Synopses & Reviews
John H. Holliday, D. D. S., better known as Doc Holliday, has become a legendary figure in the history of the American West. In Doc Holliday: A Family Portrait, Karen Holliday Tanner reveals the real man behind the legend. Shedding light on Hollidayandrsquo;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. The influence of Hollidayandrsquo;s genteel upbringing never disappeared, but it was increasingly overshadowed by his emerging western personality. Holliday himself nurtured his image as a frontier gambler and gunman.
Using previously undisclosed family documents and reminiscences as well as other primary sources, Tanner documents the true story of Docandrsquo;s friendship with the Earp brothers and his run-ins with the law, including the climactic shootout at the O. K. Corral and its aftermath.
This first authoritative biography of Doc Holliday should appeal both to historians of the West and to general readers who are interested in his poignant story.
Review
"Fans of the movie Western think of Doc Holliday as played by Victor Mature, Burt Lancaster, or Dennis Quaid, the loyal pal of Wyatt Earp who helped destroy the villainous Clanton gang in the gunfight at O.K. Corral. But legends often stretch the truth. In this entertaining and informative book, Karen Holliday Turner, a cousin of John S. Holliday, D.D.S., sets the record straight. With the family records at her disposal, she tells of his genteel upbringing, his early life in Georgia during the Civil War and Reconstruction, and the tragedies that hounded him, including the onset of tuberculosis which led him to journey west. Of course, we also meet Earp and Ike Clanton and find out what really happened when they met in the town of Tombstone, Arizona on that fateful October day in 1881." Reviewed by Andrew Witmer, Virginia Quarterly Review (Copyright 2006 Virginia Quarterly Review)
Review
andquot;Doc Holliday: A Family Portrait will be considered the definitive Holliday biography and will supplant all previously published works on the manandrsquo;s life as a complete and authoritative account. This book will undoubtedly take a place among the foremost books in the Western gunfighter genre.andquot; andmdash;Robert K. DeArment, author of Alias Frank Canton
About the Author
Karen Holliday Tanner is the author of Doc Holliday: A Family Portrait. She received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Wild West History Association.