I have always been interested in stories about the Wild West so this book was a perfect read for me. Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid, Billy the Kid are all included in this novel with a lot of other lesser known names. Some were notorious for crimes and killings they did not commit. A very interesting read! Really enjoyed it!

Each chapter goes through an outlaw and the crimes robberies or killings that were done. Gives background history if possible on how or where they grew up and how they got into being an outlaw. A good book and seemed like it was researched well.

Outlaws have existed in the US since the Mayflower passengers disembarked, so this was an interesting look at some of the most notorious figures in Western history, as well as some names that aren't as well known but should be. Each chapter features a different person or group, so it can be read a little at a time if you like. The illustrations are very helpful.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a temporary digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

In my continuing quest to read books outside the time period of the American Revolution, "Outlaws of the Wild West" was a fun one especially after recently reading "Lonesome Dove" and "Streets of Laredo." I never knew Blue Duck was a real historical figure! (That added a whole new level of terror to an already terrifying character.)

Structure and Formatting 3.5/5
The book is set up where each chapter focuses on a different outlaw. It makes for a fun overview of the various "characters" in history, but it makes for a less cohesive story. Each chapter can stand essentially stand alone, and it would make a great reference book for the outlaws.

Thoroughness of Research 1.5/5
There are only five books referenced in the bibliography. There are no individual source citations within the text, and there doesn't seem to be any independent research that was done in the process of writing the book. It's still a fun and informative book though.

Storytelling/Writing 4/5
This is such an easy book to read. The writing reads like fiction. My favorite part of this book was the characterization of the different people portrayed in the book. The photos included add another level to their incredible stories. The variety of the photos and the stories provided for each in the captions help to bring the moments and the characters to life.

Level of Enjoyment 3.5/5
The only thing preventing me from enjoying this book more was the structure of the chapters. Just when I would get interested in one person or their story, it was time to switch to another one. It will definitely pique your interest to research more on your favorites.

Prior Knowledge Needed 4/5
As with most history books, I felt this could have benefited from a map. Especially with the jumping from person to person, knowing when we were in Missouri versus Alaska and/or the paths they took on their raids would have made it more engaging. Otherwise, this is a great beginner book for people like me wanting to learn more about a new time in history.

I’ve had this book on my Netgalley shelf for a while, so I figured that there was no better time than now to read it. I’m currently on a local history tour, and have visited a few of the very places that are mentioned in this book, so this has definitely come in handy. I have a passing interest in outlaws and Old West gunslingers simply due to being a history buff, and especially the fact that I specialize in Missouri history. However, what keeps me away from deep-diving into a lot of these figures, is that I find a lot of the mythicism centered around a lot of them to be ridiculous at times. I live in the town that Frank James is buried in, and am within a stone’s throw from most of the sites of formative years of the James Gang in general. I wouldn’t even start to count all of the people that are supposedly related to Jesse James that I know, and I’ve heard my share of conspiracy theories about how he faked his death, was actually a spy, lived in Mexico for 40 years etc. I’m amazed that he isn’t still alive and hanging out with Elvis on a UFO.

Thankfully, for better or worse, Outlaws of the Wild West by Terry C Treadwell drops all of that nonsense for a “just the facts” reporting style. While this lacks the nuance I’m used to when reading books about figures such as William Quantrill written in Western Missouri or by specialized Civil War historians, not having the legends creep in is welcome. Being a writer based out of the UK, I was worried that Treadwell would base all of his information from things like films, but thankfully this book is well researched and gives solid information as a starter point for anyone wanting to do a deeper dive. Yeah, he sort of goes through a list of a number of the more famous outlaws, which coincidentally have movies based on them, but that was never his intention for this to be a “movie vs real life” sort of book.

Each chapter highlights a specific outlaw, with a general history of how they started out, notorious crimes they committed, and information about them usually being captured or killed. Noteworthy members of their respective gangs are highlighted, and in some cases equally notorious lawmen that were after them are discussed. The book is full of photographs, and In some cases they can be pretty morbid. The only surviving photograph of some of these guys are their “death photos” taken after they were hauled in and tossed on a slab after losing a gunfight or being double-crossed. This makes the book have a bit of a procedural true-crime sort of tone that was interesting.

My only quibbles are the aforementioned lack of nuance that isn’t expected in a book like this that lists names. Also, some of the chapters repeat a bit, an example being a chapter on William Quantrill, followed immediately by a separate chapter about his wife Sarah that used some of the same information. this is by no means a deal breaker or anything, but it makes the book feel like a series of essays.

The highlight of the book for me were all of the names I was unfamiliar with. I mentioned earlier that I don’t read about outlaws much, so a lot of the more westerly ones were very interesting. This book gives me a number of ideas of who I need to look up to read more about in the future. One that was really interesting for me was Henry Starr, a man that kept getting hassled for crimes he didn’t commit, making him eventually say “well I guess I better do crimes now”. Then, no matter how many times he said he was going to repent and turn his life around, he would be robbing another bank months later. The man eventually starred in movies about himself until he realized outstanding warrants may make that impossible, so he went back to his passion – robbing banks. I may try to read a book about him alone in the future.

Solid book that I would definitely recommend. Despite my issues, it was worth a read, and it gives me ideas of future things to both visit and read about. I’m not sure I’ll dive headfirst into outlaw books or anything, as I’m still weary of all of the “he was the kindest man around, no matter that he was a mass murderer” sort of thing, but perhaps in this context I may enjoy the topic more.

The topic was interesting, it was good to hear about more than just Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Some interesting photographs but unfortunately the way it was written lacked any depth.

Thanks to NetGalley and Frontline Books for the opportunity to read a digital ARC of Outlaws of the Wild West by Terry C. Treadwell in exchange for an unbiased review. The book is a series of short bios of some of the more famous or infamous characters of the old west, as well as quite a few that most have never heard of before. I have read a lot about the history of the old west and although many of the characters I was familiar with, I still found myself learning something new about them. There were also some very colorful outlaws, both male and female, that I had never heard of and I really enjoyed learning about them. The inclusion of these lesser-known outlaws sets this volume apart from most of the similar books out there. But the most impressive thing about these sketches was the number of photos, many I had never seen before. That makes me likely to buy a hard copy of this book.

This book was interesting in some parts. Other parts were boring and just like everything I've read in other books. I did like the addition of the female outlaws. There were also some outlaws that I was unfamiliar with.

This nonfiction book about the history of the American frontier aims to separate fact from fiction in regards to the outlaws that long been a part of popular fiction. I have to admit going in that my prior knowledge of this subject mainly comes from fiction, and even then it's particularly sparce, so there were plenty of new interesting facts for me to learn.

The book features a comprehensive history of a number of different individuals. It shouldn't have been surprising to me, but wow, there were some horrifically violent people around in the wild west! Some of the stories are absolutely wild. I think the thing that surprised me the most was just how young so many of them were when they died. I did find some stories more interesting than others. I think one of the most interesting was about Black Bart, who left poems behind after committing robberies. I was particularly interested in reading about the women outlaws, especially Calamity Jane, because that used to be my favourite movie. I read the book pretty much in one sitting but I can see it being the kind of book you dip in and out of, perhaps only reading about the people who interest you.

The photos in the book really brought the people to life. There's something about seeing the photos of the real people alongside their wild stories that just hammers home the point that these aren't just stories, they are real lives. As a warning, there are also a lot of photos of dead bodies, as photographing the body of an outlaw after killing him seems to have been a common practice. These pictures are more disturbing, although they do also do a good job of reminding you that these are real people.

I understand that the author wanted to show the reality of the frontier, but the constant reiteration of 'they were bad people' at times feels a little patronising. I also found some of the language used a little outdated, which when directly quoting people is fine but in the general text felt a bit off. One that stood out to me was the statement that a person would have been diagnosed as a 'schizophrenic sociopath' if he had been alive today, when nothing in the text implied that he had any symptoms of schizophrenia. This might sound a little nitpicky, but in a nonfiction book it bothered me.

I enjoyed reading this book, and I learned lots of new information about a time period I hadn't really considered before, I would have appreciated more words from people at the time, rather than just dates and names. This may be due to a lack of primary sources, though.

Easy read, with all the usual information and stories, presented in an entertaining fashion. Accurate, too, as far as I can tell, which historical writing always ought to be. I enjoyed it a lot.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC copy for my review.

Who knew the Wild West was quite that wild?! I found this book absolutely fascinating and was surprised by how little I actually knew (both the information about well-known outlaws and ones completely new to me). "Outlaws of the Wild West" is very well-written, and the photos (while some are a little disturbing) bring an extra touch of reality to the text. Wow!

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley. This review was written voluntarily and is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.

Free ARC from NET GALLEY

This is okay, nothing really new or written in a new way. I missed his previous or companion book, Lawmen of the Wild West; maybe it was better.

Oh, I think this book is going to be on my short list of "things I can use with students in the future" shelves. I absolutely loved reading through this book! It was full of great history, backgrounds on the outlaws, their gangs, and so much more! Photos rounded out the book so that you could put a face with the name, and it really helped to shape the small snippets of information that many know.

This is a fantastically researcher, well-written book that I would highly recommend. There are photos throughout so you can see who the author is talking about, what the area looked like and maps of the area etc. The book is written in sections with each character written about in their full history before moving onto the full histories of those they were connected to. I've found other authors tell stories of the wild West in such a way as to make seemingly unbelievable stories boring, but this author, whilst sticking to the truth and not buying into unsubstantiated rumours, made each life history interesting and such that you just want to keep reading. I would look to buy this as a physical copy as I feel it would display the photos better, and would definitely recommend

A companion book to Lawmen of the Wild West, Terry C Treadwell gives us a look at outlaws during the same time period. Yes, several lawmen were outlaws and several outlaws became lawmen but that only serves to prove the title "Wild West". After the Civil War, many men became outlaws when their way of life was destroyed. This book tells the stories of many of these men, some well known to history, some not, but all making their own contributions to the way of life that fascinates us still. Another 5 star read for Treadwell. What era will be next?

I've never really read much about the old west, apart from the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, and those are very different stories to the blood and guts life of the outlaws of the wild west.

This book includes those famous outlaws, lawman, and gunslinger whose names many people will recognise - Billy the Kid, Pat Garret, Wyatt Earp, Calamity Jane, Butch Cassidy, and the Sundance Kid - but also many obscure names most people will never have heard about before. There are many interesting tidbits about the dangerous lives these outlaws led, living on the edge and cutting a bloody trail throughout the west, but on the whole, it's a little dry and gets a bit repetitive after a while. In many cases, the sections are short, with the scant information available on some of the more obscure characters being stretched out and spread a little thin in places.

That's not to say there's nothing of merit here. I came away from this book feeling I'd seen a little more of the old west, and met a few more of it's most unsavoury outlaws than I had known when I came to it, and it was interesting to see where there were parallels in some of the stories.

Overall, it was interesting enough the keep me reading, but it felt more like the reading equivalent of snacking, rather than a hearty meal.

This was a really well done book, it was a topic that I find interesting and I did learn some things about the Wild West. The author was able to create an informative read and still be entertaining.

A great collection of stories about the outlaws of the old west. It is a great companion to his previous book on Lawmen of the old west. If you enjoy reading about this period of American history, this book is for you!

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

My father told me stories of the "Wild West" during my childhood, which was the main reason I was drawn to this book. Once I started reading it, I was enthralled and didn't want to put it down. A very good account, with some extras my father wouldn't tell me as a child (for example the execution of Thomas "Black Jack" Ketchum). Great book.

My thanks to Terry C. Treadwell, Pen and Sword and Netgalley.
I truly haven't a clue for how long it's been since I read a book this fast! Let's just say that it's been one heck of a long time!
Did I enjoy this? Did I ever!
Who doesn't love the outlaws? Truthfully, I'm disgusted with them! Such a lawless time.
I'm happy to say that most died as they lived..violently! I even love the "dead outlaw" photo's! I do have a soft spot for Butch and Sundance. I'm sure the movie has swayed me! BUT, Butch did have a sense of humor, and I still can't help but believe, even after reading this book, that they were just lazy, wayward souls.
Most others? they were just as vicious as we all thought! What is surprising is how many of these men had families. The story of that Indian Ned? It must have been too easy back then to railroad an innocent.
Back then, though? It took nerves of steel or some type of insanity to want to be law! And, yes! I once thought I'd have been a Marshall back then! Hey! Matt Dillon roont me!
It actually boggles my mind that someone like me "a woman" would choose this lifestyle,and even raise a family!
I do like hearing about the women outlaws. I often read about women who were powerful in their own right. They owned bars, brothels and gambling dens. Still, an actual outlaw?
I have certain books that I've read, and thought that I'd like to go and experience that time. Hell, I would have wanted to walk the London street's during the plague. I'd have loved to sail the Arctic Ocean aboard H.M.S.Terror, or Erebus!
The United States in these Outlaw times? No.
I like throwing up some dust now and then, but?
I had no idea how ineffective law enforcement was back then. It makes me grateful for how far we've come!
Sometimes we didn't even have "law" enforcement. None. Once a year, here in Helena, Montana we have a Vigilantes Day Parade. It's something I think about, because in every other town, city or state I've lived in, Vigilantes weren't celebrated. But, reading back over history, Vigilantes are reviled. Near as much as if you'd killed someone with a crowd of witnesses.
We still have that parade. Sadly, it's always kids from the 2 high schools in town. It makes me wonder just what are they being taught?
The vigilantes were eventually disbanded. They, like most became what they had hunted. Murderers.
Yeah, sorry. Long review. I've really quite a lot more thoughts. If you fell asleep 😴! Wake ⏰ up!
Treadwell rocks!