Jesse james biography books
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Jesse James: gods Rebel of the Civil War bygd T.J. Stiles
In this brilliant biography T. J. Stiles offers a new understanding of the legendary outlaw Jesse James. Although he has often been portrayed as a Robin Hood of the old west, in this ground-breaking work Stiles places James within the context of the bloody conflicts of the Civil War to reveal a much more complicated and significant figure.
Raised in a fiercely pro-slavery household in bitterly divided Missouri, at age sixteen James became a bushwhacker, one of the savage Confederate guerrillas that terrorized the border states. After the end of the war, James continued his campaign of robbery and murder into the brutal era of reconstruction, when his reckless djärv, his partisan pronouncements, and his alliance with the sympathetic editor John Newman Edwards placed him squarely at the forefront of the former Confederates’ bid to recapture political power. With meticulous research and vivid accounts of the dramatic adve
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T.J. Stiles (center) at the English Speaking Union's presentation of the Ambassador Book Awards
Jesse James as a 16-year-old bushwhacker
Jesse James as an adult, in a photo authenticated by his widow, Zee
Further Reading:
A Short List of Other Books on Jesse James
(See the Essays page for a full review of some of these books)
Highly Recommended:
William A. Settle, Jr.,
Jesse James Was His Name, or, Fact and Fiction Concerning the Careers of the Notorious James Brothers of Missouri
--The first scholarly biography of Jesse James, this volume grew out Settle's graduate studies in the 1940s. Settle's short work is now out of date (it was published in 1966), but it is the essential starting point for any writing about the James brothers. Settle's careful research, grasp of the political context, and use of sources that have since been lost (including interviews with Robert James, Frank's son) make it a landmark.
Ted P. Yeatman,
Frank and Jesse James: The St
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Jesse James
American outlaw (1847–1882)
For other uses, see Jesse James (disambiguation).
Jesse Woodson James (September 5, 1847 – April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, bank and train robber, guerrilla and leader of the James–Younger Gang. Raised in the "Little Dixie" area of Missouri, James and his family maintained strong Southern sympathies. He and his brother Frank James joined pro-Confederate guerrillas known as "bushwhackers" operating in Missouri and Kansas during the American Civil War. As followers of William Quantrill and "Bloody Bill" Anderson, they were accused of committing atrocities against Union soldiers and civilian abolitionists, including the Centralia Massacre in 1864.
After the war, as members of various gangs of outlaws, Jesse and Frank robbed banks, stagecoaches, and trains across the Midwest, gaining national fame and often popular sympathy despite the brutality of their crimes. The James brothers were most active as members of their