Dodge City: Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and the Wickedest Town in the American West (Frontier Lawmen) in Obsessed with True Crime

Apr 12, 2021 Jim rated it really liked it

Shelves: history, western, biography, non-fiction

Truckloads of books have been written about the Earps and their stay in Tombstone. Fleets of trucks would be required to transport everything written on the fight at the O.K. Corral. What is often ignored is the fact that these worthies maintained law and order in Dodge city before moving to Tombstone. In this endeavor they were associated with Bat Masterson, a lawman who just may have cut a wider swath than Wyatt Earp.

In spite of the fact that all of this stuff has been written about until Hell ...more

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Dec 16, 2016 Dachokie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: history

Wild West “Who’s Who” …

This book was reviewed as part of Amazon's Vine program which included a free copy of the book.

I’ve never taken any particular interest in America’s western adventures in the 1800s and I’m not a big fan of Western movies (although HBO’s “Deadwood” was certainly a worthy watch). With that being said, I gave DODGE CITY a shot and found myself more immersed in the story than I ever could have imagined. Tom Clavin provides a clearly detailed history that manages to separate my Wild West “Who’s Who” …

This book was reviewed as part of Amazon's Vine program which included a free copy of the book.

I’ve never taken any particular interest in America’s western adventures in the 1800s and I’m not a big fan of Western movies (although HBO’s “Deadwood” was certainly a worthy watch). With that being said, I gave DODGE CITY a shot and found myself more immersed in the story than I ever could have imagined. Tom Clavin provides a clearly detailed history that manages to separate myth from reality to paint a clearer and more accurate portrayal of the “Wild West”.

First of all, the book’s title is a little deceptive. While Dodge City serves as hub of connectivity amongst many of the individuals and stories outlined in the book, Clavin’s focus is centered more on the lives of Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, their families and to a large degree, Doc Holliday.

Chronologically written, Clavin painstakingly traces the roots of the frontier town and how it became the glue that bonded so many of the legendary and infamous names we often associate with the “Wild West”. The author dismantles the oft-embellished tales that made men like Earp, Masterson and Holliday more like the “Western American Superheroes” they are so frequently portrayed in books and cinema. While the accolades and lore certainly add flair and make for great storytelling, the actual truth behind these men (flaws and all) don’t diminish their significance, but makes them appear much more complex, intelligent, interesting and diverse. This book sets and example of how the truth can make history more interesting.

What really makes this book hum is Clavin’s fluid writing style which manages to condense almost a century of history into an entertaining brew of one exciting story after another. The chapters are brief, yet hearty; they allow the book to be read in short doses that can become somewhat addictive … I found myself always wanting to make time to read a extra chapter or two. The book’s biggest draw, however, is the history itself. I found DODGE CITY to be a one-stop shop for almost EVERY famous/infamous name associated with the American West. In addition to detailing the lives of Earp, Masterson and Holliday, we discover that these men crossed paths at some point with Buffalo Bill Cody, Wild Bill Hickok, Pat Garrett, Billy the Kid, John Wesley Hardin, the James Brothers (Frank and Jesse) and even President Teddy Roosevelt. The common bond between Earp and Masterson that led to these interactions was their off-and-on employment as lawmen and their nomadic nature (they never seemed content to stay in one place for any lengthy period of time … including an excursion to Alaska, of all places). The lawlessness associated with the general dangers of the frontier mixed with drinking, gambling, prostitution and the penchant for settling scores with firearms certainly provides a treasure of stories to be told; Clavin surely takes advantage of this. Although, Earp and Masterson are glorified as deadly “gunslingers”, they were actually more likely to use brains and “buffaloing” (pistol-whipping) than a six-shooter to maintain order. In addition to the more tempered nature of enforcing laws, we find that there were numerous occasions where Earp, Masterson and Holliday were on the wrong end of the law themselves. Some of the most interesting aspects of the book involve the ongoing problems these men experience with gambling, drinking and women. Surprisingly, many of the individuals covered in the book (who survived the violence) lived to be quite old (in their 80s and 90s).

What I really found fascinating was how the lives of these men traversed the almost primitive-like history of the dirty and dangerous world of gun fighting, buffalo hunting and battles with various Indian tribes to the turn of the 20th Century. It is hard to imagine a storyline that covers the dusty O.K. Corral gunfight and a world of stagecoach robberies to covering heavyweight boxing matches in New York City and an appointment by Teddy Roosevelt, but DODGE CITY does just that. An era that includes two worlds: one with Jesse James and another with Al Capone and even Ty Cobb.

DODGE CITY is certainly an enjoyable and enlightening read. This is one of those books that allows your imagination to play out the stories being told and those stories come, one after another. Wonderfully written history that grabs readers from start to finish.
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May 09, 2017 Dave Courtney rated it really liked it

For me, my interest in the "wild west" of American's past often revolves around it's eccentric characters. And in Clavin's novel, "Dodge City", we get plenty of character. While the title tips it's hat to the intersecting stories of Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson, we get plenty of cameo's along the way, including the likes of Wild Bill (Hickok), Buffalo Bill (Cody), Billy the kid, and of course a few giddy mentions of my favourite pairing, the James Brothers.

But it does (or should) not take long t For me, my interest in the "wild west" of American's past often revolves around it's eccentric characters. And in Clavin's novel, "Dodge City", we get plenty of character. While the title tips it's hat to the intersecting stories of Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson, we get plenty of cameo's along the way, including the likes of Wild Bill (Hickok), Buffalo Bill (Cody), Billy the kid, and of course a few giddy mentions of my favourite pairing, the James Brothers.

But it does (or should) not take long to realize that, beyond these familiar names, the most interesting character in Clavin's history of the Wild West is actually Dodge City itself. And for good reason. How a city so small, seemingly so insignificant, came to embody it's legendary status is fascinating stuff, and Clavin makes it clear from the get-go- separating legend from fact is likely the most difficult job of the historian when it comes to these unregulated legends of the Wild West, but when the fact is pulled to the surface, what we realize is that it ends up just as good, just as compelling, maybe even more so.

A big reason for this confusing mash-up of legend and fact is the nature of America's Western expansion. It is incredibly revealing to see Clavin unraveling his picture of a uncivilized West while at the same time giving a nod back to the more civilized East (well, sort of anyways). It seems rather obvious to state that these two worlds co-existed at the same time, but recognizing this truth helps to shed light the way in which the story of Dodge City managed to travel to such lengths (as it did) over such a brief period of time. There was a very real mix of fear, fascination, villianization and romanticism that littered the perception of the West in the eyes of the East. For those in the East, the Western expansion was directly connected to the idea of Manifest Destiny, a glamourized idea of a new world taking root from coast to coast, an imagining of the perceived potential of such unconquered territories. But for those in the West, both the inhabitants and the colonizers, the truth of this "expansion romance" was far more complicated and messy. And, as it would seem, in the middle of this mess lied a once unassuming territory that would come to be known as Dodge City, a city that would be come renown for its worst moments (of drunks, prostitution and general lawlessness), and romanticized by its best (the almost super human presentations of those who were perceived to have tamed it). In reality, Dodge City was a complex place that just happened to find itself at the intersection of America's romance with expansion. What is even more intriguing is that, in these ups and downs, these characters who tamed it were far from superhero's, and far more a complicated presence in a complicated town, equally mixed with the good and the bad.

Clavin does all of this history a great service, following a chronological journey from the perspective of Wyatt on one end and Masterson on another as the city pulled them together like a magnet from either direction, but doing so without cluttering the history with theories or contrasting stories of legend and fact. He pulls the facts, and then weaves them into a compelling narrative, allowing us to engage with the Wild West as it was. And it is really is a fascinating picture to revel in, looking through the lens of the civil war, the push of the cattle drive, the expansion of the railroad (all important factors in allowing Dodge City to become the pit-stop that it was), and wrapping it around the important battles with the Indigenous and Mexican peoples (which takes us outwards of Dodge City to historical markers like the O.K. Corral), and the relationship with the Buffalo. It's colourful, unfortunate, intriguing, messy, thrilling, and captivating. And in all of this we get a chance to understand how a single city seemed to become the star of the show in an unexpected fashion. In all of this we get a picture of these super hero characters as they were, more a complicated mess of individuals who succeeded more on brains and outwitting than gunfighting (although there are gun fights, to be sure), and men who flirted with lawnessness but succeeded in knowing how not to step too far over the line, nomadic characters who succeeded by knowing when to settle and when to move on. And as we know now on this side of history, on the other side of Dodge Cities now legendary status in the American mythology, the story did carry on well beyond its hey day.

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