Customer Reviews

Frank and Jesse James, 2E: The Story Behind the Legend

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book is a truly amazing work. When Dr. William Settle's book was published in 1966 it was thought that this would be the final word in terms of a good documented history of the James brothers. But lo and behold there was much information waiting to be discovered, which in this book casts new light on an old legend. Of particular interest is new information on the James brothers in the Civil War, perhaps the most detailed and complete treatment to date. The revelations concerning the Pinkerton raid on the James farm in 1875, complete with an appendix of previously unpublished letters by detective Allan Pinkerton, are equally fascinating, as are the years spent in Tennesee following the Northfield raid. Many books leave out the years following Frank James' surrender in 1882, or at best minimize it, and Frank's imporance to the James story. In this book we see Frank dealing with both celebrity and notoriety in his later years, as he works in a number of mundane jobs and then enters show-business. The stories of Frank's career on stage and with a third rate Wild West Show are as interesting as those of the years of banditry, with a number of surprises in store for the reader along the way. The story of what became of Jesse's family after his death, and of the many impostors gets a good treatment too. This book has the only detailed account of the 1995 exhumation and forensic testing of the reamis of Jesse in any book published thus far. It has the text of a press conference given by Prof. Starrs at the 1996 American Academy of Forensic Sciences which is to be found nowhere else. The story of the James brothers, Frank and Jesse, is essentially one of historical detective work, and the record in places is sometimes unclear or non-existant. The author has, to his credit, resisted the temptation that other writers have fallen to over the years of putting in imaginary dialogue and descriptions, or even inventing episodes of their lives, for the sake of a "good story". One reviewer has unfairly taken the writer to task for not jazzing it up, expecting a Stephen Ambrose style narrative throughout [the author's narrative is fine]. The book has a remarkable amount of this, but where there are points in question, the author lets you know, and has copious source notes explaining much at the end of the book. One must bear in mind that the James boys and their families, unlike the G.I.'s of WWII, or Lewis and Clark, were anxious to hide the deeds that brought them to the public eye, and their lives during much of this period. It took a great amount of digging in dusty court records, newspaper files and archives, over several states for about 25 years, to unearth this story. It wasn't a matter of rehashing someone else's book or from oral or written memoirs taken down at a veteran's reunion, or in a published journal like that of Lewis & Clark. This book was recently named runner-up for Best Western Biography of 2001 in the Western Writers of America's prestigeous Spur Award competition. This competition gets numerous entries of the cream of the university presses and commercial publishing houses across the country, and this is quite an honor. Enough said. Get the book and read what really happened. The truth IS stranger than fiction, and far more interesting.

'Frank and Jesse James' is a well documented book on the notorious James Boys and it is a welcome addition to the library of books that have been written on the James - Younger Gang.

Some of the books that have been published in recent years are simply a rehashing of information the author has found in older manuscripts. That is certainly not the case with this work by Ted Yeatman. Separating myth from fact is a very difficult thing to do after a period of 130 years, but he has taken some great strides in accomplishing this feat . Ted has uncovered information that gives us new insights into many of the legendary stories.

There has also been an attempt at placing the activities of the James Gang in it's historic setting. The text goes into quite a bit of helpful detail in explaining the state and federal governments attitudes and the politics of the time.

I believe this book is destined to become a standard in the literature of the outlaw James Gang.

Having been a researcher of the James family for the past 25 years made reading this book a great pleasure. Mr. Yeatman is the "John Newman Edwards" of the 20th century. (For those who don't know who John Newman Edwards was, he was a great writer friend of Frank and Jesse who literally kept the James story alive.)

Being the owner of the largest collection of actual James Family artifacts, I have read just about every book authored about the James', from "A Terrible Quintet", "Noted Guerillas" to the best one by Robertus Love entitled "The Rise and Fall". Mr. Yeatman's "Frank and Jesse James: The Story Behind the Legend" should be ranked among the best.

His research for the book was impeccable-This subject is not an easy one to write about as there are so many different aspects to the story. It is a story that transcends the human experience.

I have been friends with the great-grandson of Jesse for many years and have seen just how difficult it is for him, as a descendant, to have the fakers tell him he is,in truth not related to Jesse James-that he really died in Texas in 1951. In fact, DNA testing proved that Jesse James was buried in Kearney, Missouri just as any elementary James historian thought.

THANK YOU TED FOR ALL THE HARD WORK. It's a WONDERFUL book.

Ralph P. Ganis, a James Gang Historian and Author, July 25, 2000, HISTORY AT IT'S BEST

Here's a toast to Historian Ted Yeatman who has given America the finest history of the James Gang to date. This book is a must for any student or enthusiast of America's outlaw brothers. The book reads well and the facts are presented in an excellent manner. My library on James Gang books includes more than 50 titles and Mr. Yeatman's book would be my #1 choice for accuracy. As a James Gang historian, I strongly recommend Frank and Jesse James: The Story Behind the Legend.

For all the volume of material written about Frank and Jesse James and their outlaw group, sources which reflect serious research are not easy to find. Much it reflects more of the prejudices, pop culture stereotypes and popular political and social views of the author than history. But this is one of the more solid entries in this area of American history in awhile.

Mr. Yeatman's approach does reflect a modern take on the story, such as a mention of post-traumatic stress being a factor in people from respectable families becoming so alienated after the Civil War -- an aspect not likely to occur to many historians prior to the Vietnam era. There's also considerably more attention given here to exactly how the "Robin Hood" legend of the James gang was manufactured as a 19th century media creation, and how the success of that image fit in with the social issues of the Jameses' time.

People familiar with James-Younger history will appreciate some unusually thorough accounts of Frank James' and Cole Younger's attempts at running a Wild West show shortly after the turn of the century. The book also includes appendixes that include as much helpful information as the main body of the book: Civil War correspondence, sample editorials of the period and a transcript of a press conference concerning the 1995 exhumation and DNA testing as only a few examples. There is, in fact, quite extensive coverage of the procession of bogus "Jesse Jameses" who've tried to cash in on historic notoriety over the years.

An excellent historic source.

Ted Yeatman has produced the best work on the James brothers since William Settle's 1966 "Jesse James Was His Name". His well-documented research over two decades has paid off with what I, a long-time researcher into the subject myself, consider a "must-have" volume for any James buff. Many books on this subject have appeared over the years, but Yeatman stands head and shoulders above the rest. Many specifics concerning Frank and Jesse are open to speculation, and Yeatman avoids the pitfall of expressing his opinions as facts--a lesson most writers on this subject have yet to learn.

This book is a clearly written, well researched retelling of the James brothers' story. It takes it's history seriously in the tradition of Joseph Rosa, the king of Wild West historians. I wish someone would approach the Earp brothers with similar seriousness, instead we're stuck with battles between the Earp worshipers and debunkers. This can no longer be said about the James boys literature. This book along with Settle's bio from a few years back gives us a very good handle on who Frank and Jessie were.

In Frank And Jesse James: The Story Behind The Legend, biographer Ted Yeatman draws upon more than twenty-five years of meticulous research to provide readers with fresh and revealing insights into the lives and events of the famous (or infamous) bandit brothers. Yeatman researched the archives of eight states and uncovered previously unpublished material in the National Archives. The result is a comprehensive detailing of the brothers modest upbringing, their harrowing experiences during the Civil War, their sixteen-year post-war notoriety, and the lives of those who outlived the assassinated Jesse, as well as those who subsequently attempted to impersonate him. Frank And Jesse James is a fascinating biography and "must" reading for all American history buffs and western frontier enthusiasts.

I have read any number of books about the notorious James boys and this one is no doubt the best. There are other books that would deceive you with made-up dialogue, and dubious "facts". I think there's probably a market for that sort of book, though, unfortunately, and some who are disappointed by this book may be expecting more of the same old legend, dished out for over a century, with a few more ruffles and flourishes. This is typical for many areas of the story of the old West, not just the James story. The author doesn't get into long-winded descriptions of the weather the night that a robbery was pulled, or what was going through Jesse's mind as he waited for a train. He wasn't there, can't read minds over a century, and the accounts usually don't say what the weather was like. Some lesser writers would have made it up out of whole cloth. You are not going to please everybody. The story is fascinating, once you get into it. Some people with a limited education or attention span may find parts tough going, though. I found it fairly easy reading, but it's a 480 page book covering over a century and a half of material. This is a complex story and there are plenty of characters that play their respective part in what is an American epic. The James boys did not leave memoirs of their deeds. There are only a few letters that survive. Much of what we have comes from court records, and newspaper accounts, as well as some scattered correspondence. It's truly amazing what other writers failed to locate in the historical record. If I had one book on the subject, this would be it.

This book is a well written, thoroughly researched, and highly readable biography of the James brothers. Mr. Yeatman presents the known and the speculated in the context of Frank and Jesse's life and times, without a noticeable agenda of his own. He is neither apologist nor critic; rather, the facts and fictions are presented as such, allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions regarding the heroism or lack thereof of the two outlaws. Unique among biographers, he spends considerable ink on the years following Jesse's death, when a good bit of the history was written and rewritten. If you can only have one book on this subject, this is the one to have!