An engaging history of Deadwood, South Dakota?

December 9, 2013 6:02 AM

My dad loved the series Deadwood. He also loves biography and historical non-fiction books. I would like to give him an interesting history of Deadwood for Christmas but not necessarily one connected with the show (which seems to be most of them). Any recommendations?
posted by torisaur to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (2 answers total)

Not sure if you're interested in a lateral look at this topic but there is an interesting book about the Chinese experience in the foundation of Deadwood: Ethnic Oasis: Chinese Immigrants in the Frontier Black Hills, by Liping Zhu. If your dad had a favorite character you can check out the list of real characters and learn more about them and find printed accounts of some of their lives. And, of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't suggest the Deadwood library as a resource since I bet they get this question a lot and cold probably just email you a bibliography.
posted by jessamyn at 6:32 AM on December 9, 2013 [1 favorite]

Slightly different but still relevant: Mary Doria Russell's Doc is a super slow burn of a literary story about Doc Holliday's life in Dodge City. She does a great job setting the scene and making the character feel like a real person, while really taking the time to flesh out the historical setting; not in a bang bang shoot-em-up Western style, but more of an exploration of the circumstances bringing people to this place, at this time.
posted by redsparkler at 10:49 AM on December 9, 2013