Over the Wall: The Men Behind the 1934 Death House Escape

Rating:
Summary: Beyond Bonnie and Clyde
Review: At long last a book on Southwestern Depression outlaws that doesn't dwell unnecessarily on the overblown exploits of Bonnie and Clyde. Of course, the infamous duo are covered here, as their former accomplice Raymond Hamilton was allowed to participate in the 1934 Death House escape from Huntsville of which Pat McConal has here presented such an expert and detailed account. But the principal planners of the break, Whitey Walker and Blackie Thompson, were experienced professional bank robbers as far back as the early '20's when Clyde Barrow, who never rose above being a bungling, trigger happy, semi-amateur punk, wasn't yet much more than a schoolboy. McConal presents the career of the Walker gang in admirable detail before launching into the definitive account of the Death House break. Interviews with old-timers and the author's own insights also paint one of the best pictures yet of the bleak landscape of Depression America as the backdrop to which men such as this rose to evil notoriety.