Ride the Devil's Herd - by John Boessenecker (Paperback)

About the Book

"Wyatt Earp is regarded as the most famous lawman of the Old West, best known for his role in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona. But the story of his two-year war with a band of outlaws known as the Cowboys has never been told in full. Drawing on groundbreaking research into territorial and federal government records, John Boessenecker's 'Ride the Devil''s Herd' reveals this long-forgotten chapter of Wild West history." -- page [4] of cover

Book Synopsis

As seen on Netflix's Wyatt Earp and the Cowboy War
Winner of the Best Book Award by the Wild West History Association

A ripsnortin' ramble across the bloodstained Arizona desert with Wyatt Earp and company... A pleasure for thoughtful fans of Old West history, revisionist without being iconoclastic. --Kirkus Reviews

Wyatt Earp is regarded as the most famous lawman of the Old West, best known for his role in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona. But the story of his two-year war with a band of outlaws known as the Cowboys has never been told in full.

Drawing on groundbreaking research into territorial and federal government records, John Boessenecker's Ride the Devil''s Herd reveals this long-forgotten chapter of Wild West history.

"Readers who want to learn the true details about what happened before, during and after the gunfight will be rewarded... [Boessenecker] provides rich detail on the Earp family and its questionable ethics." --Roanoke Times

Readers interested in Wyatt Earp and 'Wild West' history will enjoy this new chronicle of the lawman's life and times. --Library Journal

Review Quotes

"For serious readers of Western history... Ride the Devil's Herd may well prove the gold standard." --Wall Street Journal

"A ripsnortin' ramble across the bloodstained Arizona desert with Wyatt Earp and company. ... A pleasure for thoughtful fans of Old West history, revisionist without being iconoclastic."--Kirkus Reviews

"Readers who want to learn the true details about what happened before, during and after the gunfight will be rewarded... [Boessenecker] provides rich detail on the Earp family and its questionable ethics."--The Roanoke Times

"[A] well-researched, well-crafted history."--HistoryNet

"Ride the Devil's Herd is a rich and satisfying read, a significant contribution to Earpiana, an antidote to Clavin's fanciful stew, and a book that unclouds the picture and shows us why these men became legends."--Los Angeles Review of Books

"Readers interested in Wyatt Earp and "Wild West" history will enjoy this new chronicle of the lawman's life and times."--Library Journal

"An exhaustive account of lawman Wyatt Earp's takedown of the 'loosely organized' gang of bandits and cattle thieves known as the Cowboys."--Publisher's Weekly

"Ride the Devil's Herd is a marvelous book. By means of meticulous research and splendid writing John Boessenecker has managed to do something never before attempted or accomplished, tying together the many violent clashes between lawmen and outlaws in the American southwest of the 1870-1890 period and showing how depredations by loosely organized gangs of outlaws actually threatened "Manifest Destiny" and the successful taming of the Wild West."-Robert K. DeArment, author and historian

"I never expected to read a Wyatt Earp book that contained so much information I was not aware of. "-Jeff Morey, historian and technical advisor for the 1993 film Tombstone

"One of the first lessons when you begin researching Tombstone is that the outlaws are far more interesting than the lawmen. John Boessenecker makes that abundantly clear in in telling their story of the legendary conflict in Cochise County. This engrossing book is a major addition to the literature of Wyatt Earp history."-Casey Tefertiller, author Wyatt Earp: The Life Behind the Legend

"Wyatt Earp's role in the 1882 border conflict with cattle thieves, smugglers, and stage robbers known as the 'Cowboys' has been controversial, but John Boessenecker does a masterful job of unraveling the story and giving it a carefully crafted reconstruction that immediately moves this book to the first rank of books not only about the Earps but also about outlawry in the Southwest. Using fresh material, mature analysis, and well-paced writing, Boessenecker adds yet another major work to his growing shelf of splendid histories."-Gary L. Roberts, author of Doc Holliday: The Life and Legend

"Wyatt Earp, arguably the most iconic of all American lawmen, is carefully examined by master Western historian John Boessenecker in Ride the Devil's Herd. Written with an astounding grasp of his subject, Boessenecker has realigned Earp as a man against an incredible foe: the cow-boys of the southwestern borderlands. Using newly-discovered archival records, Ride the Devil's Herd is one of the most important volumes in Earpiana in decades."-Erik J. Wright, National Tombstone Epitaph and author of Phil Foote: Lawman, Outlaw... Hell-Raiser

"Boessenecker is by far the most talented author writing about gunfighters today. His encyclopedic knowledge is evident here on almost every page."-Bryan Burrough, The Week