Family Story of Bonnie and Clyde, The [Paperback]

Phillip Steele (Author), Marie Scoma (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 22, 2000

Perhaps the most infamous couple in the history of the United States, Bonnie and Clyde have become a part of American folklore, yet their true story-their family story-has remained elusive . . . until now. In the 1930s, the Great Depression cast a dark cloud on America's economy and created an atmosphere of poverty and despair, which transformed many everyday people into criminals. Arising from such circumstances, Bonnie and Clyde, along with fellow outlaws Raymond Hamilton and Ralph Fultz, formed the Barrow Gang that robbed and ran throughout the state of Texas. Marie Barrow Scoma, Clyde Barrow's youngest sister, felt that no book, film, article, or video told the Barrow Gang story completely or accurately. Collaborating with Phillip Steele to tell the truth, she offered not only her personal insight, but also previously unpublished photographs and her mother's diary, which had never before been seen by anyone outside of the Barrow family. The result is a revelatory reminiscence that sheds dramatic new light on Bonnie and Clyde's exploits.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Outlaws Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were Depression-era pop cultural icons whose careers Scoma, Clyde's sister, and writer Steele recount. Although they tred lightly over questions concerning Clyde's sexual orientation, theirs is a comprehensive, very readable true-crime effort. It is replete with copious illustrations, for Bonnie, Clyde, and troupe were shutterbugs with a flair for striking poses, and all the familiar shots of them, such as the one of Bonnie holding a gat on Clyde, are here. Less well known candid shots, many recording furtive family get-togethers from the storied gangsters' days on the run, appear, too, and such snapshots capture the couple's legendary physical attractiveness far better than the starker, more familiar ones do. The accounts of the duo's dastardly exploits are rather restrained, which is a pleasant surprise in a true-crime opus, one that lends credibility to it. An excellent blend of regional and pop cultural history, as well as a comprehensive look at a couple of American notables, this is a standout effort. Mike Tribby

About the Author

Western writer Phillip W. Steele serves as president of the National Outlaw and Lawman History Association and is a member of the Western Writers of America. Steele's other books include The Many Faces of Jesse James (pb), Jesse and Frank James: The Family History (pb), and Outlaws and Gunfighters of the Old West (pb/cass). All are published by Pelican.

As she neared the completion of this project, Marie Barrow Scoma died unexpectedly, at the age of 81. The Family Story of Bonnie and Clyde stands as her testament to separate fact from fiction.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Pelican Publishing; illustrated edition edition (February 22, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 156554756X
• ISBN-13: 978-1565547568
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #764,580 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Stick to the family photographs and embrace the legend, April 11, 2000

By 

Joe Taylor - See all my reviews

This review is from: Family Story of Bonnie and Clyde, The (Paperback)

The family photographs, provided by Clyde's youngest sister, Marie Barrow Scoma, are the highlights of this brief, nearly journalistic account of the notorious bandits who cut a path of robbery and blood across the depression era raped southwest.

Having read the majority of material published about Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker, I was disappointed that this book offered very little new information or sincere insight into their lives, deaths and motivation. E. R. Milner's "The Lives & Times of Bonnie & Clyde" still remains the epitome biography of the deadly duo. Milner confronts rumor, speculation and legend and delivers the unveiled truth. Scoma and P.W. Steele offer no justification for fact and often cushion the deadly blows dealt out by these two killers (as would be expected when a beloved family member tells the tale).

Obviously, the spotlight lingers on Clyde throughout the book, leaving the reader with much less of an insight on Bonnie than other publications have. This is unfortunate because if Clyde was the mastermind of the Barrow gang, the force behind the violence, Bonnie was the spirit which documented it in her personal writings and communication with her mother and sister (most of this missing in "Family").

Sadly enough, when the reader finishes this book, his or her mind will linger on the photographs ... the haunted look of love and desparation on the faces of the killer's mothers ... the poverty ridden historical sites connected with the duo ... and the casual, sometimes delightful, poses by two of America's most deadly yet fascinating lovers. Their images may be here within these pages, but their spirit, albeit evil, lies elsewhere.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Why Do We Need This?, June 19, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Family Story of Bonnie and Clyde, The (Paperback)

It would be nice, with all that's been written about them so far, if someone would write a good book about Bonnie and Clyde. Unfortunately, Phillip Steele hasn't managed to do this. Slim and poorly researched, errors abound in this book to the point where one wonders if Steele interviewed Marie Barrow Scoma before or after her death. Some of the photos are even wrongly captioned. This book is so bad it's embarrassing, as bad as anything Jay Robert Nash ever did, except that his books are at least useful as paperweights or doorstops.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Waste of time and money, November 28, 2001

By 

Pitchulo Dun Dun (Filha de Uma Puta) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Family Story of Bonnie and Clyde, The (Paperback)

The legend of daredevil and obnoxious outlaws Bonnie and CLyde was not served well with this book. One would think that, having the contribution of Clyde's sister, this book would be sort of a "definitive" book about the those gangsters. No way, pal. The book is foolish.