New York Times bestselling author and award-winning historian John Boessenecker separates fact from fiction in the first new biography in decades of Black Bart, the Wild West’s most mysterious gentleman bandit. Black Bart is widely regarded today as not only the most notorious stage robber of the Old West but also the best behaved. Over his lifetime, Black Bart held up at least twenty-nine stagecoaches in California and Oregon with mild, polite commands, stealing from Wells Fargo and the US mail but never robbing a passenger. Such behavior earned him the title of a true “gentleman bandit.” His real name was Charles E. Boles, and in the public eye, Charles lived quietly as a boulevardier in San Francisco, the wealthiest and most exciting city in the American West. Boles was an educated man who traveled among respectable crowds. Because he did not drink, fight or consort with prostitutes, his true calling as America’s greatest stage robber was never suspected until his final capture in 1883. Sheriffs searched and struggled for years to find him, and newspaper editors had a field day reporting his exploits. Legends and rumors trailed his name until his mysterious death, and his ultimate fate remains one of the greatest mysteries of the Old West. Now historian John Boessenecker sheds new light on Black Bart’s beginnings, reputation and exploits, bringing to life the glittering story of the mysterious stage robber who doubled as a rich, genteel socialite in the golden era of the Wild West.

Black Bart was not the Old West's only stagecoach robber, but he was the most famous. To many people, he was a folk hero: a robber who didn't threaten or harm passengers. He was a bandit with a sense of humor who wrote poetry. In robbing at least 28 Wells Fargo stagecoaches across Northern California between 1875 and 1883, he never fired a shot or injured anyone. His gun, it turned out, was never loaded. Newspaper stories about the poet robber's exploits and about Jim Hume, the unyielding chief detective of Wells Fargo, became popular reading throughout the West. Black Bart seemed to enjoy the chase. During one robbery the driver told him, "They'll catch you one of these days." Bart answered, "Perhaps, but in the meantime, give my regards to J. B. Hume, will you?" For eight years, each new robbery—and each new story—made Hume even more determined to track him down.

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In December 1957, Kenny Leishman came to Toronto from Winnipeg and robbed his first bank. By the time he disappeared in a plane crash over northern Ontario 22 years later, he was a legend. Smooth talking, flashy, with a string of bank jobs to his credit, Leishman catapulted into the national spotlight--and into the hearts of millions of Canadians--by pulling off the biggest gold heist in the country's history. Canadians cheered on the man they affectionately dubbed The Flying Bandit. From coast to coast, in small towns and big cities, everyone wanted Leishman to get away with it. His status as a folk hero was assured. Based on Leishman's private diaries, extensive research and personal interviews with family and friends, The Flying Bandit recreates the life and times of one of Canada's most flamboyant criminals.

A cunning and formidable opponent of the law, Bill Miner, a.k.a. The Grey Fox, spent half of his life behind bars and the other half planning and executing robberies to fuel his love of fancy clothes and the good life. Described as the master criminal of the west, this dashing thief carried out Canada's first train robbery in 1904.

*Includes pictures *Includes a bibliography for further reading "Here I lay me down to sleepTo wait the coming morrow, Perhaps success, perhaps defeat, And everlasting sorrow.Let come what will, I'll try it on, My condition can't be worse;And if there's money in that box'Tis money in my purse." - Black Bart Few things have captured the American imagination like the "Wild West," which still evokes images of dusty cowboys, outlaws, gunfights, gamblers, and barroom brawls over 100 years after the West was settled. A constant fixture in American pop culture, the 19th century American West continues to be vividly and colorfully portrayed not just as a place but as a state of mind. Even among late 19th century contemporaries, the growth of print journalism fed the East Coast's interest in the West, whether it was based on fantasy and non-fiction, and their works made celebrities out of individuals on both sides of the law. Thus, for every Wyatt Earp that became synonymous with gun-toting lawmen, there were outlaws like Billy the Kid and others who straddled the line, like Wild Bill Hickok. There was no shortage of targets for thieves in the West, and some infamous criminals struck dozens of times. Billy the Kid was rumored to be responsible for 21 deaths, and Jesse James was involved in holding up at least 19 banks, trains, and stagecoaches with his vicious gang, resulting in the deaths of some 20 men. The Sam Bass Gang, captained by another hot-tempered gunslinger and seasoned bandit who terrorized the Midwest, as well as the Lone Star State, carried out what is now remembered as the largest heist in the history of the Union Pacific Railroad, fleeing with $65,000 in gold coin and valuables (equivalent to approximately $1.5 million today). Few could compare to the frightening Felipe Espinosa, the Mexican-American outlaw who killed 32 men in the Colorado Territory in the summer of 1863 alone. Among the outlaws who were known for their gun skills and crimes, a criminal of an entirely different breed emerged - the gentleman bandit. Of them, the most famous is Charles E. Boles, more commonly known by his legendary sobriquet, "Black Bart." Black Bart reportedly committed at least 28 stagecoach robberies in a span of eight years, but his name never evoked fear or hatred; instead, he was widely respected and even somewhat admired in both criminal and civilian circles. He was, in many ways, unlike any other desperado the Wild West had ever seen, famed for his debonair appearance, his twisted, yet almost commendable sense of morality, and the way he pulled off his crimes, rounded out by his signature calling card, which came in the form of self-penned, poignant poems left behind at crime scenes. In many ways, later outlaws who were in a sense glamorized by the public in the early 20th century, such as Bonnie and Clyde, owed their reputations to the path Black Bart blazed over the course of his criminal career. Black Bart: The Life and Legacy of the Wild West's Most Notorious Gentleman Bandit chronicles the colorful and controversial life of one of the West's most unique outlaws. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about Black Bart like never before.

Night Stick, first published in 1947, is Lewis Valentine’s no-holds barred autobiography of his career as a tough, honest policeman, who rose from New York beat-cop to commissioner (1934-1945) of the nation’s largest police force. Valentine served under Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia during the notorious Murder, Inc. era of organized crime, and is credited with eliminating a significant amount of the corruption that had plagued the NYPD up to that time. Night Stick covers his rise in the force, as well as presenting numerous examples of major New York criminal cases in the first part of the 20th century. Valentine concludes with his vision of policing needs, and ends with his visit to Japan following the Second World War (upon the invitation of General Douglas MacArthur) to advise the Tokyo police department. Valentine passed away on December 16, 1946.