John H. Holliday, D.D.S., better known as Doc Holliday, has become a legendary figure in the history of the American West. In Doc Holliday: A Family Portrait, Karen Holliday Tanner reveals the real man behind the legend. Shedding light on Holliday's early years, in a prominent Georgia family during the Civil War and the Reconstruction, she examines the elements that shaped his destiny: his birth defect, the death of his mother and estrangement from his father, and the diagnosis of tuberculosis, which led to his journey west. The influence of Holliday's genteel upbringing never disappeared, but it was increasingly overshadowed by his emerging western personality. Holliday himself nurtured his image as a frontier gambler and gunman.
Using previously undisclosed family documents and reminiscences as well as other primary sources, Tanner documents the true story of Doc's friendship with the Earp brothers and his run-ins with the law, including the climactic shootout at the O.K. Corral and its aftermath.
This first authoritative biography of Doc Holliday will appeal both to historians of the old West and to general readers who are interested in his poignant story.
Karen Holliday Tanner, who is a cousin of Doc Holliday, interviewed family members and drew on the family's extensive photograph collection and memorabilia for this book. She was in contact with the Earp and Clanton families and was an honored guest at a Horony (Kate Elder's birth name) family reunion in Texas. Robert K. DeArment, noted western historian and author (i.e. Bat Masterson, George Scarborough, and Alias Frank Canton, etc.) wrote the forward, stating that "Her book will be considered the definitive Holliday biography and will supplant all previously published works on the man's life as a complete and authoritative account."
