James Jesse Popular Books
James Jesse Biography & Facts
Jesse Woodson James (September 5, 1847 – April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, bank and train robber, guerrilla and leader of the James–Younger Gang. Raised in the "Little Dixie" area of Western Missouri, James and his family maintained strong Southern sympathies. He and his brother Frank James joined pro-Confederate guerrillas known as "bushwhackers" operating in Missouri and Kansas during the American Civil War. As followers of William Quantrill and "Bloody Bill" Anderson, they were accused of committing atrocities against Union soldiers and civilian abolitionists, including the Centralia Massacre in 1864. After the war, as members of various gangs of outlaws, Jesse and Frank robbed banks, stagecoaches, and trains across the Midwest, gaining national fame and often popular sympathy despite the brutality of their crimes. The James brothers were most active as members of their own gang from about 1866 until 1876, when as a result of their attempted robbery of a bank in Northfield, Minnesota, several members of the gang were captured or killed. They continued in crime for several years afterward, recruiting new members, but came under increasing pressure from law enforcement seeking to bring them to justice. On April 3, 1882, Jesse James was shot and killed by Robert Ford, a new recruit to the gang who hoped to collect a reward on James's head and a promised amnesty for his previous crimes. Already a celebrity in life, James became a legendary figure of the Wild West after his death. Popular portrayals of James as an embodiment of Robin Hood, robbing from the rich and giving to the poor, are a case of romantic revisionism as there is no evidence his gang shared any loot from their robberies with anyone outside their network. Scholars and historians have characterized James as one of many criminals inspired by the regional insurgencies of ex-Confederates following the Civil War, rather than as a manifestation of alleged economic justice or of frontier lawlessness. James continues to be one of the most famous figures from the era, and his life has been dramatized and memorialized numerous times. Early life Jesse Woodson James was born on September 5, 1847, in Clay County, Missouri, near the site of present-day Kearney. This area of Missouri was largely settled by people from the Upper South, especially Kentucky and Tennessee, and became known as Little Dixie for this reason. James had two full siblings: his elder brother, Alexander Franklin "Frank" James, and a younger sister, Susan Lavenia James. He was of English and Scottish descent. His father, Robert S. James, farmed commercial hemp in Kentucky and was a Baptist minister before coming to Missouri. After he married, he migrated to Bradford, Missouri and helped found William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri. He held six slaves and more than 100 acres (0.40 km2) of farmland. Robert traveled to California during the Gold Rush to minister to those searching for gold; he died there when James was three years old. After Robert's death, his widow Zerelda remarried twice, first to Benjamin Simms in 1852 and then in 1855 to Dr. Reuben Samuel, who moved into the James family home. Jesse's mother and Samuel had four children together: Sarah Louisa, John Thomas, Fannie Quantrell, and Archie Peyton Samuel. Zerelda and Samuel acquired a total of seven slaves, who served mainly as farmhands in tobacco cultivation. Historical context The approach of the American Civil War loomed large in the James–Samuel household. Missouri was a border state, sharing characteristics of both North and South, but 75% of the population was from the South or other border states. Clay County in particular was strongly influenced by the Southern culture of its rural pioneer families. Farmers raised the same crops and livestock as in the areas from which they had migrated. They brought slaves with them and purchased more according to their needs. The county counted more slaveholders and more slaves than most other regions of the state; in Missouri as a whole, slaves accounted for only 10 percent of the population, but in Clay County, they constituted 25 percent. Aside from slavery, the culture of Little Dixie was Southern in other ways as well. This influenced how the population acted during and for a period of time after the war. After the passage of the Kansas–Nebraska Act in 1854, Clay County became the scene of great turmoil as the question of whether slavery would be expanded into the neighboring Kansas Territory bred tension and hostility. Many people from Missouri migrated to Kansas to try to influence its future. Much of the dramatic build-up to the Civil War centered on the violence that erupted on the Kansas–Missouri border between pro- and anti-slavery militias. American Civil War After a series of campaigns and battles between conventional armies in 1861, guerrilla warfare gripped Missouri, waged between secessionist "bushwhackers" and Union forces which largely consisted of local militias known as "jayhawkers". A bitter conflict ensued, resulting in an escalating cycle of atrocities committed by both sides. Confederate guerrillas murdered civilian Unionists, executed prisoners, and scalped the dead. The Union presence enforced martial law with raids on homes, arrests of civilians, summary executions, and banishment of Confederate sympathizers from the state. The James–Samuel family sided with the Confederates at the outbreak of war. Frank James joined a local company recruited for the secessionist Drew Lobbs Army, and fought at the Battle of Wilson's Creek in August 1861. He fell ill and returned home soon afterward. In 1863, he was identified as a member of a guerrilla squad that operated in Clay County. In May of that year, a Union militia company raided the James–Samuel farm looking for Frank's group. They tortured Reuben Samuel by briefly hanging him from a tree. According to legend, they lashed young Jesse. Quantrill's Raiders Frank James eluded capture and was believed to have joined the guerrilla organization led by William C. Quantrill known as Quantrill's Raiders. It is thought that he took part in the notorious massacre of some two hundred men and boys in Lawrence, Kansas, a center of abolitionists. Frank followed Quantrill to Sherman, Texas, over the winter of 1863–1864. In the spring he returned in a squad commanded by Fletch Taylor. After they arrived in Clay County, 16-year-old Jesse James joined his brother in Taylor's group. Taylor was severely wounded in the summer of 1864, losing his right arm to a shotgun blast. The James brothers then joined the bushwhacker group led by William "Bloody Bill" Anderson. Jesse suffered a serious wound to the chest that summer. The Clay County provost marshal reported that both Frank and Jesse James took part in the Centralia Massacre in September, in which guerrillas stopped a train carrying unarmed Union soldiers returning home from duty and killed or wounded some 22 of them;.... Discover the James Jesse popular books. Find the top 100 most popular James Jesse books.
Best Seller James Jesse Books of 2024
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I am Mrs. Jesse James
Pat WahlerA penny for a promise will change her life forever.For Jesse James, the war will never be over. For Zee Mimms, the war is only the beginning.The long, bloody Civil War is finally a...
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American Outlaw
Jesse JamesThe New York Times bestselling selfportrait of a flawed but determined Jesse James: rebel, outlaw, gearhead, artist, entrepreneur, lost son, and fiercely committed father.Jesse Jam...
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The Autumn of the Gun
Ralph ComptonA gunslinger goes up against his own kin in this western from USA Today bestselling author Ralph Compton. Nathan Stone is a living legend in the West as a lawman, an outl...
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A Shot in the Dark
K. A. StewartJesse James Dawson's vacation is interrupted by a pack of hellspawned creatures. To save friends, family and himself, Jesse will have to put his trust in his most dangerous enemyhi...
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Jesse James and the Lost Templar Treasure
Daniel J. DukeAn investigation into the lost treasures of Jesse James and the Freemasons and their connections to the Templars, Rosicrucians, and the Founding Fathers Explains how Jesse James u...
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Wildest Lives of the Frontier
John Richard StephensBy and about the greatest celebrities of frontier America, these are the stories of their adventures told in their own words through excerpts from autobiographies, articles they wr...
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The Kid
Ron Hansen“A marvelous journey into both history and imagination…A perfectly compelling and fastpaced story” (San Francisco Chronicle) from Ron Hansen about an iconic American criminal of th...
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The God of War
Chris StewartIt's meant to be the triumphant debut of the Ares, a US superjet named after the Greek God of war. With its ultra powerful laser and ability to easily outmaneuver anything else in...
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This Godforsaken Place
Cinda GaultThe year is 1885 and Abigail Peacock is resisting what seems to be an inevitable futurea sensible career as a teacher and marriage to the earnestly attentive local storeowner.But t...
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The Revolution Was Televised
Alan SepinwallA phenomenal account, newly updated, of how twelve innovative television dramas transformed the medium and the culture at large, featuring Sepinwall’s take on the finales of Mad Me...
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The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Ron HansenA powerful novel of the infamous Western outlaw and his killer: “The best blend of fiction and history I’ve read in a long while” (John Irving). By age thirtyfour, Jesse Jam...
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A Devil in the Details
K. A. StewartView our feature on K.A. Stewarts’s A Devil in the Details.When it comes to demons, always read the find print. Jesse James Dawson was an ordinary guy (well, an ordinary guy with...
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The Mysterious Life and Faked Death of Jesse James
Daniel J. Duke & Teresa F. DukeA deep investigation into historical documents that prove the notorious outlaw Jesse James faked his own death Presents the legend of Jesse James and counters it with the real sto...
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Shot All to Hell
Mark Lee GardnerShot All to Hell by Mark Lee Gardner recounts the thrilling life of Jesse James, Frank James, the Younger brothers, and the most famous bank robbery of all time. Follow the Wi...
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Legends and Lies
Dale L Walker"All of history is mystery," Dale L. Walker says, and he proves his point in this lively, humorousand rationalapproach to the West's greatest puzzles. Did Davy Crockett, for exampl...
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Rest in Pieces
Bess LovejoyA “marvelously macabre” (Kirkus Reviews) history of the bizarre afterlives of corpses of the celebrated and notorious dead.For some of the most influential figures in history, deat...
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Jesse James
T.J. StilesIn this brilliant biography T. J. Stiles offers a new understanding of the legendary outlaw Jesse James. Although he has often been portrayed as a Robin Hood of the old west, ...
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ROAR
Bruce WagnerA new novel by Hollywood’s "master of satire."The myth of an epic, public lifeits triumphs and tragediesis a particularly American obsession. ROAR is a metafictional exploration of...
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Jesse and Frank James
Phillip SteeleThe daring exploits of Frank and Jesse James have fascinated America for more than a century. Myth and fact have meshed together to create a legend of monumental proportions.Anxiou...
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Most Wanted Killer
Robert ScottJesse James Hollywood grew up in L.A.'s upscale West Hills with every imaginable privilege. By the age of 19, he owned a spacious house, a trickedout car, a closet full of designer...
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The Many Faces of Jesse James
Phillip W. Steele & George Warfel"Not only does this new book record a factual story of my greatgrandfather Jesse James in print, but also helps the reader get to know Jesse's true personality and appearance. A gr...
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The Summer of 1876
Chris WimmerFrom the creator of the "Legends of the Old West" podcast, a book exploring the overlapping narratives of the biggest legends in frontier mythology.The summer of 1876 was a key tim...
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She Loves Me Not
Ron Hansen“Beautifully crafted stories from one of our most honored authors” (The New York Times), Ron Hansen’s She Loves Me Not is an acclaimed collection of stunning fiction, three decades...
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Till Victory Is Won
Janet Cheatham BellTaking its title from the moving lyrics of the official song of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, "Lift Every Voice and Sing," Till Victory Is Won chr...
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Hard Winter
Johnny D. BoggsWeather and creaking joints permitting, Jim Hawkins could be found every weekend sitting in that rocker right outside the Manix Store in Augusta, whittling and spitting. But Jim Ha...
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Breve Historia del Salvaje oeste. Pistoleros y forajidos
Gregorio Doval Huecas"En el volumen dedicado a esta emocionante historia, mezclada con la leyenda, de rufianes de gatillo fácil, conocemos curiosos detalles de las hazañas de Pat Garret y Billy el ...
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The Border Outlaws
James W. BuelThe Border Outlaws is a classic book on the Frank and Jesse James and the JamesYounger gang.
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The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid
Pat F. GarrettBorn in November 1859 as William H. Bonney, Billy the Kidas he soon became knownstarted his criminal career at the age of twelve by stabbing a man in a bar fight. He then moved on ...
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Life and Adventures of Frank and Jesse James
J. A. DacusJ. A. Dacus’s biography of Frank and Jesse James chronicles all the major events in their lives, including train robberies, courtships, and gunfights, and is complete with photos a...
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Having it So Good
Peter HennessyWinner of the Orwell Prize for Political Writing, Peter Hennessy's Having it So Good: Britain in the Fifties captures Britain in an extraordinary decade, emerging from the shadow o...
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Jesse James the Outlaw
W. B. LawsonJesse James (September 5, 1847 – April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, gang leader, bank robber, train robber, and murderer from the state of Missouri and the most famous member o...
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The Story of the Outlaw
Emerson Hough"The realism is almost too raw for literature." Literary Digest Compiled a century ago, when the wildness of the American West was still a living memory, these tales chronicle th...
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7 best short stories by Stewart Edward White
Stewart Edward White & August NemoStewart Edward White'sbooks were popular at a time when America was losing its vanishing wilderness. He was a keen observer of the beauties of nature and human nature, yet coul...
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Just Feed Me
Jessie James DeckerA New York Times bestseller!Country music sensation, lifestyle guru, and New York Times bestselling author Jessie James Decker gives fans her favorite recipes in this charming and ...
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The Lost Cause
James P. MuehlbergerThe True Story Behind the Legendary Outlaw Gang, a Civil War Vendetta, and the Forgotten Court Documents That Helped Seal Their Fate On a dreary December 7, 1869, two strangers ent...
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Secret History of the Wild, Wild West
Daniel J. DukeOffers evidence from Jesse James’s secret encoded diaries Examines Jesse James’s close ties with other notorious outlaws, such as Johnny Ringo, Jesse Evans, and Billy the Kid Sh...
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Notorious Outlaws of the Wild West
Charles River EditorsIncludes pictures of the outlaws and important people, places, and events in their lives. Discusses the myths and legends surrounding the lives and deaths of each outlaw. . I...
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Sepinwall On Mad Men and Breaking Bad
Alan SepinwallFrom the updated edition of The Revolution Was Televised, Alan Sepinwall’s analysis of Breaking Bad and Mad Men, featuring new commentary and insights on the complete series and co...
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A Wolf at the Door
K. A. StewartSTAR STRUCKJesse James Dawson was once an ordinary man until he discovered that demons were real, and fighting them meant putting his own soul on the line. His new case is a beauty...
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Olympic Pride, American Prejudice
Deborah Riley Draper, Blair Underwood & Travis ThrasherIn this “mustread for anyone concerned with race, sports, and politics in America” (William C. Rhoden, New York Times bestselling author), the inspirational and largely unknown tru...