Sporting Man of the Wild West
Jack DeMattos and Chuck Parsons working together is enough already to tell you that it’s going to be a worthwhile purchase. Notorious Luke Short is a book that was long overdue and it was great to see a pair of veteran old west researchers finally giving us what we needed. The book covers all the pertinent ground, and even goes deeper into certain elements of Luke’s life, such as the Dodge City War, and his relationship with Hattie Buck.
Through the overview of Luke’s life we get a better understanding of the man than we’ve been able to piece together before now. His time traveling, his penchant for boxing, his relationships with both the highbrow crowd, as well as laborers, really gives a picture of how versatile and active he was in life. But don’t worry, his moments as a man of action are covered also, and it’s interesting to see how Luke handled his business.
The subject of his gunfights does, however, bring up one of two areas that I would cite as areas that I thought could have been stronger. As much as I enjoyed the book (a lot), I felt at times that some of the gunplay moments were almost treated as asides during the study of his business and sporting ventures. The worst of these moments was when an alleged fight took place and it was, honestly, glossed over. It was something to the effect of: …over here he was involved in a gun altercation, and then moved on to this place…I was left thinking “Well, what was it? Did it happen or not? What do we know, and what do we not know? And why?”
The other gripe (and this happens with most all authors) is when they have a lack of evidence of something, they conclude it didn’t happen, when in actuality, it should only lead them to the conclusion that a determination can not be had. Absolute statements in historical research should be made very carefully, and sometimes they get put forth a little too easily.
That said, this is a great book and I am so glad that Parsons and DeMattos set forth to getting it done. Given the plethora of books covering Wyatt Earp and Billy the Kid, not to mention, even Doc Holliday, it’s nice to have one for Luke Short that can be the definitive go-to. Which, it should be pointed out, this is the third biography, so just to give some context, the first was Cox in 1961, and it had a lot of errors due to the fact that there just wasn’t as much info uncovered at the time, and then Wayne Short’s biography in 1997. Wayne Short receives, and deserves, a lot of credit for his efforts to bring Luke’s story to the masses, but with Notorious we get an advanced picture, as well as assurance that there is no bias from family descension.
Over fifty years since the first biography, and almost twenty since the last, as well as nearly a hundred pages more than the previous book, it’s great to finally have such a comprehensive look into the notorious gunman and gambler, Luke Short.
Handy With A Gun...! 