Jesse James: Last Rebel of the Civil War

Synopsis: In this brilliant biography T. J. Stiles offers a new understanding of the legendary outlaw Jesse James. Although he has often been portrayed as a Rob in Hood of the old west, in this ground-breaking work Stiles places James w ithin the context of the bloody conflicts of the Civil War to reveal a much more complicated and significant figure. Raised in a fiercely pro-slavery household in bitterly divided Misssouri, a t age sixteen James became a bushwhacker, one of the savage Confederate gue rrillas that terrorized the border states. After the end of the war, James continued his campaign of robbery and murder into the brutal era of reconst ruction, when his reckless daring, his partisan pronouncements, and his all iance with the sympathetic editor John Newman Edwards placed him squarely a t the forefront of the former Confederates' bid to recapture political powe r. With meticulous research and vivid accounts of the dramatic adventures o f the famous gunman, T. J. Stiles shows how he resembles not the apolitical hero of legend, but rather a figure ready to use violence to command atten tion for a political cause--in many ways, a forerunner of the modern terror ist. Review: Probably no American outlaw has attracted more attention--much of it flattering--than Jesse James. This revisionist biography by T.J. Stiles delves into the exciting life James led--"a tale of ambushes, gun battles, and daring raids, of narrow escapes, betrayals, and revenge." Yet it also places James within a specific political context, showing why it was possible for this murderous bandit to emerge as a folk hero among Southern sympathizers followin.

Product Info

ISBN: 0375705589

ISBN-13: 9780375705588

Publisher: Vintage

Year: 2003

Type: Used

Binding: Softcover

Seller Info

InfinityBooksJapan

Address: 1F Komagata Heights Bldg Tokyo,

Website: https://www.infinitybooksjapan.com

Country: Japan