Gamblers, Guns, & Gavels: Collected Works on Arizona Gambling Violence - Paperback

by Erik J. Wright (Author)

From the foreword by Tombstone historian Peter Brand: "This book represents his author's] first collection of articles, dealing with frontier gamblers, murder, jail breaks and rough justice. Primarily dealing with the lives of four Tucson gamblers and a gang of cut-throat opportunists, these articles provide previously unknown information about some of these lesser known nefarious characters. During the early 1880s, many men, who devoted their time to the high-risk vocations of mining and gambling, found their way to Tucson, Arizona Territory. The author provides biographical sketches of four such men - John Murphy, William Moyer, David Gibson and their murdered victim, gunman James Leavy."

Author Biography

After studying archaeology in college, Erik Wright spent several years traveling the western United States and northwest Mexico while working in the field of exploratory geophysics. He published his first article in True West Magazine at age 16 and since that time has published over 50 popular articles, academic papers, columns and book reviews for a number of national publications in the field of western history. A winner of seven Arkansas Press Association awards including First Place for his feature article on a 1909 American-Australian cold case, Wright works county emergency management coordinator and lives in northeast Arkansas with his wife, Laura, and their three dogs.