Desperate Men

'It is good to have someone examine this misty mid-region of America's past as Mr. Horan does it, using the apparatus of the scholar and the skepticism of the first-rate reporter. His book reflects both the high drama of an earlier gangster period and the tenacious, unrelenting work of the greatest detective agency of them all' - "San Francisco Chronicle". 'Readers who believe that Missouri's most famous killer [Jesse James] stole to give to the poor have been Robin Hood-winked, author Horan says, and assembles impressive evidence to prove his point' - "Time". 'Well-written, factually sound, fascinating true western' - "Kirkus".True histories of western outlaws Jesse James and Butch Cassidy are paired in the classic "Desperate Men". James D. Horan, the first researcher to be granted access to the long-sealed files of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, was able to show in graphic and unsentimental detail the bloody desperation of the James-Younger gang and the Wild Bunch. Horan reveals the insecure, bitter Jesse James behind the bandit's mask. His death ended a sixteen-year reign of terror in the Middle Border, but farther to the west Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid, and their cohorts soon loomed on the outlaw trail. Their criminal careers and intimate lives are tracked in this revised, enlarged edition of "Desperate Men". James D. Horan (1914-1981), historian and newspaperman, was the author of many books, including "The Authentic Wild West: The Outlaws". Jim Dullenty is the owner of Rocky Mountain House Books in Stevensville, Montana.