Frank and Jesse James: The Story Behind the Legend

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Summary: Frank and Jesse James
Review: "Frank and Jesse James" tells the story of these two most celebrated outlaws of the late nineteenth century. The story of the James brothers is fascinating and the author manages to document their story quite fully and, presumably, quite accurately. In particular, he appears to succeed in separating the historical facts, as best they can be determined, from the myth and the legend that has always surrounded the James brothers. However, I found that it took a real effort for me to get through this short book. Quite simply, I found the book to be poorly written. Turgid sentences, ambiguous syntax, and frequent paragraphs that combine seemingly unrelated ideas abound. I found that there were numerous incidents related that were hard to follow, other than in the most general sense, many of which had seemingly little to do with the main thrust of the book. The author simply doesn't write well and the editors either didn't know it or, worse, didn't care. The story of the James brothers is fascinating, but getting through Yeatman's book takes a real effort. However, I'd rate it three just on the merits of the story alone.

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Summary: Updated looks at a history "classic"
Review: For all the volume of material written about Frank and Jesse James and their outlaw group, sources which reflect serious research are not easy to find. Much it reflects more of the prejudices, pop culture stereotypes and popular political and social views of the author than history. But this is one of the more solid entries in this area of American history in awhile.

Mr. Yeatman's approach does reflect a modern take on the story, such as a mention of post-traumatic stress being a factor in people from respectable families becoming so alienated after the Civil War -- an aspect not likely to occur to many historians prior to the Vietnam era. There's also considerably more attention given here to exactly how the "Robin Hood" legend of the James gang was manufactured as a 19th century media creation, and how the success of that image fit in with the social issues of the Jameses' time.

People familiar with James-Younger history will appreciate some unusually thorough accounts of Frank James' and Cole Younger's attempts at running a Wild West show shortly after the turn of the century. The book also includes appendixes that include as much helpful information as the main body of the book: Civil War correspondence, sample editorials of the period and a transcript of a press conference concerning the 1995 exhumation and DNA testing as only a few examples. There is, in fact, quite extensive coverage of the procession of bogus "Jesse Jameses" who've tried to cash in on historic notoriety over the years.

An excellent historic source.

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Summary: Fact, not fiction, about Frank and Jesse James
Review: I have read any number of books about the notorious James boys and this one is no doubt the best. There are other books that would deceive you with made-up dialogue, and dubious "facts". I think there's probably a market for that sort of book, though, unfortunately, and some who are disappointed by this book may be expecting more of the same old legend, dished out for over a century, with a few more ruffles and flourishes. This is typical for many areas of the story of the old West, not just the James story. The author doesn't get into long-winded descriptions of the weather the night that a robbery was pulled, or what was going through Jesse's mind as he waited for a train. He wasn't there, can't read minds over a century, and the accounts usually don't say what the weather was like. Some lesser writers would have made it up out of whole cloth. You are not going to please everybody. The story is fascinating, once you get into it. Some people with a limited education or attention span may find parts tough going, though. I found it fairly easy reading, but it's a 480 page book covering over a century and a half of material. This is a complex story and there are plenty of characters that play their respective part in what is an American epic. The James boys did not leave memoirs of their deeds. There are only a few letters that survive. Much of what we have comes from court records, and newspaper accounts, as well as some scattered correspondence. It's truly amazing what other writers failed to locate in the historical record. If I had one book on the subject, this would be it.

Rating:
Summary: The best work since Settle...
Review: Ted Yeatman has produced the best work on the James brothers since William Settle's 1966 "Jesse James Was His Name". His well-documented research over two decades has paid off with what I, a long-time researcher into the subject myself, consider a "must-have" volume for any James buff. Many books on this subject have appeared over the years, but Yeatman stands head and shoulders above the rest. Many specifics concerning Frank and Jesse are open to speculation, and Yeatman avoids the pitfall of expressing his opinions as facts--a lesson most writers on this subject have yet to learn.