Jesse James

Last Rebel of the Civil War

By: T. J. Stiles

Narrated by: Christopher Lane

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 Robin Hood of the old west, in this ground-breaking work Stiles places James within 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, at age sixteenJames became a bushwhacker, one of the savage Confederate guerrillas that terrorized the border states. After the end of the war, James continued his campaign of robbery and murder into the brutal era of reconstruction, when his reckless daring, his partisan pronouncements, and his alliance with the sympathetic editor John Newman Edwards placed him squarely at the forefront of the former Confederates’ bid to recapture political power. With meticulous research and vivid accounts of the dramatic adventures of 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 attention for a political cause - in many ways, a forerunner of the modern terrorist.

©2002 T. J. Stiles (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

This is a first rate biography

Brilliantly read and written. Simers is the utmost authority on the subject and he is no fanboy. Very critical look at Jesse James.

Excellent performance

Very informative, entertaining , audio book I've learned more than I ever knew about Jesse James.

Great narrator, good story

To me this book should be titled civil war and Missouri history in the life of Jesse James. There's a lot of detailed information about where Missouri stood leading up to and after the civil war and makes connection to Jesse James growing up in those times. I think the mutiple stories ,situations etc..that didnt include JJ could have been summarized in many areas..so you listen to say 30 mins of a chapter and mentions 3 mins about JJ. Certainly more of this in the earlier chapters.

Great context for a complicated person

I really enjoyed the author’s historical context. It gave the subject a human side without glorifying him beyond his actual deeds. Understanding how the reconstruction fell apart was critical to understanding what drove people like James to hang their sense of honor on violence to society and a quasi-political sense that was more expedient than it was based in reality. It explains a lot about where we are today as a nation.

Great and disturbing

I can see why many western buffs hated this book. Americans love their outlaws because they seemingly get away with what everyone wants to do. Projecting on to history one’s outlaw fantasies is the oldest move in the book.

I read this book and was horrified at the rampant torture and murder of neighbors and friends before and during the civil war…and long after. I am also horrified about how much of this is not taught in our schools.

What I read made me think if today. A nation divided by pride, hate, survival, the fight against the plutocrats (railroads) and the incredible level of racism beneath all of it.

All of this is still in play. This book is relevant although many have expressed discomfort about the role racism and bigotry, cruelty and delusion, and just plain meanness of the american heart.

Americans should talk out loud about this. Often. In Germany they own that they voted for hitler and were utterly complicit. They admit that it was evil and wrong, and then they denounce it and do not permit it in their society. We should dot the same.

Everyone looks cool in a long overcoat toting a pair of peacemakers and a sawed off shotgun. These were the tools of an evil trade that most would be unable to sustain today. The truth or additional information that challenges long held beliefs is nothing to be afraid of. And yet here we are.