Autumn of the Gun

Rating:
Summary: History is no object!
Review: I have to agree with Ardell. I hear Mr. Compton has died, so it is too late for him to learn from these reviews, but this book did indeed seem like a farce as far as the Earp and Tombstone history went. Mr. Compton obviously chose the fiction side of writing far above the historical side. If you prefer a great book but one that sticks closer to the truth, turn to Kirby Jonas or Win Blevins.

Rating:
Summary: A good book
Review: I liked this Ralph Compton book except that the dialogue once in a while seems rather hokey and Compton displays no knowledge of clothing and gun and gun leather detail from the Old West. I can live with those details, but I'll tell you one thing: if you want to talk Louis L'Amour and Ralph Compton, you have come nowhere near the surface. The best western writer out there is Kirby Jonas, whom critics call the New Louis L'Amour. If you want some reading without equal, try Kirby Jonas.

Rating:
Summary: A western Forest Gump!Compton should stick to fiction!
Review: This a typical Compton novel that completes the saga of Nathan Stone. It is a good book except when the author continually puts Stone into actual events and attempts to re-write historical events such as the Gunfight at the OK Corral and Wyatt Earp's time in Tombstone.

His betrayal of Wyatt Earp as an evil force who bullied his foes into the OK Corral fight is so factually incorrect it is amazing that section of the book got by the editors. I teach American History and cringe when I see a published work rewrite factual history as Compton has done in this book.

Compton's attempt to make Ike Clanton and John Behan honorable citizens of Tombstone while painting Wyatt Earp as the villain is absurb. If an author chooses to write about historical events, it is his duty to present the facts without inserting his personal opinions. By the way Ralph, why did you omit Curly Bill Brucius, Johnny Ringo and H.F. Sills from your book. Curly Bill and Ringo were the most colorful and interesting characters of the Cowboys and Sills offered the only totally neutral testimony at the hearing about the OK Corral. Anyone who reads this book should also read the biographies of Wyatt Earp by Allen Barra and Casey Tefertiller. Both of these books were written in 1998 or 1999 and are well written and researched works. Without a doubt, they are the best biographies about Wyatt Earp.

Any reader, who is not well acquainted with the true story of Tombstone and Wyatt Earp should make a point of reading either Barra or Tefertiller books because Compton has presented a totally fictional story about Earp.