Description

New York Timesbestselling author and awardwinning historianJohn Boesseneckerseparates fact from fiction in the first new biography in decades of Black Bart the Wild Wests 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 Bartheld upat least twentynine stagecoaches in California and Oregonwith mild polite commandsstealing from Wells Fargo and the US mail but never robbing a passengerSuch behavior earned him the title of a true gentleman bandit

His real name was Charles E Boles and in the public eye Charleslived quietly as a boulevardier inSan Francisco the wealthiest and most exciting city in the American WestBoles was an educated man who traveled among respectable crowds Because he did not drink fight or consort with prostitutes his true calling as Americas greatest stage robber was never suspecteduntil 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 fateremains one of the greatest mysteries of the Old West

Now historianJohn Boesseneckersheds new light on Black Barts beginningsreputationand exploits bringing to life the glittering story of the mysterious stage robber who doubled as a rich genteelsocialite in the golden era ofthe Wild West

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