[Sailor Steve]

Just picked up Frank and Jesse James: The Story Behind The Legend, by Ted P. Yeatman.

Anyone who has read my dozens of posts from my homeless years knows that I love a properly written biography more than just about anything else. This book is one of those. It was published in 2001, but I had never heard of it until today. Like another favorite, Casey Teffertiller's similarly titled Wyatt Earp: The Life Behind The Legend, Frank and Jesse James covers every known aspect of the legendary outlaws' lives, and comes with copious endnotes to back it all up. Each incident is annotated with newspaper accounts from several sources, diaries, court records and recorded eyewitness accounts. Nothing is taken for granted, and all the opinions from 'Brutal murderers' to 'Modern Robin Hoods' are examined carefully. I've only read the preface and the first chapter so far, so I can't give a full opinion until I've finished it. At the rate I'm going that should only be a few days. So far it's a good'un!