Customer Reviews

The Branch and the Scaffold (Judge Parker)

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The kid in me enjoys my history served in an enjoyable way~ here is a good example of how that should be done.
The author breaks little new ground, however he brings all the characters very much to life, warts and all. You'll see a whole side of Judge Parker that I'm sure you won't have been aware of.
The chapter on the Ned Christie war was interesting, as was the insight to the hangman's trade.
I enjoyed this book, as will others who have a serious interest in Western history.

I haven't read a historical fiction this good since I picked up Sharra's "The Killer Angels" and his son's "God's and Generals" and "The Last Full Measure". I hadn't heard of Judge Parker before, but several of the outlaws he directed the pursuit of were the people I yearned for stories of in my childhood. The references to Cole Younger and Jesse James were particularly interesting. Not at all what Hollywood or campfire tales would tell, but as interesting in their truthful reality as their legends were.

I'm not a fan of history typically, but this will teach me to give a historical fiction a 2nd look when I'm searching the shelves.

Loren Estleman has made a writing career by alternating Westerns with hard-boiled detective and crime fiction. "The Branch And The Scaffold" is an example of the former genre. In this novel, Estleman focuses on the life and career of Judge Isaac Parker, the legendary "hanging judge" who for several decades was the only source of law and order in the Indian Nations, now the state of Oklahoma. Although he led a fascinating life in his own right, previous Western novels and films have only dealt with Parker as a secondary or even peripheral figure, a deficiency which Estleman noted and sought to remedy with this novel.

Estleman based his novel closely on real life events, using courtroom transcripts, period newspapers, and memoirs by Parker's contemporaries to create a striking "you are there" atmosphere. Vivid characters like Belle Starr, Bill Doolin, and Heck Thomas are brought to life in succinct detail, stripped of legend and romance and to my mind, made all the more interesting for it. Unlike most other works of historical fiction, "Branch" is notable for having no invented characters whatsoever, relying only on actual people to advance the plot. The author also has a genuine feel for how people spoke in the 19th-Century. The authentic speech patterns add further depth and realism to the novel. Most importantly to my mind, Estleman takes actual events from human life with all its randomness and unplanned consequences and fashions them into a coherent work of fiction that illumines and defines the development of Judge Parker's character over the course of his life. This is a real acheivement, one not many contemporary writers could do, especially in a fairly brief novel such as this.

Estleman's notes at the novel's end are also interesting: he describes the sources he utilized to write the novel and also discusses various films, novels, and histories where Parker figures prominently (among them one of my favorite Clint Eastwood movies, "Hang 'Em High").

I recommend this book to fans of the Old West, American history, courtroom drama buffs, and anyone who likes a straightforward, well-written work of fiction.

Oh, if modern society had just had some of the values and strenghts that Judge Isaac Parker exhibited in his tenure as the foremost hanging judge in the western United States. Our world would indeed be a different place.

Loren D Estelman writes a fascinating biography/adventure starring the Hanging Judge. As a the pre-eminent dispenser of justice in a large territory, his word was final, and the taming of the west was easier due to his firm resolve. His record of numbers of hangings will never again be seen, nor will his effect upon a justice system. It is difficult to read this novel without reflecting upon our stressed modern times and our lack of consequences for any actions, when Judge Parker ensured that every illegal act had a consequence.

Estelman is a master of the factual/first person dialogue and this book is a joy to read. Even then, some people managaed to escape justice.

Many thanks Mr Estelman.

Tim Lasiuta

I just discovered Estleman as an author and found his writing style beyond the routine story telling that is out there generally among authors. Obviously he researches subject matter if he is going to write a novel involving historical devices, personalities, and regional descriptors. This is the second book I read by him and it lead me to the Detroit series and now I am in the Murdock series. He is right on with weaponary of the turn of the century or prior era and the way of life for which this country was earlier settled. I am really enjoing the Murdock series. The Branch and the Scaffold is a depiction of an executioner (hangman) who treated his job almost with scientific pride as opposed to "stretching the necks" of hooligans as was the common method of execution during the 1800's. Happy reading friends.

I really enjoyed this book. I've never been much on Westerns, but this book got a favorable review in the newspaper, so thought I'd give it a read, since I do like historical fiction. Very well written, and an easy read.

More than simply "The True Story of the West's Legendary Hanging Judge" as promised by its subtitle, author Loren Estleman's "The Branch and the Scaffold" is an immense book, literally a geneaology of Judge Parker and his family, the Executioner, a half dozen sheriffs and U.S. marshals, and all the criminals, individuals as well as bands, of the western territories in the second half of the 19th century. Nicknamed the "Hanging Judge of the Border" in the press and in the government, including the more than one U.S. President, Parker was at odds with most officials as he set about restoring order and turning the lawless west into a safe place to live.

In these pages Estelman's readers will see such major ciminals as the James Brothers, the Dalton Gang, and Bandit Queen, Belle Starr and her husband as well as her lover paraded through the chapters of the "The Branch and the Scaffold." Their biographies are well detailed as they support and/or oppose the hanging judge. You will also go into the "Territory" almost uncharted Cherokee lands, with lawmen hunting down train robbers, bank robbers and other rogues.

I would personally have enjoyed more depictions of the emotional development of both the villains and heroes of the book. How did they (both the good and the bad guys) get that way? The prose in this book is of a lively style I'd call "Creative Non-fiction" because it seems far more fact-based than a novel. In that sense, too, tip your ten gallon hat to author Loren Estlemen for one can't help but admire his thorough scholarship. His writing is also full of satirical descriptions and black humor as high comedy, e.g., "I never hanged a men who came back to have the job done over." Such "zingers" occur throughout his work. For a good look at the old west, it's lawful as well as criminal element, check out Loren Estemlmans, "The Branch and The Scaffold."

This historical fiction about Judge Isaac Parker of Fort Smith, Arkansas accurately shows how judges and lawmen of the frontier were accountable to no one. Judge Parker was a famous hanging judge who ruled over the Indian Nations and the Arkansas territory.