Johnny D. Boggs
ISBN
Publisher: Leisure Books
Published: Sep 15, 2007
When the James-Younger gang rode into Northfield, Minn., in September 1876, Jesse James and his saddle pals figured robbing the town's bank would be easy money. But this lively and entertaining western-filled with gun smoke, hot lead and accurate historical action-shows how wrong they were. Spur Award-winner Boggs tells this exciting tale using the first person narrative of 24 historic characters, including Frank and Jesse James; the Younger brothers; Bill Chadwell (aka Bill Stiles), who claimed the Northfield raid was his idea; Anselm R. Manning, who plugs an outlaw early in the battle; and plenty of others. Though the robbery netted just $26.40, the wild gunfight left bullet-riddled bodies and puddles of blood all over town. Add in the prostitute who knew too much, the grave-robbing medical student and the farmer who just wanted to shoot an outlaw, and Boggs (The Hart Brand; etc.) has created a vibrant retelling of the Old West's most notorious and deadly bank robbery flop. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
There's a fine line between being a desperado and being just plain desperate. The James-Younger gang discovered this crucial distinction one ill-fated day when they set out to rob a Yankee bank in Northfield, Minnesota, a town they figured would be easily cowed by a few rebel yells. No master tacticians--their basic plan being to ride into town and, if the moment feels ripe, then go ahead and rob the bank; if not, ride on--it's no big surprise that everything goes straight to hell, along with a few of the bandits themselves. Boggs recounts the action from a different perspective in each chapter, from the James brothers--reckless and violent Jesse and scripture-quoting Frank--to a five-year-old daughter of a murdered bank teller not quite able to get what all the fuss is about, to indignant members of the subsequent posses. The kaleidoscopic effect pays handsome rewards, fueling the action from all vantage points in concise, frenetic bursts that might even leave you feeling a mite poorly for those doomed outlaws. Ian ChipmanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Description:
From Publishers Weekly
When the James-Younger gang rode into Northfield, Minn., in September 1876, Jesse James and his saddle pals figured robbing the town's bank would be easy money. But this lively and entertaining western-filled with gun smoke, hot lead and accurate historical action-shows how wrong they were. Spur Award-winner Boggs tells this exciting tale using the first person narrative of 24 historic characters, including Frank and Jesse James; the Younger brothers; Bill Chadwell (aka Bill Stiles), who claimed the Northfield raid was his idea; Anselm R. Manning, who plugs an outlaw early in the battle; and plenty of others. Though the robbery netted just $26.40, the wild gunfight left bullet-riddled bodies and puddles of blood all over town. Add in the prostitute who knew too much, the grave-robbing medical student and the farmer who just wanted to shoot an outlaw, and Boggs (The Hart Brand; etc.) has created a vibrant retelling of the Old West's most notorious and deadly bank robbery flop.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From
There's a fine line between being a desperado and being just plain desperate. The James-Younger gang discovered this crucial distinction one ill-fated day when they set out to rob a Yankee bank in Northfield, Minnesota, a town they figured would be easily cowed by a few rebel yells. No master tacticians--their basic plan being to ride into town and, if the moment feels ripe, then go ahead and rob the bank; if not, ride on--it's no big surprise that everything goes straight to hell, along with a few of the bandits themselves. Boggs recounts the action from a different perspective in each chapter, from the James brothers--reckless and violent Jesse and scripture-quoting Frank--to a five-year-old daughter of a murdered bank teller not quite able to get what all the fuss is about, to indignant members of the subsequent posses. The kaleidoscopic effect pays handsome rewards, fueling the action from all vantage points in concise, frenetic bursts that might even leave you feeling a mite poorly for those doomed outlaws. Ian Chipman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved