Mary Doria Russell, the bestselling, award-winning author of The Sparrow, returns with Epitaph. An American Iliad, this richly detailed and meticulously researched historical novel continues the story she began in Doc, following Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday to Tombstone, Arizona, and to the gunfight at the O.K. Corral.A deeply divided nation. Vicious politics. A shamelessly partisan media. A president loathed by half the populace. Smuggling and gang warfare along the Mexican border. Armed citizens willing to stand their ground and take law into their own hands. . . . That was America in 1881.All those forces came to bear on the afternoon of October 26 when Doc Holliday and the Earp brothers faced off against the Clantons and the McLaurys in Tombstone, Arizona. It should have been a simple misdemeanor arrest. Thirty seconds and thirty bullets later, three officers were wounded and three citizens lay dead in the dirt.Wyatt Earp was the last man standing, the only one unscathed. The lies began before the smoke cleared, but the gunfight at the O.K. Corral would soon become central to American beliefs about the Old West.Epitaph tells Wyatt’s real story, unearthing the Homeric tragedy ... [Read More]

TABLE OF CONTENTS: 1.) Tombstone's Epitaph -- 2.) Local brevities -- 3.) Society, churches, and culture -- 4.) Death's doings -- 5.) Guns and women -- 6.) Frontier journalism -- 7.) Fire and storm -- 8.) 'Cow-Boy' curse -- 9.) Lion of Tombstone -- 10.) Vengeance -- 11.) Hangings, legal and otherwise -- 12.) Double crossing desperado -- 13.) 'Why don''t they pump out the water?'

THE TOMBSTONE EPITAPH, Arizona, August 10, 1881 * Best Old West title to be had * Pre Gunfight at the O.K. Corral Few could argue for a more recognizable title from the Old West, nor could any town be more linked to the romance of the West than this one. Tombstone is steeped in Western lore, and the several movies done concerning the gunfight at the O.K. Corral have kept this town in popular culture. This issue was printed less than 2 months before the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral. The top of page 2 has: "The citizens of Las Vegas have presented the plucky sheriff, Pat Garrett, with a purse of $1078.50 for his services in killing Billy the 'Kid'. " Among the several legal notices for "Mining Applications" is: "Application for a Patent to the First North Extension of the Mountain Maid" which notes at the beginning: "U.S. Land Office, Florence, Arizona. Notice is hereby given that Robert J. Winders for himself and his co-claimants, Virgil W. Earp, Eyatt [Wyatt] S. Earp ad James C. Earp, whose address is Tombstone, Cochise county Arizona, has this post office day filed..." with other details. A court report notes that two women were: "...Arrested on complain of Hannah Barns char... [Read More]

"There is a romantic, nostalgic, pleasantly melancholy feeling to old cemeteries that is hard to define but easy to experience. Perhaps it is because we can feel the direct link to our past that no history book, no movie, no historical fantasy can ever convey. These stones and these unkempt grounds are the hard evidence of lives that came before us. Once, these people lived and breathed, loved, worked, fought, hoped and despaired, and experienced their triumphs and failures just as we do today. And, although we seldom care to acknowledge it, we will inevitably go where they have gone."―from the PrefaceFor the many people who enjoy walking through old cemeteries, exploring forgotten and overgrown graveyards, and reading the names, dates, and epitaphs of the dead, the Chesapeake Bay region offers a rich assortment of final resting places, many dating back to the early 1600s. From Williamsburg to Havre de Grace, it is not uncommon to see a number of the living wandering among the markers of the dead. Some are genealogists and historians, others come in search of quietude and a tangible connection to the past.In The Chesapeake Book of the Dead, Helen Chappell and photographer Starke ... [Read More]

On headstones, tombs and memorials, the lives and characters of the departed are often described in epitaphs. Some are filled with hope for eternal life, others biographical, some are humorous (intentionally or otherwise), insulting or... odd. Gathered here are two collections of epitaphs, originally published in 1905 and 1899, which describe some of the most interesting ones. Don't think of it as macabre, but as a special type of history. By the end of the book you'll be wondering what you want to have written on your headstone.

A sizzling, star-studded cast brings to life the legendary battle to deliver justice to "Tombstone"! Kurt Russell turns in a gripping performance as U.S. Marshall Wyatt Earp, and Val Kilmer ignites the screen as the outrageous Doc Holiday. Together, they team up to bring law to the lawless in a notorious showdown with ruthless outlaws at the O.K. corral! The all-star ensemble also includes Sam Elliott, Bill Paxton, Dana Delaney, Jason Priestley, Michael Biehn, and longtime Hollywood favorite Charlton Heston. Get ready for an explosive, action-packed adventure the Wild West would never

Doc Holliday joins Wyatt Earp and his brothers for an OK Corral showdown with the Clanton gang.

Danny Trejo (Machete), Anthony Michael Hall (The Dark Knight) and Oscar® nominee Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler) star in this unrated, action-packed battle for vengeance. As a ruthless gang overruns a small mining town, they murder their own leader, Guerrero Hernandez (Trejo), in a cold-blooded power grab. Sentenced to eternity in hell, Guerrero finds himself confronted by Satan himself (Rourke), offering a daring proposition: deliver the six souls of his former gang and he will escape damnation. With time running out, he sets out on a brutal rampage to avenge his own