Once nearly forgotten, Tombstone, Arizona, is trapped in myth and legend. Walking its quiet streets, one finds it hard to separate truth from illusion and remember this was a real town, not some Hollywood fantasy. Tombstone's rough and rowdy exploits were reported from San Francisco to New York.
William B. Shillingberg rediscovers the real Tombstone in this historical tour-de-force. The rough mining town of boomers and investors, of hard men and women seeking their fortunes, comes to life with startling clarity. Tombstone, A.T.: A History of Early Mining, Milling, and Mayhem relates true tales of those who founded and built the town, including the infamous Earps and Clantons.
Shillingberg details life in a pioneer mining town, from the discoverers of the mines, Edward and Albert Schieffelin and Richard Gird, to the amazing cast of characters in the most celebrated gunfight in western history - the shootout at the OK Corral, between Wyatt, Virgil, and Morgan Earp, Doc Holliday, and a gang led by Ike Clanton. And tales of John Ringo, Frank Leslie, and diarist George W. Parsons are filled with the famous and the notorious.
Today Tombstone slumbers, a shadow of its faded glory, supported by clouded memories and tourist dollars. But the real story remains, and Tombstone, A.T. tells it.