Product Description
Robert Nesbit's classic single-volume history ofWisconsin was expanded by Wisconsin State Historian William F.Thompson to include the period from 1940 to the late 1980s, alongwith updated bibliographies and appendices. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

excited about Wisconsin History
This scholarly work helps me to appreciate the great state that I live in.I am a history buff and love to learn about the background of places, especially those close to me.This book will help me to continue to grow in my knowledge and love of my state. ... Read more

Product Description
This volume is produced from digital images created through the University of Michigan University LibraryÕs preservation reformatting program. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (1)

Hell Looks Different Now
I thought this book was well written and provided me with a feeling of how it was to revist some of the places where the author served as a young man. I was surprised at how well paced it was. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

Doc Holliday
The book was in great condition like I was told.
It took some time to get here but Im just glad I got it.

Worth reading just for the pure art of the writing
Just finished this one, the writing style is from a different age, which fits the story to a "T".Just a wonderfully written work, well researched and fast paced.

Seems to be mostly' made up ', a laStuart Lake
Myers did not get the streetfight ( gunfight ) parts even close to being correct.

Into the West
I am not an Old West buff, more of an historian's interest in the subject but I don't seek out every possible book I can, I get ones that interest me. So I picked up John Myers Myers book on Doc Holliday. It's a small text, just over 220 pages, originally published in 1955, and is purportedly the first biography of Doc Holliday. However, the book isn't necessarily about John "Doc" Holliday; it's more about the era of Doc. There is lots of flavor text throughout the early part of thebook that makes you almost forget this is about Doc Holliday. We follow Doc from Georgia and into Texas where begins his life of gambling and 'outlawry'. Doc meets Wyatt Earp and, of course, ends up in Tombstone. From here, the next section of the book is more about the history of Tombstone within we have the cowboys/outlaws vs Earps who happen to have Doc on their side. Don't get me wrong, it's really quite well done and interesting, but the focus is once again drifted away from Doc. Thereafter we travel to Colorado and the aftermath of Tombstone politics. This is where I learned the most about Doc, the dirty crud that continued to plague Doc and the Earps after they got away from events in Arizona.

Overall, very good book on the life cycle of a colorful character but not necessarily a biography so much as an observer-peeking-at-an interesting-fellow. Maybe that's what separates this biography from others, Myers sets it up so you can see the events through details rather than giving the outline of point by point presumed facts in a lifeless text. Good book, definitely belongs on any Old West bookshelf.

good work
a real effort has been made to separate fact from fiction. This is uncommon wherehistories tend to be factionalized.

A good read. ... Read more

Product Description
Published, 1899.

(Excerpt:)
CHAPTER II.


THE BEGINNING OF HOSTILITIES.


A COLORED HERO IN THE NAVY.

History records the Negro as the first man to fall in three wars of
America--Crispus Attacks in the Boston massacre, March 5, 1770; an
unknown Negro in Baltimore when the Federal troops were mobbed in
that city _en route_ to the front, and Elijah B. Tunnell, of Accomac
county, Virginia, who fell simultaneously with or a second before
Ensign Bagley, of the torpedo boat _Winslow_, in the harbor of
Cardenas May 11, 1898, in the Spanish-American war.

Elijah B. Tunnell was employed as cabin cook on the _Winslow_. The
boat, under a severe fire from masked batteries of the Spanish on
shore, was disabled. The Wilmington came to her rescue, the enemy
meanwhile still pouring on a heavy fire. It was difficult to get the
"line" fastened so that the _Winslow_ could be towed off out of range
of the Spanish guns. Realizing the danger the boat and crew were in,
and anxious to be of service, Tunnell left his regular work and went
on deck to assist in "making fast" the two boats, and while thus
engaged a shell came, which, bursting over the group of workers,
killed him and three others. It has been stated in newspaper reports
of this incident that it was an ill-aimed shell of one of the American
boats that killed Tunnell and Bagley. Tunnell was taken on board the
Wilmington with both legs blown off, and fearfully mutilated. Turning
to those about him he asked, "Did we win in the fight boys?" The reply
was, "Yes."

He said, "Then I die happy." While others fell at the post of duty it
may be said of this brave Negro that he fell while doing _more_ than
his duty. He might have kept out of harm's way if he had desired, but
seeing the situation he rushed forward to relieve it as best he could,
and died a "volunteer" in service, doing what others ought to have
done. All honor to the memory of Elijah B. Tunnell, who, if not
the first, certainly simultaneous with the first, martyr of the
Spanish-American war. While our white fellow-citizens justly herald
the fame of Ensign Bagley, who was known to the author from his youth,
let our colored patriots proclaim the heroism of Tunnell of Accomac.
While not ranking as an official in the navy, yet he was brave, he was
faithful and we may inscribe over his grave that "he died doing what
he could for his country."....

... Read more

Product Description
Eaten by tuberculosis, sustained by alcohol, John Henry "Doc" Holliday walked the streets of Dodge City, Dallas, Denver, Leadville, Deadwood, and Tombstone in their roistering heydays. In his biography of this frontier legend, Pat Jahns also includes a full account of the famous shootout at the O.K. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Heavy on newspaper reprints and opinion......light on facts.
Not well written. Disjointed. Over all a poor effort. Much better books on the subject are available.

An interesting look at Doc Holiday but may not be wholly accurate.
As a fan of westerns all my life, I became interested in the exploits of Wyatt Earp, Doc Holiday and other old west legends.I also have seen the numerous versions of the OK Corral shoot outs on the screen and wondered which was the most accurate story about that incident. The author of this book does a good job of being objective when it comes to the many stories and legends surrounding Holiday and his relationsip with the Earps.Like the other reviewers, I did not like the way the author using her poetic license to assume what Holiday actually thought and felt at the time.I realize she was just attempting to make Holiday more real to the reader, but other experts do not agree with this author on many points.Nevertheless, I thought it was a good read and she gave a fairly good evaluation of the personality of Doc Holiday.How many men he may have killed can be debated, but he was clearly a fearless gunman and loyal to his friends.In conclusion, I think this book will be of some interest to anyone with a passion for the old west. Rating: 3 Stars.Joseph J. Truncale (Author:Martial Art Myths, Season of the Warrior, Never trust a Politician, Monadnock Defensive Tactics System, Use of the Monadnock Straight Baton, PR-24 Police Baton Advanced Techniques).

WASTE OF VALUABLE TIME
OSTENSIBLY THIS IS A BIOGRAPHY OF DOC HOLIDAY.IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THE FASHIONS OF THE DAY - MALE AND FEMALE AND THE COLOR OF THE WINDOWS IN THE SALOONS THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU.IF YOU WANT TO KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT DOC READ THE FUNNY PAGES BECAUSE THEY ARE MORE ACCURATE.AS A BIOGRAPHY THIS BOOK IS SO BAD IT NEVER SHOULD HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED.I WOULD AVOID IT. SHE DOES ALMOST NO IN DEPTH INVESTIGATION OF HOLIDAY, ALL SHE DOES IS TELL WHERE HE HAS GONE OR WHAT HE THINKS. I THOUGHT ALL THE MIND READERS BELONGED TO THE X-MEN. SHE DOES A GREATER DISSERVICE TO WYATT EARP.SHE WRITES AND REPRINTS ALL THE BAD PRESS HE GOT AFTER THE OK CORRAL AND DUMPS ON HIM ENDLESSLY.SHE OBVIOUSLY DOES NOT LIKE HIM AND MAKES NO ATTEMPT TO INVESTIGATE IF WHAT SHE PRINTS ABOUT HIM IS TRUE OR NOT.SHE JUST WANTS HIM TO LOOK BAD.

Poor writing
While the subject of the book is indeed interesting, the author is not the best writer I've ever read.It's as if she thought she were going to be paid by the word and truly goes overboard with her descriptions.She writes from Doc Holliday's point of view, which I find extremely irritating.I'd much rather she just tell the story of his life rather than try to figure out what he was thinking.My advice is to choose a different title and different author.

Doc Holliday
Born a Catholic near Atlanta, Holliday went to dental school in Baltimore, but because of consumption gave up on that career (except for a while in Denver). He became a professional gambler (and drunk), and was in Tombstone for the fight at the O.K. Corral. Johns tells Holliday's story in a non-scholarly, conversational manner, and can be quite sardonic at times. This makes the book entertaining and pleasurable to read. She also offers lots of quotes from contemporary newspapers. Factually it's accurate; a more modern biography might get into more psychobabbling over Doc's motives and behavior, but I don't miss any of that at all. A well-written, straight ahead biography. ... Read more

Product Description
He came from the American South, a gentleman by breeding, a dentist by training, a gambler by vocation. But as Dr. John H. Holliday, a man fleeing his tragic past, drifted across the West, living among some of the roughest men on the frontier, word spread quickly he never walked away from a fight, and he never drew too late.

Now, from Dodge City to Denver and Cheyenne, from boomtown to sinkholes, "Doc" Holliday was driven by the demons of his past, a skilled gambler and a seasoned mankiller--his name was known and feared long before the O.K. Corral. The story of a man who spoke softly and carried a lightning gun, this is Matt Braun's extraordinary chronicle of the West's most complex and legendary figure.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

Good book with fatal flaw
Doc Holliday by Matt Braun is one of the best fictionalized treatments I've read regarding this subject matter in a long, long time.Except it has one fatal, and one has to add unforgivable, flaw.

It ends before the gunfight at the O.K. Corral takes place, when Holliday is still in Prescott, AZ.

Everything else about the novel clicks.Characterization is dead on, pacing, imagery, the writing itself is very good. Braun often ends the chapters on a little philosophical note which gets tiresome, and sometimes he changes POV in midstream, but the overall story of human tragedy/romance/brutality is handled very well.

I almost can't recommend this novel because of the unbelievable choice not to include the famous gunfight. Frankly, it's stupefying. I'm reading Braun's earlier work right now, Wyatt Earp, which I'm assuming delves into the fight at the O.K. Corral at some length.At least one hopes. Still, it would have been nice seeing that famous battle through Doc's eyes as Earp's. It really is unconscionable.

But aside from that I admit the overall impact of this story, though lessened, remains with the reader for some time. Braun really brings this world alive. You can do a lot worse than his novel about this famous gambler/shootist.

Give it a peek.

A Different Treatment
The book offers a sideways glance at Doc Holliday without any pretence at pure biography.Many of the historical facts about the towns, hotels, streets, etc. added a very nice element to this very different treatment of Doc.I enjoyed the book for exactly for its lightness.It captured the gentillity and education of Doc in a way that was neither snobbish or condescending.

I enjoy Matt's books immensely though I am a harsh star rater.I would have assigned the book 3.5 stars if the option had been available.

Proficient if superficial biographical novel
Many Matt Braun novels are biographies of notable Western figures and they have become less revisionist and debunking in tone with the passage of time .Earlier works like Tombstone and Manhunter were quite savage in their treatment of men like Wyatt Earp but time has seemingly mellowed Mr Braun and the works have become more respectful ,while thankfully never becoming mere hagiographies . They have however become more formulaic and less interesting in tone .
This is an instance for the book romantices Holliday the shootist and gambler whom we first encounter when he is diagnosed with the consumption that was eventually to kill him .Leaving his native Atlanta and his betrothed , his cousin Mattie ,he sets out for the West hoping the climate will prolong his life .From town to town he drifts building a reputation as a mankiller and a gambler and Braun is at pains to point out his killings were always in self-defence and at the expense of cardsharps and cheaters .
The novel develops a repetitive quality as the incidents are remarkably similar and the middle part of the books is laboured and faintly tedious enlivened mainly by his sparky relationship with the saloon girl Katie Elder ,an unregenerate prostitute and with the loyal Lottie a faro dealer whose love and regard for Holliday are neatly and unsentimentally etched .There is an effecting passage dealing with the severing of his engagement to Mattie that is quietly moving .
Overall while the setting changes --Cheyenne .Texas , Dodge City -the pattern of building a reputation , killing in self -defence and moving on ,does not and eventually becomes a tad wearisome .
In the final part of the book we read of his growing friendship with Wyatt Earp but the book ends before he links with Wyatt in the most famous incident of his careeer ,the O K Corral shootout .It ends with Doc in transit for Tombstone and that notable if over hyped fight .
Doc is well drwan by Braun -a romantic ,doomed and erudite man with a penchent for Shakespeare ( a scene where he defends a classical actor from the drunken saloon patrons is pure My Darling Clementine ) .The dry sardonic graveyard humour of the man is compelling and the aura of death surrounding him comes from within as well as being based on his proficiency with guns

Plain and unfussy style is placed at the service of a fictionalised chronicle rather than a novel

Its okay but too long and the author has done better.

Couldn't put it down.
I found myself not wanting to put it down.Page after page I felt like I was there watching the poker game, and smelling the smoke from the gun that just went off. I liked the way that Matt made you think about how each day Doc suffered with his illness and he kept on going. I highly recomend this book. A must read.I bough it three years ago and have read it several time.

Fact or Fiction?
Although some of what is contained within the pages of "Doc Holliday: The Gunfighter" is fact, most of the book's 312 pages contain fiction.I would equate Braun's book with the Hollywood tales told over the past several decades: truth hidden within "dramatic license" including the great film Tombstone.It is unfortunate that Braun does not tell readers that this is a work of fiction because, much like in the 1880s, people will believe that what is detailed-yet-not-substantiated is true thereby continuing the "legend" of Doc Holliday being a cold-blooded, gambling killer.

Braun's novel is a great read for those who have researched Doc Holliday (read the Holliday Tanner book) and know before opening the book that the forthcoming tales were drawn from a Wild West imagination and sources of long ago that did not verify the facts before being printed.

Just one example of miscontrued facts is the infamous sanatorium.Braun says in the closing chapter that Doc admitted himself to a sanatorium in Glendwood Springs (as is also referenced in the Tombstone film); however, a sanatorium never existed in Glenwood (Doc died at the Glendwood Hotel). ... Read more

Product Description
Originally published in 1970. The story of Haiti under the rule of Dr Frances Duvalier. Diederich lived in Haiti for fourteen years and had personal experience of the early Duvalier days and the period of Maloire's rule. Exposes the evil of Duvalier's rule and the tale of how Duvalier undid US policy. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Best book I have read on Haiti
The book is centrally about Francois Duvalier's presidency of Haiti which started in 1957.F. Duvalier died in power in 1971.It also summarizes events prior to Duvalier and even has a passage on Duvalier himself, which is rare.The details about Duvalier's rule and his most notorious creation--his parallel private army of Tontons Macoutes militia--are recounted with mastery.

Those who want an account of events since the 1970s will not be served here. Haiti has seen much change in the last 35 years and the influential personalities of the 50s and 60s are mostly out of the political scene now.For the serious student of Haiti, however, the penetrating account of Haitian society until the early 1970s contained here will serve as excellent background.Good historical bacground is generally a good idea, especially when figuring out a hard-to-fathom foreign land.Even 30-35 years later this book contributes well to a good grasp of Haiti in the 20th century.

Papa Doc and the Tonton Macoutes
"No one alive . . . is better qualified than Bernard Diederich to tell the horrifying story of Haiti under the rule of Dr. Fran?ois Duvalier. . . . What a story it is: tragic, terrifying, bizarre, even at times comic. Papa Doc sits in his bath wearing his top hat for meditating: the head of his enemy Philogenes stands on his desk: the hearse carrying another enemy's body is stolen by the Tonton Macoutes at the church door: the writer Alexis is stoned to death. . . . This is a very full account of Duvalier's reign which will be indispensable to future historians." -Graham Greene in the Foreword
"A detailed expose of the evil incarnate in Duvalier's rule. . . . Shakedowns of foreign businessmen, and their governments, are shown to be commonplace. . . . Torture . . . sometimes directed by the dictator himself . . . emerges as the cement to hold the police state together. . . . The frustrating counterpoint to this terror story is the tale of how Duvalier has undone United States policy and humiliated Washington." -Washington Post
"A truly revealing book." -St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Bernard Diederich was a correspondent for Time Magazine, covering Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. He has also written two other biographies of Latin American dictators. Al Burt was the longtime Latin America editor of the Miami Herald.
"Bernard Diederich and Al Burt chronicle in such detail and with such unpatronizing level-headedness in Papa Doc." -The New York Times

I lived it!
Wow....This books depicts a harsh reality.. it is amazingly real, and accurate.I was born in Haiti and I am a witness to this reality. If you want to know about Haiti, and US policy read it. I enjoyed it. ... Read more

Product Description
PERSONAL MEMOIRS

OF A

RESIDENCE OF THIRTY YEARS

WITH THE

INDIAN TRIBES

ON THE

AMERICAN FRONTIERS:

WITH BRIEF

NOTICES OF PASSING EVENTS, FACTS, AND OPINIONS,
A.D. 1812 TO A.D. 1842.

BY HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.



1851.
PREFACE
Ten years ago I returned from the area of the Mississippi Valley to New
York, my native State, after many years' residence and exploratory
travels of that quarter of the Union. Having become extensively known,
personally, and as an author, and my name having been associated with
several distinguished actors in our western history, the wish has often
been expressed to see some record of the events as they occurred. In
yielding to this wish, it must not be supposed that the writer is about
to submit an autobiography of himself; nor yet a methodical record of
his times--tasks which, were he ever so well qualified for, he does not
at all aspire to, and which, indeed, he has not now the leisure, if he
had the desire, to undertake.

Still, his position on the frontiers, and especially in connection with
the management of the Indian tribes, is believed to have been one of
marked interest, and to have involved him in events and passages often
of thrilling and general moment. And the recital of these, in the simple
and unimposing forms of a diary, even in the instances where they may be
thought to fail in awakening deep sympathy, or creating high excitement,
will be found, he thinks, to possess a living moral _undertone_. In the
perpetual conflict between civilized and barbaric life, during the
settlement of the West, the recital will often recall incidents of toil....
... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Wasted
Several hours of my life and $20 were wasted on this book.McNiff did not dedicate much to the writing of this book, so I'll dedicate little to the review.In a nutshell:
-poorly executed
-scattered writings
-uncollected thoughts
-McNiff!Familiarize yourself with a spellcheck application.
-fragmented/run-on sentence structure
-non-edited book; not even a proofreader was involved

That this book exists is testiment to the fact that small and self-publishing companies care nothing about literature and only about their bottom line.

To anyone contemplating this book, I'm sure you could find a much better use for your money, say, lining the bottom of a birdcage. ... Read more

Product Description
"LIVELY, EARTHY, AND REFRESHINGLY CANDID . . . Losee is the family doctor you wish you had in your community."

--Library Journal

In 1949, Ron Losee, a young Yale Medical School graduate, headed west with his wife and small daughter to begin the practice of medicine. They settled in Ennis, Montana, in a log cabin that also became their office and lab. Patients made themselves at home in the living room. One small bag held all their medical equipment. It was a proud moment when a patient first called Losee "Doc." His fee on that occasion was three dollars.

In robust, freewheeling prose, Doc Losee--now internationally known for his work in orthopedic surgery--shares nearly half a century of dedicated doctoring, evoking the rich flavor of Montana and the dramatic dilemmas that never cease to haunt the country doctor. Exhilarating and entertaining, DOC is a moving reminder of what people--doctors and patients--can be and do. It's the perfect cure for what ails us.

"[Losee] charges each incident with enough drama to draw the reader in. . . . The humor shines right through. . . . Get this guy to a biochemist and have him cloned. . . . As a physician we could use a few more thousand just like him."

--Kirkus Reviews

... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Confusing
This book could have really used an editor.I assume most doctors frown on home surgery by amateurs and not every doctor can write.I often had to reread portions several times.The content was great, just some very poorly constructed sentences.

The man is as great as his book
Doc Losee was my family doctor growing up in Ennis, Montana- my brother's birth is mentioned briefly in the book. He was and is the best country doctor, with brains and skill and heart and humor- a true straight shooter. I am so proud to know him and his wife Olive.

Neat doctor; good book
This was an excellent book and would like to have this man as my doctor.He gave an excellent picture of what doctoring was like in a small town, what his philosophy of being a doctor is and his criticism of non doctors making doctor decisions.He is critical of law suits and the problems of liability insurance costs that he could not afford.He is down to earth and not afraid to say that mistakes can and are made.Some medical terms might slow someone not familiar with them.

A Glimpse Into The Life Of A Doctor
This is a wonderful heart filled story of what it was like being a doctor when you had very little supplies, but a whole lot of heart!!It is a book that will hold a place on honor in my library, not only because I have met the author, but mainly because it is a part of our country's heritage.Dr. Losee's stories are told so that you can picture them in your mind and see what it was like to be in that era.Some make you laugh, others make you cry. I compare his writing to that of James Harriot; both writers make you feel like you are there with them.

Wonderful memoir of what medicine used to be about.
Doc Losee writes in a wonderfully refreshing style that brings the reader into an inevitable friendship with him. Medicine may never be like this again, but Doc has left a record of what is once was. The day I finished this book I wrote a letter to Doc Losee, and imagine my surprise when less than a week later, I received a personal note back from him. I have it on my wall in my study to remind me of this beautiful little book written by the Yale-educated country doctor ... Read more

Product Description
In Doc Holliday: A Family Portrait, Karen Holliday Tanner, a distant cousin, reveals the real man behind the legend. Shedding light on Holliday's early years in a prominent Georgia family during the Civil War and Reconstruction, she examines the elements that shaped his destiny: his birth defect, the death of his mother and estrangement from his father, and the diagnosis of tuberculosis, which led to his journey west.

Customer Reviews (39)

Doc Holliday
I have been researching Doc and this was a great help.Very interesting!A great read.

Very Nicely Done...
...Doc's story through the eyes of some of his relatives and early close friends. Well written, and offering pieces of his history not covered in other accounts. I recommend to all students of Doc Holliday mania!

Another Holliday Cousin's Review
As a Holliday cousin, I bought Karen's book for family information to pass on to my children and grandchildren.This book is a very detailed and historical account of "Doc," and gave me another perspective of the man I knew little about save the movies and a few tales inside the family. I have been in touch with Karen, and passed on to her information regarding his famous, and infamous, bloodline which will surprise many in Karen's upcoming book on Doc. I hope it is forthcoming soon. A MUST HAVE for every history enthsiast or researcher.

A good read
This book was a good read and quite informative.The author (related to the Hollidays) did an excellent job on researching Doc Holliday.There was much to be learned about the real Doc Holliday.

Great book and well written.
I really enjoyed this book. The author did a wonderful job on researching the family tree. ... Read more

Product Description
In the rich epic vein of 'Lonesome Dove', 'Tombstone' and 'Wyatt Earp', this vast new American Western novel seems hand-forged right out of the glowing gun metal and billowing blue gun smoke of close quarters combat. Finally these unwritten chapters of one of the Wild West's greatest real life heroes flash dangerously to life across the open pages of 'Fighting for Air - the Unknown Adventures of Young Doc Holliday' by Jack Kincade, as if illuminated by gunfire.

Everyone knows all about Wyatt Earp's exciting life story, the legendary shootout at the O.K. Corral and how a best friend nicknamed Doc was there to back him up to the hilt, even willing to die for Wyatt and his brothers.

But very few Western fans know anything at all about the extraordinary past of the infamous and deadly Doc Holliday. He was so much more than just Wyatt's mythically loyal best friend and constant companion 'in all dangers'. Unfortunately his early unknown story has been lost to us on the winds of time. Until now.

Doc Holliday's intrepid and notable young life was full to the brim with endless stories of his own impossibly romantic adventures. His gallant youth was filled with swaggering, witty conflicts as he ran headlong into countless deadly exploits long before he ever met up with that somber young Deputy Marshal named Earp or arrived in a bustling little silver town called Tombstone.

In fact, he'd only just reached the tender young age of twenty-one, after a tragic but escapade filled Civil War childhood, when his distraught doctors in Atlanta gave the handsome young man his final death sentence. "Only six months left to live, son," they grimly assured him. "Consumption."

But this steely young gentleman from the deep South didn’t simply surrender to his horrible fate and curl up into a ball to die. He stood up on his hind legs, brushed himself off and disappeared into the Wild West like a ghost...destined to become 'Doc Holliday' instead.

And once far out West, hopelessly lost and wandering all alone in the endless sun scorched madness of the Badlands, he was entirely cut off, excommunicated from everything and everyone he had ever loved. Young Doc found himself truly 'Fighting for Air', in every possible way, as each precious second ticked slowly by and he struggled just to stay alive long enough to reach the other side of the next bloody sundown.

So how in the world did the very proper Doctor John Henry Holliday D.D.S. of Griffin, Georgia ever become the dashingly brave Doc Holliday of Western Legend?

How could this sickly young dentist, with all of his formal education and gentlemanly upbringing transform himself so radically into the avenging anti-hero who took on the meanest bad men the savage Wild West had to offer?

And why would valiant Wyatt Earp, of all people, trust this brash, drunken gambler and notoriously deadly young gunslinger so implicitly with his own noble young life?

All of these questions are finally answered in 'Fighting for Air - the Unknown Adventures of Young Doc Holliday' by Jack Kincade.

'Fighting for Air...’ is a brand new epic Western novel spanning the most exciting, courageous years of Young Doc Holliday’s formative life, following his dangerous ascent from early Southern Civil War childhood into the making of his own glorious Western Legend.

It’s a huge, stirring American fable filled with young love and unexpected loss; perfect friendship and unquestionable honor, all set amid the swirling gun smoke of his heroic and blood stained youth.

This is how the boy became the man.

This is how that young man became the Legend.

And some say it all happened just like this... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Gets really slow
The book starts out with great promise and a great premise, but.By the time Doc fianlly gets to Dallas the book starts to bog down, by the time he gets to Fort Griffin you are scanning not reading.There are too many unlikely coincidences, too much fluff and far too much repetition in the story line and in the action to keep it neatly strung together and moving along.

A woman's view on Fighting for Air-The Unknown Adventures of young Doc Holliday
I choose to read this book for personal reasons. The subject matter is not anything that has ever interested me and I have never been a fan of the Wild West. SURPRISE! What a wonderful ride this book took me on. From the the first page to the last my mind continued to create colorful panaramas that were forever changing with each event. The wonderful descriptive way the author choose his words allowed me to hear the sounds created by children, frogs, gun fire, horses, trains and barroom brawls.The beautiful frienships developed within the pages are so sweet and rare. This really needs to be on the Big Screen. Maybe now I am a fan of the Wild West. Thank you Mr.Jack Kincade.

A great read.
I loved it and I didn't want to stop reading once I'd started. I'ts a fascinating story and an eye opener as to how things really were in the Civil War and after as young Doc travels westward. A very well written novel and it makes me want to know more of the early history of this country. I hope a movie is made from this book - it's just begging for it. I'm looking forward to the next novel by this author.

Doc Holliday as you've never known him before.
It is extremely rare for me to find a book so engaging that I truly cannot put it down, and yet that is precisely what happened when I started this book. The details of Holliday's early years in Georgia during the Civil War were quite an eye-opener for me. Even if some of the details are embellished, I found that I was having so much fun that it didn't matter. Later, as the adventure in young Doc's life unfolds, it is compelling, and the author's writing style is simple, highly readable, and always pulling the reader forward. I highly recommend this novel to anyone who loves a good yarn.

A great story - Kindle edition
Great book, fun to read.I kept picturing Val Kilmer and Dennis Quaid in their movie personifications of the famous Doc Holliday, especially Kilmer's steely-eyed cool in moments of pressure.I don't know how accurate the historical references are in this book, but certainly much of it rings true.

I look forward to more Kindle books by this author.
1/7/09 ... Read more

Product Description
First published in 1926, this entertaining and dramaticbiography forever installed outlaw Billy the Kid in the pantheon ofmythic heroes from the Old West and is still considered the singlemost influential portrait of Billy in this century. Saga focuses onthe Kid's life and experiences in the bloody war between theMurphy-Dolan and Tunstall-McSween gangs in and around Lincoln, NewMexico, between 1878 and 1881. Burns paints the Kid as a boyish RobinHood or romantic knight galvanized into a life of crime and killing bythe war's violence and bloodshed. Billy represented the romanticand anarchic Old West that the march of civilization was rapidlydisplacing. His destroyer was Pat Garrett, the courageous sheriff ofLincoln County. Garrett's shooting of Billy in 1881 hastened theclosing of the American frontier. Walter Noble Burns's Saga ofBilly the Kid kindled a fascination in Billy the Kid that survives tothis day. Richard W. Etulain's foreword discusses the singularimportance of Saga in the historical literature on Billy the Kid andthe Lincoln County War. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

"Classic" Billy the kid Biography
This is the biography that set all the other western bandit biographies in motion. It's a great read, and you can really feel as if you were there. However, not all of it is even close to the truth. But so what? Whether Billy killed 4 men that can be accounted for by other witnesses, or 21, one for each day of his life. It's still a great read. To imagine a life where you are able to get on a horse and ride off and disappear. To live off the "fat" ie, other peoples cattle, of the land, drink play cards, get up and do it again. Of course it couldn't last. The money'd interests can't have every Tom, Dick and Billy stealing their cattle, but still.. One wonders why he didn't leave for California once he escaped from jail?Anyway if you are looking for a good "Western", better than any Zane Gray fiction, look no further than this book.

Saga of Billy the Kid
I received this book in great condition and a very reasonable price. I recommend this seller 100%.

Wonderful verbally illustrative of life in the late 1800's.
Walter Noble Burns did tremendous research under the difficulty of so many deceased witnesses.His prose of descriptive scenes and events was as interestng as were the happenings themselves.His writing in the early 1920's style adds much to the reader with historical interest.I can not imagine one with such interest not thinking the book is wonderful.For those that like to learn via Hollywood, TV, or Video, it probably will be less attractive reading.

The basic Billy book
This, of course, is the Billy the Kid biography that all later ones have had to nod toward, either in sympathy or contempt.By modern standards it violates most rules of popular history, with its many "reconstructed" conversations and events, which had no living witnesses shortly after the fact.However, Burns did manage to conduct long, direct interviews with many still-living participants, something later historians could not hope to do.

Historians tend to be either strongly pro- or anti-Billy, and it is interesting that this 1925 narrative hews to a sort of neutral line, depicting both the positive and negative aspects of the Kid's character.The early Kid biography supposedly written by Pat Garrett himself already depicts the Kid as a dime-novel superhero; by contrast, Nelson Nye's somewhat later historical novel, A BULLET FOR BILLY THE KID, typically depicts the Kid as a cowardly, psychopathic monster without a single redeeming human feature. Historians also tend to be violently pro- or anti-Dolan-Murphy, Burns comes down very much on the anti-Dolan-Murphy side, which is the side most more recent historians have also come down on.Burns also spends more time on the background of John Chisum than most Kid historians have tended to do.

Well worth your reading time ifyou have any interest in the most famous "outlaw" of the Old West.

A Wonderful Look Into A Short Life!!
Billy the Kid is one of the West's most famous outlaws, yet there is little in the history books to detail his short but very violent life. In addition, most of what has been written has been written in the later part of the 20th century and relies not so much on true knowledge as on what can be found here and there.

This book, original written in 1924, is wonderful because the author actually found people still alive who had known Billy the Kid and who had lived through the Lincoln County Wars. While these people were hardly young when interviewed, they still had very good memories of Billy and his life style. This provides a look that is often missing in history.

One area that was missing was any detailed information on the early life of Billy the Kid, but, as the author points out, much was lost and may never be known.

The language in the book is, at times, difficult to process, as it was written in the style prevalent in 1924, not 2002. And it is a language that is caught between the older American English and modern American English. Generally it is a smooth read, but does have a couple of rough spots.

This is a MUST READ if you really want to know about the portion of Billy the Kids life that ocured during the Linclon County Wars!! ... Read more

Product Description
This publication in the Center for Military History Historical Analysis Series addresses the American role in the Philippine Hukbalahap Insurrection. Brought to the verge of collapse by a wide-spread Communist-inspired insurgency, the government of the Philippines, supported by limited U.S. aid, advice, and assistance, virtually eliminated Huk resistance by 1955. This study examines this remarkable achievement and demonstrates how efforts of uniquely qualified individuals, combined with American foreign policy initiatives and international events, prevented the collapse of an important allied nation. Published originally in 1987 by the Research and Analysis Division's Special Studies Series, The Hukbalahap Insurrection has received wide acclaim and sufficient attention to warrant wider distribution. Reprinted in its entirety, it provides contemporary planners with insights and observations that remain as valid today as when American and Filipino officials combined their efforts to defeat the well-organized Huk insurgency. ... Read more

Product Description
Richard Stoddert Ewell is best known as the Confederate General selected by Robert E. Lee to replace "Stonewall" Jackson as chief of the Second Corps in the Army of Northern Virginia. Ewell is also remembered as the general who failed to drive Federal troops from the high ground of Cemetery Hill and Culp’s Hill during the Battle of Gettysburg. Many historians believe that Ewell’s inaction cost the Confederates a victory in this seminal battle and, ultimately, cost the Civil War.

During his long military career, Ewell was never an aggressive warrior. He graduated from West Point and served in the Indian wars in Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico, and Arizona. In 1861 he resigned his commission in the U.S. Army and rushed to the Confederate standard. Ewell saw action at First Manassas and took up divisional command under Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley Campaign and in the Seven Days’ Battles around Richmond.

A crippling wound and a leg amputation soon compounded the persistent manic-depressive disorder that had hindered his ability to make difficult decisions on the battlefield. When Lee reorganized the Army of Northern Virginia in May of 1863, Ewell was promoted to lieutenant general. At the same time he married a widowed first cousin who came to dominate his life—often to the disgust of his subordinate officers—and he became heavily influenced by the wave of religious fervor that was then sweeping through the Confederate Army.

In Confederate General R.S. Ewell, Paul D. Casdorph offers a fresh portrait of a major—but deeply flawed—figure in the Confederate war effort, examining the pattern of hesitancy and indecisiveness that characterized Ewell’s entire military career. This definitive biography probes the crucial question of why Lee selected such an obviously inconsistent and unreliable commander to lead one-third of his army on the eve of the Gettysburg Campaign.

Casdorph’s describes Ewell’s intriguing life and career with penetrating insights into his loyalty to the Confederate cause and the Virginia ties that kept him in Lee’s favor for much of the war. Complete with riveting descriptions of key battles, Ewell’s biography is essential reading for Civil War historians. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Weak Writing, Strong Research
The amount of time and research that went into this book is hard to fathom as archives from many parts of the South have been scoured for material. Paul Casdorph would in fact be the perfect choice to teach graduate research seminars because he is so adept in this area. Unfortunately, as is often the case, the best researchers are not always the best writers. There is much information and insight into the life of General Richard Ewell to be found in this book but sometimes it is very hard to extract.

The author's thesis is that General Ewell just didn't have the personality to be an aggressive field commander and that may well have been the case but this often contradictory book falls far short of proving that point. The cases where Ewell was aggressive are hardly noted although they did exist and actually Ewell was sometimes more apt to attack than Stonewall Jackson. It is a comparison with Jackson that in fact makes up most of the author's argument. Again however incidents that contradict the author's theory are just brushed aside. For example, Jackson's extreme lethargy during the Seven Days battles is hardly dealt with at all.

Ewell's poor performance at Gettysburg seems to be the cornerstone of Casdorph's argument but alas it is also the weakest part of his argument. The reader is hit constantly with what Jackson might have done at Gettysburg, which is something we will never know. He might well have leaned up against a tree and took another nap. The author also brings up the old canard about Longstreet's late attack on July 2nd. I would be willing to bet that the author couldn't take a comparable number of men and make it from where Longstreet's men were at 11:00 PM on July 1st to where the attack is supposed to have come from in less than seven hours either. It would be especially unlikely with a guide that ended up costing Longstreet several hours.

Another problem rests with the writing style the author employs. There were places in this book that left me feeling as if I was trudging through knee deep mud. The writing does improve as the book goes along but there are places that are just mercilessly dull. He also misspells General Cleburne's name, which is a mistake that one shouldn't find in this type of scholarly work.

Still, Casdorph does make one very clear and astute point. Robert E. Lee had a blind spot for Virginia and Virginians and that seems to be the only real reason Ewell ever rose to corps command. Although there is no clear argument made in this text as to who might have been a better choice.

Overall the writing and thesis of this book are weak at best but there is still a lot of information to be found here. The author has presented several important facts and one can learn quite a bit about General Ewell and the Army of Northern Virginia in this book. If Mr. Casdorph was willing to do all of this research the least the reader can do is pick through the dull areas in order to access the information. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Editor and historian needed
I was able to buy a used copy Of Tom McNamara's book Henry Lunt & the Ranger. In the copy, some retentive underlined each misspelled or misused word, of which there were many. Tom could have used both a good editor, and a good historian. The story he claimed to be based on actual history handed down to him through the Lunt family. It may have been, but it was predictable.

Editor and historian needed
I was able to buy a used copy Of Tom McNamara's book Henry Lunt & the Ranger. In the copy, some anal-retentive underlined each misspelled or misused word, of which there were many. Tom could have used both a good editor, and a good historian. The story he claimed to be based on actual history handed down to him through the Lunt family. It may have been, but it was predictable.

Good historical naval fiction and a fun read
This is great historical fiction based on fact! Henry Lunt is a prisoner of the British in Scotland until he and the men with him are freed by John Paul Jones. Jones and the Ranger are raiding commerce around the British Isles and embarrassing the British Government. Jones is also on a secret mission to destroy or capture HMS Drake, which is based in Ireland. Lunt is appointed by Jones as lieutenant and sent ashore to scout the Belfast harbor for targets of opportunity. While there, Lunt discovers that the Drake is testing a new weapon that will make small ships the equal of large ships in battle. He gets involved with a beautiful French spy and has some close run-ins with the British before escaping back to the Ranger. But his efforts manage to draw the Drake out to do battle with the Ranger. The book culminates with a rousing sea battle. This book was published in 1991 with the promise of "Henry Lunt and the Spymaster" in 1992, and "Henry Lunt at Flamborough Head" in 1993. I have not yet found these books, but I will certainly buy, read, and review any Henry Lunt novels. This was an enjoyable read and a cut above it's genre. ... Read more