Bedside Book of Bad Girls: Outlaw Women of the Midwest

by Chris Enss

Take a step back in time with the Bedside Book of Bad Outlaw women of the Midwest . Join author Chris Enss as she digs up and reveals startling facts about some of the most fascinating renegade women of the Midwest. Meet Flora Mundis, the horse thief who disguised herself as a man; Victoria Woodhull, out-spoken activist for free love, con artist, and the first female candidate for president; Ma Barker, mother of the notorious Barker Gang; Opal Long and Patricia Cherrington, trusted sisters of the Dillinger Gang; and many more. Experience history as if you were actually there. Stand witness to the trial and hanging of Elizabeth Reed, and ride the rails with Fannie and Jennie Freeman, the mother-daughter team who bilked railroad companies out of more than $150,000. In eleven captivating profiles, Enss brings to life the stories of these fascinating pistol-packing, horse-thieving, poker-swindling outlaws.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Westerns, True Crime

160 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2012

Reviews

[Lauren Stoolfire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up the Bedside Book of Bad Girls: Outlaw Women of the Midwest by Chris Enss for the segment on Victoria Woodhull, the scandalous first woman to run for U.S. President in 1872. She led a fascinating life and I know a good bit about her through my work at the public library in her hometown. Unfortunately, some details here aren't quite right or have been left out or glossed over. That makes me wonder just how accurate the stories as presented here about these other women are.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Notwithstanding fact, the stories herein are fascinating, a fast read and often frightening. These stories are about real women, most of whom faced and endured danger, aggression, molestation and harsh conditions from homesteaders to outright horsethiefs and murderers. Some just did it their way. Each of these stories would make wonderful short films. We need to hear and read about women daredevils and outlaws more often. I’m on the second book in the series— outlaw women of the west.

[Ana Lu (Mols) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It's a nice overview of outlaw women from the Midwest between the 19th and 20th centuries. Fun and had a healthy mix of the extremely famous to the relatively unknown.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the history behind each of these womens stories. Well qritten

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting history of these women, well researched.

[LaDonna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick, entertaining read with facts of these women I've not read before.

[Shoshana Hathaway · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bedside Book of Bad Girls

Take a step back in time with the Bedside Book of Bad Girls: Outlaw women of the Midwest. Join author Chris Enss as she digs up and reveals startling facts about some of the most fascinating renegade women of the Midwest.

This is a diverting little book. The writing is competent, the short biographies are well presented and interesting, and if it isn't profound or especially scholarly, it's a lot of fun, and short enough to be a palate cleanser between more substantial books. I recommend it because A. I, for one, hadn't heard of most of these bad (sometimes VERY bad) girls, and B. It's light fun!


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[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I grabbed this book at @coyotecorner on my recent trip to @joshuatreenps. It was a great bedside companion, reading a few stories each night. I think I would have liked it better if I hadn't already read Lady Killers, which profiled several of the same women in more depth. That said, it was a great introduction to women of the west!

[Roxanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love history of the old West. These are the bad girls of the Midwest and they things no other women did, and they were strong leaders also.