Books like Doc Maynard: The man who invented Seattle

Doc Maynard, Seattle's drunkest and most fascinating founder, is one of my personal heroes. He was more interested in creating a cool city than making a shitload of money himself, and he led the first faction of goodtime people in the city, thwarting the wholesome forces of Denny and the other founders. (A battle that still rages in Seattle, I might add.)I suppose it's appropriate that such a gregarious character should have a gregarious book written about him, but I couldn't help but wish that this book were a little less gregarious. I guess my years of history nerddomc have made me stuffy--but this book has cartoon illustrations for Christ's sake! And no fucking bibliography. I suppose I should have considered that before buying it, but I was so excited to read an entire book on Doc Maynard that I was willing to chalk it up to the eccentricities of small 70's publishing houses. Unfortunately, the author's eccentricities are even more annoying than the illustrations. Speidel turns Doc Maynard's life into a sort of 'yarn', the main purpose of which is to excuse the Doc's shortcomings and sing his praises. I'm all about singing Doc Maynard's praises (in fact, someone should write a Pogues-style drinking song about him), but I get annoyed with biographers who become obsessed with clearing their subject of any flaws or blunders, biographers who turn all minor adversaries into villains and try to come up with excuses for even the most ridiculous behavior. (Ron Chernow's excellent but tiring biography of Alexander Hamilton naturally springs to mind.)As far as historical figures go, Doc Maynard is practically an angel, but the author isn't content with his considerable achievements and seems determined to turn him into some sort of Johnny Appleseed-style tall tale. This involves villanising Maynard's abandoned wife and several other female characters, which comes off seeming immature and sort of sexist. I'm really not easily offended at all, but Speidel annoyed me with his particular brand of liberal machismo. (That said, he was instrumental in the preservation of the historic Pioneer Square neighborhood, so we have much to thank him for.)In addition, he has turned up some interesting facts, tidbits, and source documents, so this book is probably worth reading if you are an avid student of Northwestern history.