William Milton Breakenridge (December 25, 1846 – January 31, 1931)[1] was an American lawman, teamster, railroader, soldier and author.

[4] After leaving Tombstone shortly after the gunfight at the OK Corral, Breakenridge later served as a deputy U.S. marshal, a surveyor, and as a claims agent for the Southern Pacific Railroad.

Critics of the book, including Wyatt Earp and his wife Josie, claimed that much of what Breakenridge wrote was biased and more fiction than factual.

[2] Portrayed as a thief, pimp, crooked gambler, and murderer, Earp loudly protested the book's contents until his death in 1929, and his wife continued in the same vein afterward.

Nonetheless, the book was a success and generated so much interest that Tombstone's citizens joined together in 1929 to create an annual October celebration, Helldorado Days,[7] commemorating the gunfight at the OK Corral.