Gunman's Rhapsody
 Robert B. Parker
 (Sr. Staff Reviewer - D. H. BROWN)
 2001 G. P. Putnam's Sons
  ISBN: 0399147624


In the winter of 1879 Wyatt Earp, assistant city marshal of Dodge City, Kansas loads his wife & all their belongings into a wagon & along with his brothers & their wives, heads for lawless Tombstone, Arizona. There Earp meets up with Doc Holliday, Clay Allison & Bat Masterson.

Senior Staff Reviewer D. H. BROWN writes:

Gunman's Rhapsody, as the flyleaf says, “is the book that Robert B. Parker has always longed to write.”

Now I'm reviewing this book because I can honestly state I have read every book he has ever written & believe that Spenser & Hawk are close personal friends of mine!

You will notice that I have given Gunman's Rhapsody one of my rare 4Ts & it would be going on my shelf for ever & ever if it weren't a library book, & I'd go buy it if I had anymore room.

I, like most modern American men, have a working knowledge of Wyatt Earp, Tombstone & the Gunfight at the OK Corral. So I had some hesitation about partaking in yet another rendition of the life & times of Wyatt Earp.

But like an old friend who is trusted to do that which is right, I allowed Robert B. Parker to take my hand & lead me into the Old West of his imagination.

First page of the Prologue “He already had a history by the time he first saw her, a reputation made in Kansas. He was already a figure of the dime novel, & he already half believed in the myth of the gunman that he was creating even as it created him.”

I was hooked! I liked this Wyatt Earp & his brothers. I liked the characters & their lives with all their flaws & I like their depth. I could smell the blood & feel the dust of their life & times. I liked the steel-covered-with-velvet that Robert B. Parker has woven into this myth.

Their lives became real; their times became real & the thread of our American history glowed brighter because of this book.

Buy it without fear & read it! Because when I finished Gunman's Rhapsody I felt as if Spenser & Susan had finished the book with me.

Robert B. Parker's body of work is inventive & impressive -- having created the inimitable PIs Spenser, Jesse Stone & Sunny Randall: Potshot; Perish Twice; Hugger Mugger; Family Honor; Hush Money; Crimson Joy; Night Passage; Pale Kings and Princes; Taming a Sea-Horse; Ceremony; The Judas Goat; Three Weeks in Spring; The Godwulf Manuscript; Playmates; Double Deuce & much, much more!
(02/17/02)

D. H. Brown
A RebeccasReads.Com Sr. Staff Reviewer

Reviewer's Bio:
D. H. BROWN is the author of the critically acclaimed HONOR DUE and the Citizens Warrior Series. The son of missionary parents and with the help his Uncle Sam, he has touched base in more than 40 countries.  In 1986 he produced the independent children's film Lessie's Rainbow.  During the late 80s and early 90s, he wrote the book Common Sense and delivered the seminars of the same name for the Community Action Network of Seattle (CAN).  While doing his early Vietnam recovery work, he counseled Veterans and spoke widely to men's groups in Washington state, and was a founder of The Lodge of the Wolf.

D. H. BROWN has worked as a  Logistics and Weapons Specialist in Viet Nam;  day laborer; Director of Security;  Armored Car Driver; Police Officer;  Professional Hunting Guide;  Trapper;  Dog Sledder; Homesteader;  Truck Driver;  General Contractor;  Minister;  Editor; Writer;  Speaker;  Restaurateur;  Movie Producer;  Antique Restoration Specialist;  Personal Care Worker;  PC Repair Specialist; Computer Instructor;  Webmaster and Web Designer. "I write about what I know."

He lives deep in the Pacific Northwest rainforest with his wife, author and editor Rebecca and Buddy Dog, working on his next book.