I’ve been hooked on the mysteries of Deadwood, South Dakota since HBO debuted a series on its wild past in 2004. The main, and most interesting, character was “Al Swearengen” played by Ian McShane. While there are some similarities between HBO’s Swearengen and the actual Swearingen, I think Jerry L. Bryant and Barbara Fifer’s book separates fact from fiction more than anything else on the subject.

Sadly, there’s not a ton of public record covering Swearingen, so “Deadwood’s Al Swearingen” does more to focus on the history of “The Gem Theater”, the biggest business venture Al ever embarked on. We hear of all the interesting acts that Swearingen brought to Deadwood over the years, the newspaper reports of crimes perpetrated in and around The Gem, and of all the rebuilds and refurnishings it went through.

There’s also a good deal of information covering the Swearingen family, like Al’s twin brother Lem. You’ll seem some familiar names pop up if you’re a fan of HBO’s “Deadwood”, the likes of Dan Dorrity (Doherty), Sol Starr (Star), Wild Bill Hickock, Johnny Burns (Brynes), and Seth Bullock turn up throughout the book.

Deadwood’s great fire, their flood, Al’s death, and his tumultuous relationships with women are the main highlights of this particular book. It’s an easy read, especially for anyone already familiar with the locale, era, or people involved. There’s everything from photos of the town and Swearingen himself, to official documents throughout the period helping us to keep a frame of reference in the book.

“Deadwood’s Al Swearingen: Manifest Evil in the Gem Theater” is just as fluid as it is detailed, and I would recommend it with vigor to anyone interested in the more prominent names of the old west. Al Swearingen wasn’t a famous gunfighter, but that just means that the tale of his life lasted longer than most the names we recall from those times.

There are still plenty of questions surrounding the life and times of Ellis Albert Swearingen, but Jerry L. Bryant and Barbara Fifer put together the most complete retrospective of the man possible. Far Country Press published a “Gem” with this one.

–JPLS