Ride the Devil's Herd: Wyatt Earp's Epic Battle Against the West's Biggest Outlaw Gang

By John Boessenecker

Book Overview

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

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1335150005
• ISBN13: 9781335150004
• Release Date: November 2021
• Publisher: Hanover Square Press
• Length: 512 Pages
• Weight: 0.87 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.3" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

The Story of the Gang called "The Cowboys"

This book is with the title portrayed as a book about Wyatt Earp's so called Vendetta Ride against the Criminal Gang called The Cowboys in Arizona. The majority of this books is a detailed history of how the gang began, developed, and then came to an end, after Earp's Vendetta Ride. There is some information in this book about Wyatt Earp and his brothers. But make no mistake, the central theme of this book is the history of the outrageous gang of "Cowboys"; their murders, stagecoach robberies, cattle rustling, and their organization. This is a dense read. This author has detailed cites, and most of the cites are too newspaper articles from that period of time. One of the themes of this book is how the Democratic newspaper in Tombstone portrayed the Earps and their friends as outlaws and murderers; while the Republican newspaper portrayed them as heroes and upholders of the law. The Democratic newspaper also totally ignored the true nature of the Cowboys, as if they were just hard working cowboys. It is a fascinating look at newspaper reporting in the past.