NCJ Number
147288
Date Published
1993
Length
424 pages
Annotation
This book explores the origin and development of outlaws in American history and the relationship between outlaws and social conditions.
Abstract
The author focuses on earlier outlaws such as Robin Hood, Dick Turpin, Blackbeard, Jean Lafitte, Pancho Villa, and Billy the Kid and on more recent personalities such as John Dillinger, Claude Dallas, and D.B. Cooper. He also covers Jesse and Frank James, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the Daltons, Pretty Boy Floyd, Ma Barker, Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker, Belle Starr, and the Apache Kid. In addition, the author examines the involvement of women in outlaw activities; both folklore and facts associated with outlaws; and the outlaw myth that spans artificial boundaries and distinctions of race, education, and wealth. The author points out that every society has its outlaws and presents a chronology of outlaws. He views the American outlaw as a legendary figure shrouded in myths and also as a social bandit aided by ordinary citizens. Changes in the goals and methods of outlaws over time are reviewed, along with specific themes in portrayals of notable outlaws during recent decades. Ballads associated with certain outlaws are appended. References, notes, and illustrations