(Something maybe not for everyone) Bell takes you from the life of Holliday to the formation of the Western legend and maybe a step closer to understanding Doc the man and Doc the legend, and in the words of Holliday himself “your a daisy if you do!”. It was a fun easy read and Bells colorful humor and love of the Old West make this an enjoyable experience.Īs the book wraps up Bell makes you feel like you are sitting across a table in the old west with a story-teller. Instead it feels like an introduction to the character of Doc Holliday. In conclusion, as a lover of history, this effort by Bell could have been improved by added footnotes and more depth, but in all fairness, I do not think that is what he was going for. Ultimately after reading these views of Doc, you can begin to understand how the legend was born.īell uses his humorous story telling abilities to weave this bio to its ultimate conclusion, a cultural look at why we are so fascinated by this man.ĭuring the Tombstone years, Doc seems to get lost in Earp story telling, but ironically Big Nose Kate was frustrated about losing Doc to the Earps during that time as well. Bell does a nice job of mixing myth and legend with, as much as can be determined, the historical Holiday. These opinions of Holliday, are used by Bell to reveal the good and the bad of Holliday’s personality. Bell will included a diverse range of perspectives on Holliday by Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and Big Nose Kate weaving them together as he lays out who Doc is, to some degree he leaves that decision to you.
Interesting information is scattered throughout the book. Bell’s efforts are admirable but at only 128 pages the depth is not there. This is my second Holliday bio, the first being “Doc Holliday, a family portrait” by Karen Holliday Tanner. (There is a limited research statement in the back, but no sources tied to statements made in the book.)
If you are someone who loves to read bios and trace the research back through the footnotes this book will disappoint. If you are looking for an in-depth biographical study, this book will fall short. It does in places feel like rabbit trails (filler). On occasion BBB stretches beyond the subject, which may be uninteresting to some, but in these cases the goal is the culture of the times in which Doc Holliday lived. If Bob Boze Bell’s book “The Illustrated life and times of Doc Holliday” is well named, illustrations consisting of Old Photos, Bell’s classic artwork, and documents are abundant throughout the book.
Bob Boze Bell’s book “The Illustrated life and times of Doc Holliday” is well named, illustrations consisting of Old Photos, Bell’s classic artwork, and documents are abundant throughout the book.
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