Gentleman Bandit

The True Story of Black Bart, the Old West's Most Infamous Stagecoach Robber

By: John Boessenecker

Narrated by: Stephen Graybill

New York Times bestselling author and award-winning historian John Boessenecker separates fact from fiction in the first new biography in decades of Black Bart, the Wild West’s most mysterious gentleman bandit.

Black Bart is widely regarded today as not only the most notorious stage robber of the Old West but also the best behaved. Over his lifetime, Black Bart held up at least twenty-nine stagecoaches in California and Oregon with mild, polite commands, stealing from Wells Fargo and the US mail but never robbing a passenger. Such behavior earned him the title of a true “gentleman bandit.”

His real name was Charles E. Boles, and in the public eye, Charles lived quietly as a boulevardier in San Francisco, the wealthiest and most exciting city in the American West. Boles was an educated man who traveled among respectable crowds. Because he did not drink, fight or consort with prostitutes, his true calling as America’s greatest stage robber was never suspected until his final capture in 1883. Sheriffs searched and struggled for years to find him, and newspaper editors had a field day reporting his exploits. Legends and rumors trailed his name until his mysterious death, and his ultimate fate remains one of the greatest mysteries of the Old West.

Now historian John Boessenecker sheds new light on Black Bart’s beginnings, reputation and exploits, bringing to life the glittering story of the mysterious stage robber who doubled as a rich, genteel socialite in the golden era of the Wild West.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

Wonderfully Researched

I really enjoyed Boessenecker’s writing on this subject. Having grown up in and around many of the areas mentioned, it was especially interesting. I greatly appreciated his thoroughness in presenting all ‘sides’ of the story.
My one critique of the book is that I do not feel that the extensive coverage given to Civil War history and battles was necessary to the purposes of explaining Black Bart. However, I am a history lover, and I had no problem enjoying the CW parts, I just began to wonder if it was a book about the CW, or Black Bart. -Ha!

Great Story

For me, this was a great story full of details that was nearly ruined by the performance of the narrator.

Well researched but just not that interesting

The author presents many facts and details about Black Bart, and the narrator is pleasant to listen to, but despite being a fan of all things Old West I just didn't find the story to be very interesting. It includes retellings of many different stagecoach robberies but they're all so similar you'll start to feel like you're hearing the same portion of the book over and over and over.

Amazing

As a wild west enthusiast reads or listens to books on the topic, the name Black Bart comes up. This book brings us deeper into who Black Bart was. It was very well researched and the story was told in a manner that kept me entertained. I've listened to it twice and will listen again at some point.