Dodge City

January 30, 2017
Recounting the most famous of cattle towns and its two most influential lawmen, Clavin (Reckless) argues that it wasn’t gunfights but rather the refusal to fight that eventually tamed Dodge City, Kans., the “wickedest town in the American west.” Though the gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Ariz., has passed into popular legend, fewer know of the Dodge City War, the last hurrah of the town’s violent legacy, which the legendary Wyatt Earp and lesser-known Bat Masterson resolved without violence. The romanticization and mythification of the West and the gunslinger is Clavin’s greatest challenge; with a firm dedication to the truth, he has attempted to confirm what he can and qualify what he cannot. Though this fact-checking may take some of the glamor out of the popular conception of Earp in particular, Clavin’s book brims with a colorful collection of real outlaws, sex workers, gamblers, and chorus dancers whose personalities, deeds, and even nicknames help readers understand why the Western legend entranced the nation in the first place. To know the history of Dodge City is to understand how the West was won, and this history is often just as captivating and strange as the legends that have supplanted it. Agent: Scott Gould, RLR Associates.

June 1, 2017

Clavin (coauthor, The Heart of Everything That Is: The Untold Story of Red Cloud, an American Legend) chronicles the history of the legendary Western town of Dodge City, KS. Its time line is that of the frontier through successive stages of settlement from Native American homeland and the site of buffalo hunts to cattle drives from Texas, terminating at the westward-expanding railroad town, and development of an urban, cosmopolitan settlement. Its citizens included colorful lawmen and outlaws--all merit mention and description in Clavin's tome. It seems that no one is left out, with even Billy the Kid and Theodore Roosevelt gracing the pages. For listeners, the extensive catalog of individuals necessitates careful attention and is a bit overwhelming. As with all audiobooks, it is impossible check the references and notes. Narration by John Bedford Lloyd is superb. VERDICT This volume will appeal to anyone with an interest in the Old West's myths and larger-than-life characters. ["An extraordinary account of the iconic Wild West town...as told through the experiences of legendary lawmen": LJ Xpress Reviews 1/27/17 review of the St. Martin's hc.]--Patricia Ann Owens, formerly with Illinois Eastern Community Colls., Mt. Carmel

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 5, 2017
Clavin’s history of Dodge City, Kans., is a wildly entertaining and informative look at the Old West and the lifelong friendship of Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson, two self-trained lawmen who led the effort to establish justice on the frontier. Doc Holliday, Billy the Kid, Sam Bass, Buffalo Bill Cody, and Jesse James are only a few of the multitude of colorful characters who appear as Clavin separates fact from fiction in popular portrayals of the West. The audio edition makes good use of actor Lloyd’s rich, baritone voice. He strikes a balance between informative lecturer and casual raconteur of exciting tales of barroom brawls, gunfights, murders, jailbreaks, train robberies, and Indian attacks. His simple, skillful reading makes for an enjoyable and fascinating trip back to a wild time in history where the enforcement of the law often fell to the man with the quickest gun and the keenest eye. A Saint Martin’s hardcover.