Product Description

Bringing real and invented characters together, this is the story of Joshua, a young and idealistic friend of Robert Ford, the man who killed Jesse James. Joshua is determined to get a gun of his own, a desire that puts his own life in jeopardy and reveals the painful realities masked by America's most cherished myths.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #921526 in Books
• Published on: 2001-05-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Customer Reviews

A rip-roaring epic of the Old West.
Desmond Barry's gritty story of Jesse James, his life, companions, and motivations for crime is a haunting, often violent, narrative counterpoised against the quieter tragedy of Joshua Beynon, a young boy living a hard-scrabble existence and in search of a hero. And whereas James comes to thrill at the killing that becomes an easy part of his life, Joshua regrets every day the accident in which he has claimed a life.

As the book unfolds, we learn of the anarchy which characterized much of the post-Civil War frontier, and we meet those who take advantage of it and contribute to it--Quantrill's Raiders, Wild Bill Anderson, Cole Younger, the James brothers, the Pinkertons, and a host of other legends of the West. We learn what, if anything, motivates each of them and cringe at the unimaginable--and casual--bloodshed which is such a part of their lives. And despite the horrors these outlaws commit, we come to understand that underlying all this crime there is a kind of "chivalry," an unvoiced code of expected behavior even among the most vicious of killers. It is this code which Robert Ford, Jesse James's assassin, has broken.

The bleak precariousness of the lives of ordinary people leads the characters to blur the lines between good and evil, and the author's thoughtful selection of details increases the dramatic tension as violence both real and threatened looms. Anyone who has ever thought of the Wild West as romantic would do well to study this well-researched and vividly written novel. Mary Whipple

Outlaws in context - the Wild West meets the Wild Valleys
The over-romanticised Hollywood portrayal of wildwest outlaws is put in a more genuine historical and political context by Des Barry's excellent debut novel. We see the descent into crime intermingled with the political tensions of the American Civil War with its strong undertones of racism and injustice. Des's dialogue rings true of the region and the period and makes for a riveting read. Nevertheless the values and cultural heritage of Des Barry as a lad from the political and social melting pot of the South Wales Valleys ring through. We should all look forward to his next venture.