Books reject Wyatt Earp as hero at OK Corral gunfight

Long after the 30-second shootout on Oct. 26, 1881, the legend of Wyatt Earp looms over this former silver-mining town. The lawman's exploits live on in movies and books and draw people here from around the world. But not everyone agrees that Earp was preserving law and order when he led his band against the Clanton and McLaury gang, killing Billy Clanton, Frank McLaury and Tom McLaury. A recent book and one that's soon to be published contend that the gunfight actually was a murderous ambush led by Earp, continuing a debate that has echoed since the incident. "In Defense of the Outlaws," published by Joyce Aros, a writer with the monthly magazine Tombstone Times, portrays Earp as a thief and pimp who acted out of personal animosity. Steve Gatto, who has published several books about Tombstone, characterizes the gunfight as "cold-blooded murder" on Earp's part. He makes that case in "Hurled Into Eternity: The Story of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral," scheduled for release in July. Both authors say Earp may have had his eye on running for county sheriff and used the gunfight to enhance his image as a lawman. And they say the evidence shows that the alleged outlaws actually were ranchers and not cattle-rustling cowboys, as they are portrayed. Marshall Trimble, Arizona's official state historian, said people have argued about who started the gunfight since the dust settled. Most historical accounts, including his own, agree with those popularized in movies and reenactments: that Earp and his allies acted to restore order. Based on his own research, however, Trimble determined that Earp was in the right. That's how he portrays him in "Wyatt Earp: The Showdown in Tombstone," a book published last year as part of a series on outlaws of the Old West...Arizona Republic