Bedside Book of Bad Girls: Outlaw Women of the American West

by Michael Rutter

Meet Kate Bender, who brutally murdered as many as thirty people in Kansas, including children, and buried them in her family’s orchard; Laura Bullion, the only woman to participate in a Wild Bunch train robbery; and Madam Vestal, a one-time Confederate spy who organized the famous Deadwood stagecoach robberies. Witness the execution of Elizabeth Potts and Ellen Watson, the first women hanged in Nevada and Wyoming.

Drawing on fact and folklore, author and historian Michael Rutter brings 21 gun-slinging "bad girls to" life—and explores their motives, hopes, and dreams. He dispels many of the myths about these female outlaws, for sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction.

Featuring forty-two historical images, Bedside Book of Bad Girls sheds light on figures and events often shrouded in fabrication and fantasy. Meet these fascinating characters, complete with their pistols and petticoats, their knives and knaves, their vices and victims.

· Features 42 evocative historical photographs
· Covers serial killers, bank robbers, gold thieves, and more

Please visit us at FarcountryPress.com for more information and more titles in the Bedside Reader Series !

Genres: History, Nonfiction, True Crime, Westerns

144 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2008

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Michael Rutter has authored or co-authored nearly 40 books and 600 articles for magazines and newspapers. He was awarded the Ben Franklin Award for Outdoor Writing and the Rocky Mountain Book Publishers Association Award. Michael teaches advanced writing at Brigham Young University. He is also a Christa McAuliffe Fellow.

Reviews

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

As much as I would normally find this particular book interesting and would like to hold onto it as a great book for starting history I found myself completely bored with the contents while struggling to finish it and/or even motivate myself to finish it. At first it seemed like the author had a concept of how he wanted to present the book but instead it seemed the further in you went the more you found yourself whirling out of control.

Each collection organization had a brief introductory that allowed the reader a chance to have a preview of what was coming up in the following pages and the type of women that would be evolved. It gave a quick summary then took the reader onto the woman with each having a chapter that gave what history is known about her, the circumstances that may have led her to do what she did, who she hung out with, where she put her boots up and so much more that it is a good start for those who may be interested. Unfortunately the author presents it in such a flat and dry tone that it takes the fun out of history especially with some of these vivid characters while occasionally dipping into his own thoughts and/or feelings thus corrupting the information given.

The majority of the women had some black-and-white pictures throughout their chapter to allow the reader to have a glimpse of that particular face or of other main characters in their tale. But one intriguing entry that was lacking a photo was Etta Place whom was mentioned as one of the most beautiful women probably throughout the book and thus I was disappointed to be teased so. Fortunately there is such a thing as the web and I was able to look her up.

All in all it was a dull read while one I wouldn't truly recommend as I am sure there are some better books out there involving these women and the lives they struggled to live the fullest in a world that wanted to crush them for being so independent.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this informative and entertaining. It's a collection of historical essays about various outlaw women of the west, including Belle Starr and Calamity Jane. There are many others that I didn't know anything about though, such as Ah Toy, a notorious Chinese madam in San Francisco, and Madam Vestal, a gambler and thief. In many cases, there aren't a lot of details available on these women but the author gives you what he has. The most interesting thing in many cases is the details of the setting that Rutter works into the narrative. For example, the horrible plight of so many Chinese women in California in the Old West period was just heartbreaking. I liked this quite a lot.

[Shannyn Shuklian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting book. There were some names that I hadn't heard before and some that I had. I enjoyed that the stories were to the point and quick. I also like how it was organized. There were lots of different women it seems that wanted more to their life than just being a wife.

[MKF · Rating 2 out of 5]

Decent but I noticed that a few facts were incorrect.

[Cheryle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meet Kate Bender, who brutally murdered as many as thirty people in Kansas, including children, and buried them in her family's orchard; Laura Bullion, the only woman to participate in a Wild Bunch train robbery; and Madam Vestal, a one-time Confederate spy who organized the famous Deadwood stagecoach robberies. Witness the execution of Elizabeth Potts and Ellen Watson, the first women hanged in Nevada and Wyoming. Drawing on fact and folklore, author and historian Michael Rutter brings 21 gun-slinging "bad girls to" life—and explores their motives, hopes, and dreams. He dispels many of the myths about these female outlaws, for sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. Featuring forty-two historical images, Bedside Book of Bad Girls sheds light on figures and events often shrouded in fabrication and fantasy. Meet these fascinating characters, complete with their pistols and petticoats, their knives and knaves, their vices and victims. · Features 42 evocative historical photographs· Covers serial killers, bank robbers, gold thieves, and morePlease visit us at FarcountryPress.com for more information and more titles in the Bedside Reader Series!

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Considering how long it took me to finish, I’d have to say that it was not as descriptive or engaging as it could have been…and that is both good and bad. Good because Rutter sticks to the history; bad because the book doesn’t fulfill its promise of great storytelling. I enjoy the history of the west immensely so for me, that warrants 4 stars. But for others, I’d probably say 3. The author did a decent amount of research and touches on the “what and where’s” of these ladies’ stories; but little of the hows and why’s are developed, even though the book jacket pitches that he brings these”gun-slinging bad girls to life.” The two books of Bad Girls feature over 40 stories highlighting, for the most part, women who did what they had to do to survive rather than being “bad.” I think the stories would make a fabulous Netflix series.

[Darla Poloski · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this book but felt it fell short. I wish it was more in depth with sources/citations listed for further research. Many chapters ended with the author saying something along the lines of the subject “faded into obscurity “. I would have liked to know if the author actually did any research or just took for granted what others have said about the subject. The book seemed “ slapped together” to me.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting collection of outlaw women in the West. I would have liked more detail on many of the women however there just aren't complete records on many of these woman. I enjoyed reading about how many of these women bucked traditions of the times to follow their own desires.

[Heidi Hilty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of nonfiction essays profiles 21 women, well known and lesser known, and debunks many myths surrounding their lives. All of these women make for an interesting read but the writing is, unfortunately, subpar.

[Jennifer Perdue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not my normal read

I tend to read mainly fiction. This book came up for book club. Couldn't put it down. Truly enjoyed the writing and the stories of these women. Might have to branch out some and take a look at other books by this author.

[Ronald Spitzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good biographies of outlaw women. Well written and very readable. I learned about some I was not aware of before. Others I already knew about and these biographies presented them well also. Recommended.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I pickec this up at a shop in Tombstone, AZ. It is exactly what it says it is: a bedside book of bad girls in the outlaw American west. Short but informative, colorful and fascinating. Highly recommend.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Light read

Pretty good for a light reading book. Quite a bit of history, and I was surprised by how much I didn't know about these women

[Alana B · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was really great! I got it at a gift shop and am incredibly happy that i decided to buy it. It tells the story of murderers, liars, and strong independent women.

[Debra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book about some bad girls. I would have liked a few more details about these woman. Glad I read it.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just a nice bedtime reader as the name implies. A short snapshot into a famous or infamous woman's life.

[Patricia English · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was ok, but not what I expected , a lot of this was what was said but in reality we don't really know kind of writing.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read

[Mylee Waldron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative! Interesting read

[Nancy Flack · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

[Janessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

[Sonja · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked how they grouped these women; as well as how they presented true information as well as the tall tales surrounding them.

[DaSita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool book explaining fact versus fiction for so many women whose names were so familiar.

[Marywerewolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book while traveling to South Dakota. It is a non fiction on outlaw women of the west. All stories are separate and individual and that was the main reason it took me a while to finish a whole book as I was forgetting I am reading it. Even though I spent a lot of time with it I did like this book as a whole and got some new manes from it that I never heard of before.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

While traveling to Lincoln, Montana, to try and find Ted Kaczynski's house (did it!), I picked up an unusual trio of books at a Lincoln gift shop about women in the old-timey American west. Since this one was the shortest I decided it would be first. Interesting concept, but the material gets watered down a little in the process.

The "bedside book" concept the title alludes to seems to provide really short chapters that make it easy for someone to read a whole story before going to sleep. If that person, like me, is already pretty tired by the time they go to bed, it's a great idea! I could read just a few pages at a time and not need to worry about getting back into where I was in the larger story. This book was easy to keep reading and finish.

However, my inner history scholar was not as satisfied. Very few of the stories seem to have much depth, often because documentation is scant. The author attempts to fill these holes in, or mention debate about a detail, in a way that seems to actively avoid referencing original materials. There is only one long quote in the entire book. The author also sometimes grafts on the emotional life of the people involved. This is probably done to make each piece more like a story, heighten the human drama element, etc., but these passages interrupted my experience of the story, and it was clear this was coming out of the author's imagination rather than actual primary sources.

All in all though, I'm pretty excited that this book even exists. I was intrigued to learn about the Bassett women, one of the few stories that seemed to be written from a wealth of material. The photos are great, and well cited (photo researchers notice these things). The book and its neighbors were exciting enough that I bought three brand-new, full-priced books that day! That's saying a lot for this tightwad. The remaining two seem more scholarly in nature though, so i suspect they'll be more my cup of non-fiction tea.

[Brigette Streeper · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. I didn't know a lot of the western outlaw women, so I enjoyed that the book covered a large portion of women. The chapters were short, so it was very difficult to put down. I easily finished it in 2 days.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is wanting to learn the history of outlaw women in the west. However, if you already have good knowledge about certain women and want more in depth histories, this book would probably not be for you. This book skims over the women's stories, opening your mind to the idea of how it was back then. If you want a lot of details, I would get a book that specializes in just one, or a few, of the women.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyone from the well known Calamity Jane (a Prostitute, Theif, and Alcoholic who drank her way into an early grave) to little known Bad Girls, this was a very enjoyable, quick read. You have the true bad girls, like Calamity Jane, Belle Star, and others (those who'd as soon kill you and rob you as look at you), and you also have the women who were simply too forward thinking for their time, and victims of poor circumstance and the mysogyny of the Victorian peroid. This book would be a fantastic addition to any High School History Classroom or Personal Library.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only read the first few chapters, but couldn't finish it. I was hoping to learn a lot about Calamity Jane and other famous female outlaws, but most chapters were only about 2 pages long, so there wasn't a lot to learn. And while I enjoy author's trying to add a new twist to how we view someone from the past, there was nothing to substantiate his claims at times, such as when he stated Hickok would have never fallen in love with Calamity Jane, much less looked at her because she wasn't his type. What??

[Jesse Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing counterbalance for other characterizations. There is so much "boxed stereotyping" that happens. When reading these stories it greatly erodes the mythology of 18th and 19th century mythos surrounding femininity, especially the spaghetti western tropes that pervade western genres. Great resource.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun recount of the bad girls of the Wild Wild West. This book gives a run-down of the infamous legends of outlaw women back in the day. It's nothing in-depth or thought-provoking, it is exactly what it says it is. A bedside book, great to read before bed when no thought is required.