his boots were pointed to the sky" instead of, "He died!" Lastly, I was struck by the penchant for nicknames back then! In the end it left a favorable glow towards Wyatt and Bat. It is why I bought it. I wanted my childhood heroes to hold up without too much grey matter involvement.

Is the world looking for another tale of Wyatt Earp? Are readers looking for dirt on Bat Masterson? Does anybody want to read about Dodge City (KS)? Tom Clavin hopes so as he has written just that book.

In Dodge City, Clavin provides a history of the founding of Dodge City and its heyday as "the wickedest town in the West." He provides information on how the town got its name, early history and then the arrival of the cattle from Texas leading to growth, gambling, and mayhem. But this book is not just about the city. It is also a history of Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson and their circle of friends, supporters, enemies, and family.

Tom Clavin writes a very readable biography/town history in thirty-two chapters that lay out the lives of Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson along with the story of Dodge City. Clavin focuses his attention on the parts played by Wyatt and Bat, but does not neglect the many other lawmen, desperadoes, gamblers, buffalo hunters, soldiers, and cowboys who lived in or visited Dodge City. providing short biographies of many of them. If you are interested in the Old West, gun fights, or notorious outlaws and lawmen, then Dodge City will entertain and enlighten you.

The western is America's mythology. Many of our shared stories arose out of the western—of civilization clashing with an untamed, lawless frontier. And yet, these tales did not come from nothing. They were inspired by real people, real events and real places. Dodge City, Kansas towards the end of the 19th century was one of those places. Many curious folks of questionable character passed through Dodge City, and some even stayed a while, but the town will always be remembered because of its two most notable sheriffs—Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp, and by extension their association with the notorious Doc Holliday. In the prologue, the author mentions that there is way too much written about Earp and not enough about Masterson. No doubt you've heard more about the former than the latter, and possibly have never heard anything about the latter. Bat Masterson had seen some gun fighting in his day but nothing as infamous as Earp's and Holliday's shootout at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, and Wyatt's subsequent revenge ride.

Dodge City exists because in the 19th century it was where the cattle drivers coming up north from Texas met the Santa Fe railroad going back east. Restless cowboys that got paid for completing the job and are looking for a good time, where are they going to spend their coin? Dodge City, of course. But unlike other towns that fueled the developing needs of the westward expansion that have since become ghost towns, Dodge City has survived and thrived to this day.

There's an account of Bat Masterson living and working in New York City at the start of Prohibition. Can you imagine living part of your life in a big 20th century city like NYC after having spent a whole other part as a 19th century law man in the Wild West? If I ever met someone like that I'd buy him a drink just to hear the stories. And from the book, it appears people did just that.

Dodge City is crammed with LOTS of interesting facts strung together with poorly constructed sentences. I'm not trying to sound snobby -
however the add ons at the end of many sentences were , at times, hard to place in context. What Mr Clavin was trying to impart to his readers was not always clear. This book is dying for a great editor!!! Read Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynn to experience a page turning documentary. Dodge City would not have earned a good grade in a college level writing class. I believe that it`s NYT Best Seller status speaks to the general public`s hunger to learn more about this era in American History. Mr Clavin has obviously spent time researching his characters and their environs. He successfully portrays, to me at least, the "Wild West" nature of the frontier towns and some of the personalities who inhabited, or at least, drifted through them., Dodge City, Tombstone and Deadwood are now on my "drive through at some time" list.. I hung in there to the end because I wanted to know what happened to these people and places. I give Mr Clavin credit and thanks for his apparently exhaustive research efforts, otherwise this would have been a 1 or 2 star review.

This book discusses a little of how the west was won.  Well not really won, but reformed.  Wyatt Earp was the best known of the Earp brothers.  One thing about the Earp clan they were highly loyal, and always brave.  Wyatt and Bat were good friends, great gamblers, and tough lawmen.  The one thing about the lawmen of the west, they had to keep their cool, not back down, and when push came to shove be better with a 6 shooter than the bad guys.  Earp was known for bullying cowboys who caused problems and would throw just about anyone in jail if they got on his nerves to bad. Doc Holliday also makes an appearance in this book because he was one of Wyatt's close friends.  Doc and Bat never really cared for each other but both were close to Wyatt.  This book centralizes around Dodge City, but Clavin does a good job giving you a feel oh what life was like and how marshall's and cowboys often got into squabbles.  

Although Dodge City  has the Author's Note, Illustrations, Bibliography, and Index of a non-fiction book, the tone and lack of scholarly footnotes makes the book appear more like one of the hybrid non-fiction/fiction books recently made popular by writers such as Erik Larson.  It is an account of how the Earp and Masterson families brought frontier justice to the "wickedest town in the American west" during the late Nineteenth Century.
A lot of interesting facts come to light throughout the tale.  Parts of the book are particularly entertaining and will undoubtedly appeal to the western reader, though scholars may argue the accuracy of some minor details.  The latter half of the book is the most engaging.
But whereas writers like Larson manage to effortlessly weave their history within a narrative setting, Clavin's work is clunky and too reliant on a journalistic approach, darting around from person to person, following after minor characters, with no consistent timeline, story, or authorial voice to join things together.  In Chapter Ten, Clavin adopts a casual tone:  "After all that Bat had been through on many a hoof-beaten trail, this town probably seemed like a good place to slap the dust off his clothes, wet his whistle, and enjoy the company of good gamblers and not-so-good women (118)."  Yet three chapters later a more academic voice explains, "In May 1877, The Kansas City Times sent one of its reporters the 335 miles west to give readers a glimpse of the young city on the edge of the frontier that the people in the east were hearing more and more about.  He stepped off the train at 8.30 A.M., 'in the tranquil stillness of the morning.  In this respect Dodge is peculiar.  She awakens from her slumbers about eleven A.M., takes her sugar and lemon at twelve, a square meal at one P.M., commences biz at two o'clock, gets lively at four, and at ten it is hip-liiphurrail till five in the morning (151)'."  This mix of popular and academic writing does not work well together.
That said, I believe Dodge City is worth reading for the detailed insight into Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson.  I particularly enjoyed Clavin's efforts to show how these figures interacted with other legends of the American west.  And I certainly know a whole lot more about Dodge City than I ever did before!

I wasn't quite sure what to expect with this book. When I think of the Wild West I think of tall tales, larger-than-life characters, whiskey, gunfights, and cattle rustlers hanged at dawn.

And yes, that's all in here. But what I wasn't expecting was the attention to historicity - the debunking - the straightforward, methodical style of a historian, interested in debunking the myths and getting to the facts about Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and the bizarre cast of supporting characters.

Clavin takes a chronological approach, touching on the childhood and family lives of the two men before proceeding with a straightforward narration of their lives as they played out. He detours into the economy of places, the routes of trains, the ongoing wars and the reasons for their prosecution - just enough to help you understand what might have motivated a man of the time to do as these did. He also attempts to show a personality. For instance, Wyatt Earp was a drifter with a bunch of odd jobs before he became a Marshal - he didn't like to stay anywhere very long, whether as a faro dealer, a cattle driver, or a hired gun - and I never quite realized that about him. But in the context provided of his upbringing and family life it made sense.

If I had a criticism of this book, it is that it always makes sense. Clavin is not the most dramatic of storytellers - he is a competent wordsmith, never a master prose stylist - and the level of excitement can wane, especially if you were expecting Lonesome Dove II. But ultimately the picture painted of the Wild West is a place that, because recognizable, sensible and tethered by so many strands to reality, stays in the mind as a vivid portrait.

So if you're ready to put down the romance-novels-for-big-boys and pick up a work of real history, this is the book!

Although the main focus of this book is Dodge City, its founding and evolution, there is so much more information packed into this tome to make it more of a history of the Old West – along with highlights of the lives of so many of its colorful characters. Although Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson are the main ones, including their brothers and their women, several other well-known legends are also featured to varying degrees. These include: Doc Holiday, Buffalo Bill Cody, Wild Bill Hickok, Billy the Kid, Pat Garret, the James brothers, Kit Carson, and so many more - many of whom I’d never heard of.

I found the book highly informative and written in a prose that is friendly, lively, frequently humorous and often quite gripping. The author is careful in warning the reader at the outset about how fact and legend tend to be intertwined in much of the popular literature about the lives and times of these famous people. Consequently, he makes related comments throughout as to the veracity of some of the various stories are recounted. This book should be of particular interest to readers who are curious about what really happened in the Old West.

A fair effort to tie the Earp's and Masterson's and Dodge City together. He would have done better to have written two separate books. One about the Earp's and Masterson's and one about Dodge city. Each would have been complicated enough in them selves to keep a scholar going in a linear direction. Although an arm chair scholar I have read countless books on these subjects and found this book wanted too many times. There is too often a feeling that the author is skimming. Not only with his writing but with his research. His characterization of Doc Holiday is a good example. It reads like he got a good lot of his information from Hollywood rather than serious research. The book isn't a train wreck by any means but it would pay one to do some research on their own before reading this work. It is thin in spots and very scattered. A very difficult undertaking taken on by someone not up to the task is my assessment.

Dodge City is a very good read. While I agree with another reviewer that I would have like more about the city nevertheless this is a book full to the brim with the old Wild West. Wyatt Earp and his brothers, Bat Materson and his brothers, Luke Short, Doc Holliday, Luke Short, Bill Tilghman, Wild Bill Hockock as well as the Second Battle of Adobe Walls and so much more are featured and highlighted. It's a feast of gunfights and cowboys, buffalo hunts and cattle drives. There have been many books about the Earps but now we have the story of Bat Materson, his brothers as well as the collaboration of Earps and Materson as lawmen. Even handed and fair in presentation nothing is glorified yet the story draws you in, creating a picture of the tough as nails lawmen and the city they helped to tame. It's quite a story well told and worth your time to read and enjoy.

Western history had never been high on my list of interests. But I recently finished the book Cattle Kingdom, which really shed a new and interesting light on that era, the changing economics of the time, and importantly, the evolution of law and order in the American West. I also read Killers of the Flower Moon, happening a bit later in history, and found it likewise fascinating. So I thought filling in the gaps with Dodge City would be a slam dunk.

The problem with the book lies not in its facts, which I'm sure are accurate and voluminous, but that there is no sense of real progression. The author seems to subscribe to the notion that more dates, names, and places make a more interesting story, and that's most certainly not the case here. Tangent after pointless tangent distract from any sense of flow. And unfortunately, at least through page 175 or so (where I stopped), it was constant. I rarely return a book too the library without finishing it, but I had to here.

What could have been an interesting story seemed more like rote recitation. It eventually just ground to a halt in a torrent of proper nouns and dates.

Very interesting, if a bit rambling at times. The title is somewhat misleading; this book is more a collection of stories about the western frontier than a history of a single town. Earp and Masterson are the most prominent characters, but author Tom Clavin throws in stories about dozens of other heroes and villains of the old west as well. In rambling narrative form, Clavin writes about everything from the history of the buffalo herds to the establishment of the railroad lines to the shootout at the OK Corral.

While a bit deficient in structure, Dodge City is both thoroughly researched and fun to read. I hadn't read much about this period in American history, so I learned a lot. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about the western frontier and the men who lived its tall tales.

I received a digital copy of this book for free from the publisher and was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I express in this review are entirely my own.

I grew up in rural Kansas, so the history of the midwest, especially the Old West era in Kansas, is near and dear to me. My husband is a huge fan of the fictionalized television show about Dodge City, Gunsmoke. I was so excited when I learned this book was coming out! I knew immediately my husband would love it. Reading about Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, Doc Holliday and other real characters and events in Dodge City will make him so happy! His book is on order....I can't wait for it to arrive!

Tom Clavin starts out by giving information about southwest Kansas before white settlers arrived. It was filled with Indian tribes fighting for territory, millions of buffalo, and wide open grassland. He talks about the conquistadors who came through exploring in the 1500s and Lewis & Clark in the early 1800s and those who followed after. Then Clavin moves into the era of westward movement, cattle drives, railroads and lawlessness in the prairie.

This book is just crammed full of well-researched information. At times, it seemed a bit disorganized but the history was interesting, even if not always related in linear fashion. Technically, the book really isn't just about Dodge City but relates stories about people, events and the history of the region.

I had to read this book a little bit at a time. When my brain went into fact-overload, I would take a break and come back later for more. Clavin gives factual insights into what Dodge City and the Old West was really like, and how the exaggerated stories in books and movies came about.

A wonderful read for anyone who enjoys history! Just keep in mind that this book is a non-fiction history, not a fictionalized story. Don't expect simple entertainment, but a journey through the real history of the region, the era and some of the famous people who battled to tame the west.

Tom Clavin is the author of 11 non-fiction books on famous people including Roger Maris and the DiMaggio brothers.

**I voluntarily read an Advance Readers copy of this book from St Martin's Press via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.**

I have enjoyed reading several books about colorful characters from the "Wild West" including biographies about Wild Bill Hickok, Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and Bat Masterson. There is no question the mid-late 1800s represented a very unruly era in the Midwest and western U.S. The confluence of buffalo hunting, transport of cattle, and the railroad industry created rapid expansion in the plains with associated creation of saloons, brothels, casinos, and merchandising along with lawlessness and battles with Indians. It is in that era that Dodge City sprang to life, and this book does a pretty good job of describing not only the origin of Dodge City but also its evolution as a major business hub, its inhabitants, and efforts to establish law and order. Most of the book centers around Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson, probably the two most important people in that era for establishing law and order in an otherwise unruly community, although there is brief attention paid to numerous other lawmen and colorful characters from the time period. The author volleys back and forth between the lives of Earp and Masterson and ventures off into tangential stories about others so frequently that, at times, it becomes difficult to follow the progression of events. And you will have to read about 100 pages into the book before much is learned about Dodge City. But his writing style is almost conversational, as though one is telling a story and not simply reciting history, so he keeps your interest throughout the book. It is fascinating to read about the time period, and the author does a good job of conveying what life was like in a wild and restless Dodge City back then.

The author strives for historical accuracy in this book, although several references are made to Wild Bill Hickok being killed by a shot in his back when it is widely known he was killed by a shot to the back of his head. This may be simply an error in editing but seems to be a pretty glaring error. The book sent to me for review was an advance edition (the book is not scheduled to be published until February 2017) so some additional editing may occur prior to being published. Also, the version sent to me had almost no photographs in it which is unusual for a historical book like this. The one small photo of Dodge City in the book is so small and blurry that, even with a magnifying glass, it offers very little detail. I would hope the finished edition will have better photos of Dodge and many of the people mentioned in the book.

Overall, this is an interesting book about Dodge City in the mid-late 1800s and provides a fair amount of biographical information about Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson during the times they spent in Dodge, although there are better and more complete biographies about Masterson, Earp, and Hickok by other authors that are worth reading separately as they led amazing lives that extended far beyond Dodge City. But this book is definitely worth reading by anyone interested in the Wild West, particularly Dodge City, Kansas, and the major players involved in bringing civilization to the plains after the Civil War.

I like this book, a lot, but I feel it reads more like a reference book than an actual "story" at times. It's not a tale of the old west like a Louis L'Amour or Larry McMurtry book (and Lonesome Dove et al. are just about my favorite westerns of all times). It is extremely thoroughly researched and very rich in detail. At times you might not want as much detail but I love a book full of details. I knew a little bit about the varied Earps, Doc Holliday, and very much enjoyed reading about the women in their lives. Big Nose Kate, Josephine Marcus Earp (who MAY be a relative of mine. I'm still working on the research), and the mothers, sisters, and wives of Bat Masterson, Wyatt Earp, and Earp brothers were an eclectic group worthy of their own mini-series, book, or film.

You will learn a great deal of the history of the midwest, law enforcement in the 1800s, and much more!

This is the first book by Mr. Clavin that I have read and I look forward to reading other books.

Full disclosure: I was sent an ARC by the publisher (to write my opinion!)

Dodge City: Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and the Wickedest Town in the American West by Tom Clavin was received direct from the publisher. Dodge City is a name everyone over the age of 35 remembers seeing in television westerns. Yes, this town actually exists. Author Clavin did his research well and presents a captivating history of this town and some of its more famous residents. Not only does he research this town but a history of the settlement of the American west is detailed. This includes many other towns we have all heard of that sprang up for different reasons and the true west characters that shared those spaces. If you like history of the American West or certain people or events in particular, they may well be in this book which is recommended to be on every history buffs shelves, be it virtual or physical. While not particularly interesting to the average reader, this book even mentions the civil war battle of Fredericktown, MO which is near where I grew up. I knew a battle had occurred there but no specifics, until now. Highly recommended.

Five Stars

The biggest legend uncritically repeated is that of Big-Nose Kate.

Yes, she was from Hungary, and yes, her father was a doctor.

He never worked for Emperor Maximilian, though, and the family came to the US straight from Hungary. Nor were the family descendants of nobility.

And, these legends have all been refuted long ago.

There are lesser errors here, too. None big, and none of them would get more than a star dinged.

But this one gets the book a huge kick.

Informative, and extremely detailed. The author seems to have gone to great lengths to find out what he could about Dodge City, and the colorful list of characters that went through it during this period.
But I found the writing far too dry. At times it basically just seemed like a long list of names and events.

One of the best 'fact-books' I've read, on the old west and these men. I learned a lot. The only problem is Tom is prone to resort to old western movie cliches when he writes. I sometimes felt like I was reading scripts of old spaghetti westerns. Or as if he put all the facts on postcards and basically tied one card to another as a book--the segues being kind of amateurish. But again, it's a solid historical accounting.

A meandering history that would've benefited from some judicious editing. Earp and Masterson make guest appearances, but are frequently sidelined by minor characters, odd anecdotes and baffling transitions. There's no question that Clavin chose a compelling subject, but this book doesn't do it justice.

I have not finished reading the book, but certain parts of what I have read make me question the rest. For instance, he gets details wrong on the killing if Billy the Kid, the death of Pat Garrett, and the death of Dirty Dave Rudabaugh. He says that Wes Hardin was killed in El Paso (true), but that he was there as a witness in a trial (untrue; his law practice was in El Paso). Such minor details make me wonder what he gets wrong when dealing with his actual subject.

It has been a while since I read something on the Old West, and I have to say that I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected. I think a lot of that is in the approach to the material; you have a picture take shape that is very historical in nature, and yet it does not bog down in the subject. That makes it a quick and easy read that allows you to enjoy the subject matter while also envisioning the overall setting and individuals involved.

In my opinion, a good read.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Clavin deftly weaves the relationship between Bat Masterson and his brother and Wyatt Earp and his brothers along with how they met Doc Holliday. He also brings to life people like Dirty Dave Rudabaugh and Clay Allison. Sorry to reach the end of the book!

I guess it's a testament to our endless fascination with the Wild West that this rather indifferently written book based on a lot of dubious sources (which are often all that's available) became a bestseller. The author smothers the narrative in a welter of trivia about the minute-by-minute movements of the main characters, as well as far too much detail about characters insignificant to the narrative. Clavin tries to gussy it up at times but the truth is, the West was settled in the early days by the dregs of America- con men, prostitutes, and plenty of outright murderers. Also note how many times that the first man killed in a new town is a black man.

Clavin brings the west back to life in his new work. The novel follows the life's of Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson and how they came to tame Dodge City in the 1870's through the early 1880's. Clavin also gives life to all the side characters Earp and Masterson meet, friend or foe.

I was a First Read Winner of this book and I found it very interesting and I liked it a lot. I have heard of Wyatt Earp of course, but to be honest I did not know very much about Bat Masterson and Dodge City. This book really sheds some light onto that time period and what it was like to be a lawman or a regular citizen, the Author really did a great job of transporting me back in time. I would recommend this book for any history buff or somebody like me who just wanted to learn a bit more about a fascinating time. Now I don't want to preach in any way, but it really made me think that we needed to rethink our stand on gun control, because lets face it, we are not in the Wild Wild West anymore.

I really enjoyed reading this fact based historical book about the area that I live in! These two authors really do a wonderful job making factual information an exciting read. I could not wait to get another book authored by them: "The Heart Of Everything That Is" (The untold story of Red Cloud) Another winner!

Mr. Clavin's book is less about the reunion of Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson for the Dodge City War than a collection of true, half true and doubtful tales of shootists in the old west. Whatever the book lacks in veracity is more than made up in readability. "Dodge City" keeps the legend alive, and that is a good thing.

I recevied a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of Net Galley and St. Martins Press, the publisher. It was in exchange for a review posted on Net Galley, Goodreads, the store and my history review blog. I also posted it on my Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Plus pages.

I requested this book as I have an interest in the history of the American West and have never read anything about Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson or Dodge City. It is the first book by Tom Clavin that I have read.

The book is well researched, but unfortunately the title is misleading. It is a collection of alternating chapters about Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson with some revolving around Dodge City and some not. The individual chapters themselves are good and read like short stories. It is also disjointed in that the time frames are not in chronological order making it difficult to follow at times.. An example is the author mentions something and then states that it will be covered in more detail later in the book.

Overall, I would not recommend this book to the serious student of history, but to those who are looking for a read on the subject that the bouncing around does not disturb.

A meandering history that would've benefited from some judicious editing. Earp and Masterson make guest appearances, but are frequently sidelined by minor characters, odd anecdotes and baffling transitions. There's no question that Clavin chose a compelling subject, but this book doesn't do it justice.

I have not finished reading the book, but certain parts of what I have read make me question the rest. For instance, he gets details wrong on the killing if Billy the Kid, the death of Pat Garrett, and the death of Dirty Dave Rudabaugh. He says that Wes Hardin was killed in El Paso (true), but that he was there as a witness in a trial (untrue; his law practice was in El Paso). Such minor details make me wonder what he gets wrong when dealing with his actual subject.

It has been a while since I read something on the Old West, and I have to say that I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected. I think a lot of that is in the approach to the material; you have a picture take shape that is very historical in nature, and yet it does not bog down in the subject. That makes it a quick and easy read that allows you to enjoy the subject matter while also envisioning the overall setting and individuals involved.

In my opinion, a good read.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Clavin deftly weaves the relationship between Bat Masterson and his brother and Wyatt Earp and his brothers along with how they met Doc Holliday. He also brings to life people like Dirty Dave Rudabaugh and Clay Allison. Sorry to reach the end of the book!

I guess it's a testament to our endless fascination with the Wild West that this rather indifferently written book based on a lot of dubious sources (which are often all that's available) became a bestseller. The author smothers the narrative in a welter of trivia about the minute-by-minute movements of the main characters, as well as far too much detail about characters insignificant to the narrative. Clavin tries to gussy it up at times but the truth is, the West was settled in the early days by the dregs of America- con men, prostitutes, and plenty of outright murderers. Also note how many times that the first man killed in a new town is a black man.

Clavin brings the west back to life in his new work. The novel follows the life's of Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson and how they came to tame Dodge City in the 1870's through the early 1880's. Clavin also gives life to all the side characters Earp and Masterson meet, friend or foe.

I was a First Read Winner of this book and I found it very interesting and I liked it a lot. I have heard of Wyatt Earp of course, but to be honest I did not know very much about Bat Masterson and Dodge City. This book really sheds some light onto that time period and what it was like to be a lawman or a regular citizen, the Author really did a great job of transporting me back in time. I would recommend this book for any history buff or somebody like me who just wanted to learn a bit more about a fascinating time. Now I don't want to preach in any way, but it really made me think that we needed to rethink our stand on gun control, because lets face it, we are not in the Wild Wild West anymore.

I really enjoyed reading this fact based historical book about the area that I live in! These two authors really do a wonderful job making factual information an exciting read. I could not wait to get another book authored by them: "The Heart Of Everything That Is" (The untold story of Red Cloud) Another winner!

Mr. Clavin's book is less about the reunion of Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson for the Dodge City War than a collection of true, half true and doubtful tales of shootists in the old west. Whatever the book lacks in veracity is more than made up in readability. "Dodge City" keeps the legend alive, and that is a good thing.

I recevied a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of Net Galley and St. Martins Press, the publisher. It was in exchange for a review posted on Net Galley, Goodreads, the store and my history review blog. I also posted it on my Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Plus pages.

I requested this book as I have an interest in the history of the American West and have never read anything about Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson or Dodge City. It is the first book by Tom Clavin that I have read.

The book is well researched, but unfortunately the title is misleading. It is a collection of alternating chapters about Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson with some revolving around Dodge City and some not. The individual chapters themselves are good and read like short stories. It is also disjointed in that the time frames are not in chronological order making it difficult to follow at times.. An example is the author mentions something and then states that it will be covered in more detail later in the book.

Overall, I would not recommend this book to the serious student of history, but to those who are looking for a read on the subject that the bouncing around does not disturb.

The first three chapters are awful, I skimmed most of chapter 3. One example is that it would have been enough to say who Wyatt's father was and that he was from Ireland, but it was totally unnecessary to delve into his ancestry back to the 1600s. That made it horribly boring and tedious, like reading the begats in the Bible. The proof-reading could be better, for example page 32, last paragraph, first sentence reads "When Virgil came home, all he was told was that his wife and son were gone." The author just got done telling us in the previous 5 or 6 paragraphs that it was his wife and DAUGHTER that left!

In the fourth chapter it picks up a bit as far as events and more interesting descriptions of the times and people, but the writing is still tedious. I paid money for the book so I'm trying to get my moneys worth, so I'll keep reading for a while.

UPDATE: When I posted this review, I put it down and never picked it up again. It just recently went to Goodwill.

MANY FACTUAL ERRORS REGARDING WYATT EARP, DOC HOLIDAY, AND BILLY THE KID. ALSO INCORRECT AS TO HOW :"GUN FIGHTS" ACTUALLY OCCURED IN THAT TIME PERIOD AND HOW GUNS WERE CARRIED. AUTHER INCORRECTLY DESCRIBED THE
PRACTICE OF" BUFFALOING" IN THAT TIME PERIOD, AND THE LIST GOES ON. SHODDY RESEARCH!

ROGER SECCIA
WANTAGE, NJ

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and St. Martins Press in exchange for a fair and honest review. Thank you!?

I found this book entertaining and informative. I’ve always been interested in the story of Wyatt Earp and so I requested this book. In my opinion the book shines because it doesn’t just concentrate on the “good guys”, Bat Masterson, the brothers Earp, Doc Holiday, etc. but it also gives the back story to some of the outlaws who were active at the time, William Bonney, etc. A good start for anyone who would like to know about the history of the “Wild West”.

I was terribly disappointed in this book. The author seems to have no historical training, which affects he puts and what he doesn't. He's not much a writer either. He seems to be counting on the fact that the subject is popular so he can sell books. But the quality is actually pretty awful.