Jerome Times

by Terry Molloy, Terry Molloy

Jerome, Arizona was called "the wickedest city in America" by the New York Sun. It was, in fact, one of the wildest of the Wild West boom towns. The "official" history of Jerome has been well documented in many other books. From its humble beginnings as a rough mining camp, to its explosion into a wild, twenty-four hour a day boom town, to its collapse into an almost deserted ghost town - all of this is well known. Its eventual rebirth into an artist colony and global tourist attraction is also common knowledge. However, there is a hidden, little spoken of history that is not a part of the "official" canon. "Jerome Times" offers that version with a story for every decade of the town's history. In "Jerome Times" you will encounter the stories known only to the oldtimers, outlaws, and outcasts who's version of things don't fit into the "approved" timeline. In this book you will meet people as diverse as Wyatt Earp and Don Juan Matus, as different as the shooter from the grassy knoll and Robert Oppenheimer, as groundbreaking as Zelda Fitzgerald and Elvis. These are stories that have been told and retold among locals throughout the town's life. Some call them legends, some call them myths, some swear they are god's honest truth. History will be the judge.

566 pages, Perfect Paperback

First published July 16, 2008

Reviews

[Lora]

I love Jerome and these stories were fun to read although disjointed. Interesting local lore.