Book Title:  Jesse James:  The Best Writings on the Notorious Outlaw and His Gang

Author:  Harold Dellinger, editor

Publishing Company:  The Globe Pequot Press

Year:  2007

# of Pages: 256

ISBN #:  13: 978-0-7627-4479-4

ISBN #: 10: 0-7627-4479-0

$16.95 USA

$21.75 Canada 

5  stars 

Reviewer:  Deborah Ground Buckner 

For two Memorial Day weekends, I had the pleasure of portraying Zerelda “Zee” Mimms James, wife of famed outlaw Jesse James, in a James-Younger Family Reunion benefit for a historic Kansas City cemetery.  Dressed in 1870s simple day wear, I mingled about with Jesse, our son, Jesse Jr., brother Frank and his wife, Annie, father Rev. Robert James, step-father Dr. Reuben Samuels, Cole and Bob Younger, Kansas City newspaperman John Newman Edwards, and various Younger cousins, some of whom lie in rest in the cemetery.  We had no prepared script, and each re-enactor had researched his or her persona.  Together, we told our stories to cemetery visitors.  As the afternoon progressed, the stories came to life, and so did the long-dead characters as we would interrupt each other's tellings to add some tidbit or some variation on the tale—just like any family reunion. 

My preparation for the day would have been greatly aided by a new book, edited by Harold Dellinger, Jesse James: The Best Writings on the Notorious Outlaw and His Gang.  Dellinger is a former parole officer for the city of Kansas City and has had a long-time interest in outlaw and lawman history.  A bookseller, small press publisher and author of many books on Missouri history, Dellinger is also a board member of the Friends of the James Farm. 

Dellinger has done the hard work for anyone wanting to learn more about Jesse James and his gang.  Acknowledging that Jesse James is “one of my favorite subjects,” Dellinger has read over 1000 books on the outlaw.  He was impressed that “many good writers chose Jesse as a subject.”  In assembling this book, Dellinger says he “tried to pick out the best writing on Jesse James, but at the same time, tell the life story of Jesse.”   

The book is organized in three sections:  Part I:  Jesse James Was His Name includes early biographical information.  Among the works presented are excerpts from Jesse James Was His Nae:  or, Fact and Fiction Concerning the Careers of the Notorious James Brothers of Missouri (1966) by William A. Settle Jr., which Dellinger says is “the best book ever written on Jesse James.”  A Terrible Quintette (1873) by John Newman Edwards is one of many of the writings of this famed newspaperman who supported the James Boys.  More modern writers are also present, including T. J. Stiles, author of Jesse James:  Last Rebel of the Civil War (2002).  Dellinger describes Stiles' work as “the first psycho book on Jesse James,” exploring the psychological factors that contributed to the outlaw's criminal activity.   

Part II:  Who Had Killed Many Men focuses on Jesse James' outlaw career, the stuff of which legends are made.  Jesse James Was My Neighbor (1949) by Homer Croy, relates a Robin Hood-like tale of Jesse's aid to a poor widow.  The Life, Times and Treacherous Death of Jesse James (1882) by Frank Triplett, was one of the first books published about Jesse James.  The outlaws' mother and widow are rumored to have aided Triplett in writing the book, then sued to stop its publication and later sued again for a share of the royalties.  Frank and Jesse James:  The Story behind the Legend (2000) by Ted P. Yeatmann is, Dellinger says, “the best work on the Pinkerton raid” in which Jesse's young half-brother, Archie Samuels was killed, and Jesse's mother lost her right arm.   

Part III:  And Laid Poor Jesse in His Grave tells of Jesse James' later years and his assassination at the hands of a trusted gang member, Bob Ford.  John Newman Edwards' eulogy is included, as well as accounts of the assassination and poems inspired by the outlaw's shocking death.   

The mingling of factual biography, fictional accounts and poetry serve well to tell not only the life story of Jesse James, but the story as it was told while he lived.  When asked about the inclusion of fictional accounts, Dellinger replied, “I'm not too hung up on truth sometimes lately.”  In attempting to present a legend, the fiction he inspired can be as enlightening as the truth he lived.  

Also included are three Appendices, presenting a time line of the major events in James Gang history;  a listing of film interpretations of Jesse James, including the upcoming The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford starring Brad Pitt; and a list of known and suspected members of the James-Younger gang.   

As we re-enactors learned at the James-Younger family reunion, stories are kept alive by the telling.  Dellinger has collected some of the best stories and, in telling them again, has added to the life of this legendary outlaw.