John Boessenecker

Pearl's father was Albert Davy, an evil violent alcoholic who was in constant conflict with the law. Her mother was a sweet, innocent illiterate woman who Albert married in Lindsay, Ontario, Canada in the 1860's. Pearl was born in in Lindsay in 1871 into the very dysfunctional Davy family.

As the Davy's were poor and lived outside normal society, they were targets for abuse. In one incident, Pearl's mother was ganged rape by four young men in front of some of her young children. Eventually the family moved to Rochester, NY where things did not get better. As a result, the children started to run away and eventually were successful in making a getaway where their poor circumstances forced them into prostitution which was accompanied by alcohol and drugs.

Eventually the Davy sisters entered relationships with men who in all cases were con men or criminals. Pearl made her mark joining these men in their criminal endeavors including breaking them out of jail. Her most famous exploit was robbing a stagecoach in Arizona in1899 with a male accomplice but her many criminal activities earned her the title of "The Bandit Queen".

This book took the author many years of searching newspaper archives on the Internet plus the assistance of many librarians and archivists to sort the facts from the myths and misinformation that has been written about Pearl in order to finally tell the true story of Pearl Hart.… (plus d'informations)

Well this book managed something I thought was impossible: to take one of the most nuanced, multi-layered, and exciting stories in the history of the American west, the subject of multiple novels and movies, and make it tedious and a slog to get through.

By trying to add more detail to the “bad guy” cow-boys Boessenecker gets bogged down in minutiae that is irrelevant to the main narrative and the early stages of the book becomes a blur of names and places that’s difficult to follow even for an Earp-geek like me who knows the story in detail.

It’s almost a relief when we get to the main event gunfight, but even that seems lacking in any passion.

There’s nothing new here for the Earp-scholar, and unfortunately for the casual reader it is devalued by an unnecessary political rant in the last few pages.… (plus d'informations)

In 1899 Pearl Hart robbed a stagecoach at gunpoint. Dressed as a man, her exploits immediately spread like wildfire and a manhunt ensued. Once captured, she basked in the attention, posing for photos, giving interviews and loving every minute of it. This book explores both her early life, exploits, and later life.

I really enjoyed this book. It was well paced and engaging. The entire Hart family was fascinating. I would definitely pick up another book by this author. Overall, highly recommended.… (plus d'informations)

A fascinating and detailed (maybe occasionally too detailed) account of the extraordinary life of Texas Ranger Frank Hamer. As the cover points out he is best known as the man who killed Bonnie & Clyde, but he was so much more.

To its credit this book is not an exercise in hero-worship or revisionism. The author clearly shows that Hamer was a man of contradictions; one one hand he was a conservative white supremacist with a quick temper and a “shoot first, ask questions later” approach to dealing with known criminals; yet he was also fiercely protective of African-Americans, fought the Klan, exposed corrupt politicians, and had a strong sense of justice and that the law applied equally to all irrespective of skin color or social position.

Hamer started life as a late nineteenth century cowboy and ended up helping bring one of the foremost law enforcement agencies through many controversies and growing pains into the first half of the twentieth century.

As the conclusion points out Hamer had a hard time reconciling his violent life with modern society and the questions he struggled with about the roles of law and justice still resonate today.… (plus d'informations)