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Wanted: Famous Outlaws
Jesse James: A Notorious Bank Robber of the Wild West
Jesse James's rise as a notorious outlaw was concurrent with the upheaval the West experienced before, during, and after the American Civil War. In fact, Jesse and his brother Frank became heroes to many who viewed them as Confederates battling the Union more than murderers and thieves. This thought-provoking volume tells the story of Jesse, from childhood to violent death, as well as relates valuable information about events in the United States that cultivated outlaws like the James brothers, including Bleeding Kansas and Reconstruction. The infamous man comes to life through photographs, illustrations, and an exciting narrative.
48 pages, Library Binding
First published January 15, 2016
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February 22, 2018
I recently watched The Long Riders (which was great except for the part where it skipped about 7 years of important Jesse James history) and was fascinated by the entire Jesse James story. And since there was that large missing chunk of history that the movie didn't cover, I started looking for books about the subject. When I put this one on hold at the library, I didn't realize it's more or less a short summary of the subject, probably meant for kids.
However, I really enjoyed this book. I learned a lot from it, including Missouri history. (And in Colorado they didn't really cover the Civil War in a whole lot of detail since we were a territory at that time. Missouri history was apparently a lot more thorough since my boyfriend was filling in a lot of the blanks as I read him snippets from this book.) I'm still interested in Jesse James and his life (and also planning trips to his two houses this summer when we have downtime since they're both fairly close to us) so I'll probably see if I can dig up some other books about him that are, um, longer. His son apparently also wrote a book about his father (though my library has it as a rare book and it's only for in library use so not sure if I'll ever be reading that one).
For what I was looking for (basically an overview of James, his life and death and his time with the Younger-James gang), this book was great. It was a whole wealth of information packed into just 45 pages. So if you, too, are interested in James and looking for a little more information about him and his active years, this book is great. I really enjoyed it and learned a lot. Would definitely recommend. It's a quick and easy read that teaches you a lot of history.
However, I really enjoyed this book. I learned a lot from it, including Missouri history. (And in Colorado they didn't really cover the Civil War in a whole lot of detail since we were a territory at that time. Missouri history was apparently a lot more thorough since my boyfriend was filling in a lot of the blanks as I read him snippets from this book.) I'm still interested in Jesse James and his life (and also planning trips to his two houses this summer when we have downtime since they're both fairly close to us) so I'll probably see if I can dig up some other books about him that are, um, longer. His son apparently also wrote a book about his father (though my library has it as a rare book and it's only for in library use so not sure if I'll ever be reading that one).
For what I was looking for (basically an overview of James, his life and death and his time with the Younger-James gang), this book was great. It was a whole wealth of information packed into just 45 pages. So if you, too, are interested in James and looking for a little more information about him and his active years, this book is great. I really enjoyed it and learned a lot. Would definitely recommend. It's a quick and easy read that teaches you a lot of history.
Displaying 1 of 1 review