Early outlaws tell their own raw tales of holdups, shootouts, and desperate flights from the law. Witness the cruel confessions of California bandits during the opening days of the Gold Rush, stage robbers, and California highwaymen. These tales of harrowing and sometimes hilarious antics are accompanied by many rare photographs.

""California Badmen"" is a exploration of little-known Western frontier gunfighters. Billy Mulligan, Sam Temple, Peter Olsen, Joe Dye, Bob McFarlane and those responsible for the Rancheria killings are brought back through the pages and taking their stand in Californian history. The riotous lives of these unique collection of mean men with guns spill over the California frontier and rival the likes of ""Wild Bill"" Hickok, Billy the Kid, and the Earp Family.

The California Gold Rush is thought to exemplify the Wild West, yet miners were expert organizers. Driven by property interests, they enacted mining codes, held criminal trials, and decided claim disputes. But democracy and law did not extend to “foreigners” and Indians, and miners were hesitant to yield power to the state that formed around them.

First person accounts of the major catastrophies of 19th century California.

Charley Flinn, otherwise known as "Mortimer," was the craftiest criminal in frontier California. Upon his release from San Quentin State Prison in 1863, Mortimer quickly made up for lost time. He formed a gang of robbers in Virginia City, led a prison break in Northern California, and became the most wanted man in the Bay Area. Boldly outwitting both the police and the press, including the young investigative reporter Mark Twain, Mortimer escalated to wilder and wilder heists. But when he fell for a devious femme fatale, Mortimer's crimes took a darker turn. Matthew Bernstein paints the Old West in all its terrible glory, where desperadoes tangle with crooked detectives, bloodthirsty posses, and sultry seductresses. Throughout it all, Charley Flinn keeps up a breakneck speed, committing hundreds of crimes before his love for a treacherous woman and his own violent nature lead him to a fitting climax.