Bat Masterson: The Man and the Legend

Rating:
Summary: The Real Thing
Review: Mr. De Arment has done a fine job sifting through the facts and myths to give us the first accurate biography of Masterson ever. I have a sentimental regard for the Richard O'Connor bio, now out of date, but this is superior in its research and scholarship. If Mr. DeArment states a fact, he backs it up. If he draws a conclusion, it is always reasonable. The only complaint is that like many fine scholars, he is not as good a writer as he is a researcher. His style is not pedantic, but rather a bit folksy. But this is a quibble. This book is a must-have for the serious student of the West.

Rating:
Summary: The Real Thing
Review: Mr. De Arment has done a fine job sifting through the facts and myths to give us the first accurate biography of Masterson ever. I have a sentimental regard for the Richard O'Connor bio, now out of date, but this is superior in its research and scholarship. If Mr. DeArment states a fact, he backs it up. If he draws a conclusion, it is always reasonable. The only complaint is that like many fine scholars, he is not as good a writer as he is a researcher. His style is not pedantic, but rather a bit folksy. But this is a quibble. This book is a must-have for the serious student of the West.

Rating:
Summary: the way it was.
Review: my compliments go to mr.wheeler, this book contains the inner thinking of frontier sheriffs. it stays right with its man,bat masterson,exsploring him ,studying a man in search of his past. it gives insight into wyatt earp, a good example of a man who lost himself , is burnt out and angry,in the end just living off his reputation and nothing else. this is a good character study of the men of the west.

Rating:
Summary: Well Written, Well Researched.
Review: Undoubtedly a standard bearer for all future biographies concerning Bat Masterson. So much credit must go to the author for his literary style, thorough research, and daring, in his portrayal of this man and his times. At the very beginning of this book, Robert K. Dearment states most clearly that "there is no hard evidence that Bat Masterson ever killed anyone". This statement may deter readers who are only interested in reading about the West's man-killers, and law officers who shot up plenty of bad-guys. But this would be a mistake. Bat lived in exciting times. He was corageous, daring, had many adventures, and plenty of controversy. As the author so correctly states: "The story of Bat Masterson requires no sensational embellishment. His was an exciting life..." He was certainly an able lawman, responsible for the capture of many outlaws, and should be credited for achieving this so regularly without the spilling of blood. Yet there were still many occasions when Bat called upon the use of his firearms; whether he was buffalo hunting, fending off Indians, acting in self defence, attempting to carry out a vengeful attack, or in his duty as a law officer. Interestingly, despite the lack of definte notches on his six-gun, Bat was regarded by his contemparies as an excellent shot, and certailnly this reputation struck fear into the hearts of his adversarys. Thanks to the research of this book, the reader understands that in times of crisis he was often admired for his part by his fellows; as in the case of the fascinating account at Adobe Walls, where Bat and just over twenty other men fended off hundreds of Indians. What really sets the story and life of Bat apart, is the association he had with so many other legends of the times. Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, Ben and Billy Thompson, and Luke Short are among the obvious ones. But there were others whose lives were destined to entwine with Bat's, including Bill Tilghman, Mysterious Dave Mather, Dave Rudabaugh, Clay Allison and Jim Courtright. Bat Masterson was not a saint, nor was he a notorious man-killer. He was brave, loved adventure, enjoyed a joke, extremely loyal to his friends, but above all led an interesting life. Whether Bat Masterson deserves any more recognition than many other law officers is a matter of personal opinion, and to some extent, irrelevent. He certainly contributed.