Glenn Shirley does an excellent job of organizing Edward Jonathan Hoyt's (a.k.a. Buckskin Joe's) memoirs. The historical content along with the incredible adventures of this Wild West Showman leave you breathless and wanting more! Batman move over, PT Barnum eat your heart out. I absolutely loved the book. I am buying it for my friends! An easy read. Appropriate for children.

Glenn Shirley has done an excellent job of collating facts and evidence surrounding the life of such a controversial character as Jim Miller. This book makes a thoroughly entertaining story but should also be acclaimed for its scholarly value. The topic of this book was one of the deadliest gunman in the West's history, yet has never been mentioned in the same way as his more famous contemporaries; Wild Bill, Billy the Kid, Doc Holliday etc.. And neither should he! Maybe it was his cold-blooded methods with which he carried out many of his killings that made Jim Miller a man that people would prefer to forget. Yet as you read this account of his life it is easy to become enthralled by the conflicting traits in his personality. On one hand an outwardly religious man; on the other, a ruthless assasin. At times his actions were at best, cowardly; but at others he showed great courage. By his very nature and deeds Jim Miller could never become a celebrated character of the West, yet he is without doubt one of the most intriguing. The life of Jim Miller is surrounded with mysteries that leaves you yearning for more information about this fascinating character.

Written by noted Western author Glenn Shirley in 1957, this book is not up to the standards of his more recent works. Shirley depends extensively on other books, and unfortunately, his book contains a large number of errors. Sure is fun to read, but if you are interested in Judge Parker and the Fort Smith court, read 'Hell on the Border' instead. Leave this one to hollywood....

This book cobbles together accounts from policy makers and the popular press seeking to show that Indian country was a lawless place, with Judge Parker and the federal marshalls as the slim line between law and anarchy. The account utterly ignores the reality in Indian country and works mightily to justify the actions of a man for whom, apparently, the accusation was enough to make you guilty. The book does, however, compile some interesting sources not found elsewhere, including a description of each of the 79 men Judge Parker hanged, the battle between Parker and the Supreme Court which continually reversed Parker, and the statements of some of the Indian defendants on their views of federal justice. The evident desire of the author to celebrate Parker and the court rather than objectively examine his record, however, fatally taints the entire work.

I bought this book at he Ft Smith Court House museum because my Great Grandfather rode for Parker. I was expecting information about the bad deeds of many of the desperados but I was pleasantly surprised to find additionally a comprehensive treatment of the legal aspects of Parker's tenure. As Glenn Shirley effectively documents, the Judge Parker known and respected by the citizens of Arkansas and the Indian Nations is a far cry from the one created by the Eastern press and the monied interests (including Congressmen) of the East. This book will provide the reader with a very balanced approach to what Parker saw as the rights of the victim and community with the rights of the accused. And as Shirley clearly points out Parker may have gone too far sometimes but early on extreme measures were needed.

The body of the book covers many of the best known cases to be covered in Parker's court but also provides appendices on each and every person that Parker sentenced to hang (including those that were commuted, pardoned, reversed and acquitted). Byron Dobbs, a second generation lawyer that practiced law in Ft Smith for 40 years, provided a lawyer's appraisal of the Parker Court a number of years ago for the "Ft Smith Historical Journal". He wrote:

Parker was given the near impossible task of providing justice between the white men and the Indian. The disgrace arose out of the failure of the U.S. and Congress to appropriately prevent intrusion upon the Indian land and in permitting such carnage as to result in the great number of murder trails and then Parker was condemned in the halls of Congress for imposing the only penalty authorized by Congress. Parker's accomplishments stand as a monument to law and order achieved under the most trying circumstances.

Shirley's book simply and effectively documents these accomplishments.

As dull as a freshman thesis. The coincidence of the author's name being the same as Belle's maiden name (Shirley) might tend to establish him as an authority. However, no actual familial connection is established. The book seems to proclaim itself the final authority on Belle's life and claims to separate fact from fiction though there seems to be little proof that the book is any more factual than any other. The book's boring narrative turns one of America's most colorful female characters into nothing more than a one-dimensional criminal with no regard for the other aspects of her personality. By belittling other more interesting texts, it ignores the conflicts that were bound to have existed in a well educated Confederate woman who can only defend her family from the Union soldiers who have killed her brothers and destroyed her home in the only way a woman can fight -- with her feminine wiles. She probably fought in the only way the disorganized Confederates in Missouri could fight, by robbing and pilaging Union strongholds. Belle must surely have been confused by the depravity of war and its must surely have conflicted with her refined upbringing. She attended a fine finishing school and was an accomplished musician and singer as well as an expert equestrian. She used her education to defend the downtrodden American Indian in court and defended the Confederacy to the end of her life. She married men only to see them die in violent conflict. She provided for her children and according to the descendants of those who knew her in Southeastern Oklahoma, to the end she was a lady. By depicting her as nothing more than a one dimensional depraved specimen of criminality suitable only for academic study, the author has done exactly what the he criticizes other biographers of doing. He has mingled his own interpretations (fiction) with fact and used the facts to benefit only himself. Perhaps that's the tragedy of her life -- No one will ever know the facts and everyone will change them to their own advantage.

Many books have been written about Belle Starr, and Glenn Shirley's is the only one that reveals the known facts and leaves the rest to folklore. Living in Fort Smith, part of Belle's old stomping grounds, I've met many people who to this day still proclaim to know who Pearl Starr's father was, and at last who killed Belle Starr. Unless the bodies of Cole and Belle and Pearl and Jim Reed are dug up for DNA testing, the "truth" will never be known. And as for Belle's death, it will always remain one of the great mysteries of the Old West. Glenn Shirley does the best of any author in comparing fact and hearsay about this great legendary figure, and if anyone wants to read the best book on Belle Starr, this one is it. Steven Law, ReadWest.com.

Glenn was an Oklahoma Lawman and as such his predjudice keeps this book from being as good as it could be. Your reviewer is the son of Oklahoma bootleggers and a descendent of a Doolin gang member...as you read the book notice how many times Marshalls supposedly call from perfect ambush positions.."hands up"....For someone who has seen Oklahoma law enforcement at close range I find those scenarios tough to swallow....not that I blame the Marshalls for this, these outlaws were desparate men and have already killed 3 marshalls in a direct confrontation in Ingalls....to his credit he does show the importance of informers as opposed to smart detective work...all in all if he wasn't so ready to swallow whole all the Marshalls accounts this would be a better book..but then in so many instances the lawmen were the only surviving witnesses

Glenn Shirley provides a wealth of information on various outlaw groups of the Old West. West of Hell's Fringe earmarks the accounts of gunslingers that occupied Indian territories inside what is today Oklahoma. Shirley has gone through what seems to be great detail in separating what are factual and fictional accounts of the episodes that occurred. Such names as the Dalton Gang, Bill Doolin, Charley Bryant, the reader not only gets lured into the eyes of these outlaws, but it gives them a taste of how life was in an era infamous for lawlessness and liquor. The book is brought more seemingly to life through the pictures shown of the outlaws and their captors. The book places repeated emphasis on the U.S. Marshals of the time. The book not only tells the story through the glimpses of the outlaws' eyes, but it allows one to stare down the barrel of the lawmen's guns as they and their posse's ride for the wielding of justice and the standing reward. Glenn Shirley does an excellent job documenting the accounts given in the book. Every complex and tangled idea that is presented is well annotated with: where the information is gathered, and where further information can be located. What is really exciting about the book is it offers up the accounts of the United States Marshals and their rides by giving up the false deception, and by offering the information that this is the most widely held belief. It also says this is what could have happened as well. The subheading of this book tells all Crime, Criminals, and the Federal Peace Officer in Oklahoma Territory, 1889-1907.

Spoiled by adeptly written biographies by Donald Spoto, David Stenn and Barry Paris, perhaps I am too easily disappointed by lesser-experienced authors. At just over 100 pages, this book took me less than an hour to read- it seemed more like a brochure than a biography.

Texas Guinan is a prime example of a perhaps-extinct breed of club owners who were showmen; ubiquitous at their venues, equipped with trademark sayings and attitudes that never seemed to wear thin. Throughout the 1920s she was famous for entertaining at nightclubs which she probably owned (but always testified that she didn't). Her clubs were repeatedly raided and she defiantly stood trial for distributing alcohol.

She also had several Broadway roles, touring company shows, and movie appearances, but presumably her hundreds of thousands were made on the speakeasy business.

Her life and personality seem interesting for sure, but this book doesn't venture to reveal or analyze her personality on the part of the author or any first-person accounts. It simply states one event after another with as much color and intrigue as a textbook.

It is a shame that the lesser figures in the history of entertainment rarely get the biographical treatment of the stars. Many interesting lives have fallen by the wayside or received an unredeeming treatment from second rate authors.