Lecture Date: February 1, 2018
The Davenport & Company Lecture
The American West of the late nineteenth century was legendary for its violence and crime – nowhere more so than in Dodge City, Kansas. The task of cleaning up that center of iniquity fell to two largely self-trained lawmen named Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson, subsequently immortalized in the mind of the American public through Hollywood films, television series, and western novels. Tom Clavin addresses the true story of the two men’s friendship, romances, gun fights, and adventures, along with portraits of the remarkable cast of characters with whom they interacted – including such legendary figures as Wild Bill Hickok, Jesse James, Doc Holliday, Buffalo Bill Cody, Billy the Kid, and Theodore Roosevelt.
Speaker: Tom Clavin
Tom Clavin is the author of 18 nonfiction books who also has previously toiled as a newspaper editor, magazine writer, TV and radio commentator, and for 15 years a reporter for The New York Times covering entertainment, sports, and the environment. He has received awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, and National Newspaper Association. Three previous books have been New York Times best sellers: The Heart of Everything That Is, Halsey’s Typhoon, and The Last Stand of Fox Company. Other recent titles that have received popular and critical acclaim include The DiMaggios, Last Men Out, Gil Hodges, Roger Maris, and Reckless.
His latest projects are Lucky 666: The Impossible Mission, published by Simon and Schuster in 2016, and Dodge City: Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and the Wickedest Town in the West, published by St. Martin’s Press last year and an instant New York Times and national best seller. Screen rights to The Heart of Everything That Is have gone to Ridley Scott Films and the screen rights to Dodge City have been obtained by Amblin Entertainment.