Doc was very sick with tuberculosis and spent most of his life waiting to die. During this time though, he didn't sit around and wait, instead he lived a very full life.
Professionally he was known as Doc because he was a dentist, however, he didn't make his name as a dentist but rather as a card shark. He could count cards and because of this he knew when to up the anty or when to fold and take his losses.
He was generous with his money and once spent all he had (about 3 grand) on the wake of a friend. He also gave people dental care without asking them to pay for it.
His girlfriend Kate was a prostitute, but for some reason this didn't seem to bother him much. They fought like crazy and then made up. This was the cycle of their life. In between, Kate took care of Doc when the tuberculosis started acting up.
His best friends were the Earp brothers and in fact the Earp brothers considered Doc Holliday a brother himself.
I picked up this book because of the author - I've read several of her other books and wanted to see what this one was like. The author did a fantastic job of re-creating the old west and bringing Doc Holliday and the Earp brothers to life. I didn't want the book to end it was so interesting to read. (And this is from someone who is not a fan of reading history.) Though I should probably note that it is a historical fiction, so it wasn't like reading straight, boring history.
Rating: 10 / 10
ISBN: 9781400068043
Publisher: Random House
Edition: 1st Edition