Butch Casssidy and Other Mormon Outlaws of the Old West

by Kathryn Jenkins Gordon

Few things capture our imaginations like true stories from the Old West. Throw religion into the mix, and you have the stuff of enduring legends. Mormons are known for honesty, integrity, morality, love of country, love of God, and love of fellowman-hardly the qualities one normally associates with outlaws. So it comes as a sort of shock to some that among the rough-riding, horse-stealing, cattle-rustling, bank- robbing, gun-slinging outlaws of the Old West were a fair number of Mormons. In this entertaining volume you'll get to know quite a few of these desperado Mormons. Some are household names-like Butch Cassidy. Others you may be meeting for the first time. You'll find out who's who and what they did and where they hid. You'll even get a peek at the Mormon lawmen who dedicated their lives to pursuing the Mormon outlaws.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, Lds

176 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2013

Reviews

[Kathy Stone · Rating 2 out of 5]

While it is interesting to read about these outlaws of the late nineteenth century it is annoying to read phrases like "more about that later". Was this book written to be oral history? That is the feeling I got reading the book. I love to read history, but this particular book did not have a scholarly feel to it. Some of the phrasing was too insulting. I need more depth in the books I read about the past and a strong narrative if it is not meant to be scholarly.

[Josh Arnold · Rating 4 out of 5]

Based solely on its entertainment value: 5 stars!

Based on scholarly research and writing: probably 2-3 stars.

So I’ll give it an overall average of 4 stars.

The book is full of exciting stories and fascinating information all told in a very informal way…in the way a great storyteller would convey it around a campfire. A very fun read. But not a read that someone looking for a serious history would want.

[Melissa Bird · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of interesting stories and facts about some Mormon outlaws. Not necessarily the best piece of literature out there with a lot of repetition of phrases like "more on that later" and some stories got told once and then told again later with only slightly more details, but still I learned some things and overall it was pretty good.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read for me, and every chapter was interesting. Other than Butch Cassidy, most of the other outlaws I hadn't heard of but their hide out spots I'm familiar with. So interesting.

[Andrew Miller · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good idea for a book and had its good moments, but poorly written. If someone like Ron Chernow or Walter Isaacson covered the same concept, it might have worked. But most of this fell flat.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this slim volume at a Salt Lake City bookstore mainly because I found the title irresistible. I hadn't known Butch Cassidy was a Latter-day Saint and I'd never thought about Mormon cattle-rustlers, bank robbers, and gunslingers.

Gordon has written a light-hearted romp through outlaw territory that could easily have been subtitled Good Mormon Boys Gone Bad. It's an enjoyable read but - apart from the first chapter which provides interesting background about why some Saints were drawn to the outlaw life - there's precious little analysis. Gordon's aim is to entertain, and she largely succeeds.

There is some repetition, due to the way the book is structured. Because many of the outlaws rode with Cassidy's Wild Bunch, and because Gordon tells each man's story separately, the same heists feature in several chapters.

All in all, this is a good-natured peek into a fascinating period of Utah history.

[Jen Jenson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny Book!!!
We listened to it audibly. I believe it was meant to be that way. The delivery was quite informal and more like a campfire story-telling. Nonetheless, it was quite entertaining. Left a few things hanging, but they were not crucial to the story. I enjoyed hearing some of the questionable stories. We were in Texas while listening, and realized that Olive Oatman, the Girl with the Blue Tattoo was buried just 30 miles from our current location! So when we needed an outing - we drove to Sherman and visited her grave! It was an inspired adventure. Overall we really liked this book, and can't wait to find another similar one. It was quite perfect to listen & work to.

[Praiseworthy Pursuits · Rating 4 out of 5]

A colorful look into the lives of several well-known, and some lesser known, "mormon" outlaws of the wild west. Of particular interest and quality is the final chapter on Porter Rockwell. Though I consider myself a reasonably well-informed student of the Church of Jesus Christ's history, I had never heard most of the interesting and unique experiences described in that section, in particular. An easy read that was both entertaining and fun.

[Jamille Parks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I graduated college with a degree in history and never have a read a "text" book that was so engaging or funny. It was very informative and insightful to the days of the old west and the men that made life more colorful. The book made me wish I had done my thesis on the outlaws than what I really wrote about.

[Wanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fairly interesting book. The author repeats many of the daring acts of the outlaws because of poor organization of his writing. I'm not crazy about his writing style either. However, it had some interesting stories to read about a different time than we're living now. Not a page-turner, but enough interest to make me want to finish it.

[Ali Wolpern · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS BOOK IS AMAZING!!!!

I love outlaw and western history and this book tops the list. Short book...I feel like I would love if this book was longer, but it was still a great, short read!

Highly recommend! I listened to it in 2 days!

[Rolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting information if you have a connection to the subject matter, though the prose is really pedestrian and the framing is very much from a faithful LDS perspective (not surprising given the publisher).

[Edy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. The author talks about some of the more famous outlaws that I didn’t know about, but she also talks about many that I did not. I found it interesting that members of the church, as well as members of law enforcement, often cooperated, and health theoutlaws.

[Dean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some sections are taken from other books by Gordon.

[Camille Sylvester · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun, quick read. A little repetitive. My family enjoyed listening to the audiobook with me.

[Wendy Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never had heard these stories, glad I read the book!

[Donald · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a general book for tourists.

[NaDell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Premise is intriguing, but a lot of the book felt repetitive because so many of the outlaws were connected to each other.

[Alex Fallon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy read. Not the best written (lots of repeating stories regarding different people, “more on that later”), but nonetheless interesting.

[Heather Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have liked the book more if the author didn't repeat herself so much!

[Shauna · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazingly fascinating book!

So who are these Mormon Outlaws?

Orrin Porter Rockwell was sometimes the law, and sometimes an outlaw.

Robert LeRoy Parker joined the cattle rustlers and became the well-know Butch Cassidy; and twenty of the sixty in his gang of bandits were Mormons.

Willard Erastus Christianson, while walking home from a Church dance whacked a rival on the head with a rock and feared he had killed the guy so he ran away from home and became the outlaw, Matt Warner or "The Mormon Kid."

John Tomas McCarty was raised a Mormon. He later married Matt Warner's sister and mentored Matt in the ways of crime. "On March 30, 1889, Tom joined his two buddies -- Matt Warner and Butch Cassidy-- in pulling off one of the largest bank robberies of the day!

Learn about these men and more who were considered Mormon Outlaws.

Learn about the legendary Outlaw Trail and some of the most famous outlaw hideouts.

Grab a copy of this book then sit back and enjoy the tales of the
Wild West and the ways of the outlaws.

A VERY FASCINATING READ!

[Roy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting read! The author definitely put in the time to research. The cultural and geographical backgrounds were the most interesting to me. Although I liked each of her choices for outlaws (especially "the Mormon Kid" since he spent some time in a town where some of my relatives come from), I can't help but think that she could have combined most of them into one chapter since their lives intermingled so much and then could have included more of the outlaws which she said she found so interesting. The chapter on Orrin Potter Rockwell really makes me want to learn more about him! All in all I'd call this a very worthy book about Mormon Outlaws and Lawmen!

[Erika B. (SOS BOOKS) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting! While the book dragged a bit the author definitely has captured the imagination of the Old West outlaws! :)

[Deb · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just an OK read. Read it in an afternoon.

[Annaleise Dearinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picked it up looking for a fun-filled wild-west kinda book, and it delivered that and so much more. Very thought-provoking and educational. Very well written.

[Lindsey Sanders · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a really hard time getting in to this book. parts of it were interesting but I think it could have been much shorter by leaving out uneeded details.

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