They Call Me Doc: The Story Behind the Legend of John Henry Holliday

Reassessing the life of one of the most infamous characters of the Old West "I found him a loyal friend and good company. He was a dentist whom necessity had made a gambler; a gentleman whom disease had made a vagabond; a philosopher whom life had made a caustic wit; a long, lean blonde fellow nearly dead with consumption and at the same time the most skillful gambler and nerviest, speediest, deadliest man with a six-gun I ever knew." —Wyatt Earp, speaking of Doc Holliday ***

John Henry "Doc" Holliday was a man of education and refinement who went West after contracting tuberculosis. There he hoped both to find a cure in the prairie air and, perhaps, to escape a humdrum home life for a more adventurous one. Once West, however, he became a gunfighter, a gambler, and a saloonkeeper—and he would find his way into the legend of the West through his associations with the Earps, Bat Masterson, Big Nose Kate, and other colorful characters who helped shape the frontier. But he is perhaps best known for his participation in the shootout at the OK Corral and through his many portrayals on film.

This new biography reveals many heretofore unexplored facets of Doc Holliday's personality and sets the record straight—telling the story he might well have told about himself. Drawing on author D. J. Herda's interviews with descendants of both Doc and his victims, "They Call Me Doc" provides a riveting, well-rounded picture of the mythological character and the real man behind it.

D. J. Herda is the author of numerous books on a wide range of topics-including Outlaws of the American West-as well as several hundred thousand articles, syndicated columns, and short stories.

Reassessing the life of one of the most infamous characters of the Old West "He was a dentist whom necessity had made a gambler; a gentleman whom disease had made a vagabond; a philosopher whom life had made a caustic wit; a long, lean blonde fellow nearly dead with consumption and at the same time the most skillful gambler and nerviest, speediest, deadliest man with a six-gun I ever knew." --Wyatt Earp, speaking of Doc Holliday This new biography sets the record straight on the man best known for his participation in the shootout at the O.K. Corral--a man of refinement who went West after contracting tuberculosis and became a gunfighter, gambler, and saloonkeeper. Telling the story in Doc Holliday's own voice, D. J. Herda reveals many unexplored facets of this legendary figure's personality. They Call Me Doc provides a riveting, well-rounded picture of both the mythological character and the real man.

A fresh, lively retelling of the life of one of the most infamous characters of the Old West, Doc Holliday, by an imaginative, yet accurate storyteller.

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