Outgunned

In the movies the outlaws ride into town, terrorize the local citizenry, and finally meet their match when the heroic sheriff arrives to thwart them. In real life, however, it was different. Some of the most notorious outlaws in American history -- from the days of the Old West through the Prohibition era -- were actually killed or captured by everyday townspeople. Outgunned! True Stories of Citizens Who Stood Up to Outlaws -- And Won describes more than a dozen such instances in which citizens' grit, courage, and determination brought criminals to justice. Among the thrilling tales: Jesse James, whose James-Younger Gang was decimated by armed townsfolk while attempting to rob a bank in Northfield, Minnesota. Tom Horn, assassin for Wyoming cattle barons, who was shot by citizens during an ill-fated jailbreak. George Birdwell, onetime chief lieutenant to Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd, who was gunned down with his partners by the enraged residents of the all-black town of Boley, Oklahoma. The Dalton Gang, whose bold plan to simultaneously rob two banks in Coffeyville, Kansas, ended with four of the gang members dead at the hands of armed citizens. Anthony Chebatoris, who, after murdering an innocent bystander during an attempted bank robbery in Midland, Michigan, was shot by a dentist who kept a deer rifle in his office. Many books romanticize outlaws or lawmen, but Outgunned! is the first to present the true stories of ordinary citizens who banded together to protect themselves and their neighbors from criminals. All of the stories are documented in contemporary accounts or by noted historians, although in some cases new information has also been found and incorporated into the stories. Book jacket.

Robert A. Waters is the author of The Best Defense: True Stories of Intended Victims Who Defended Themselves with a Firearm. He lives in Ocala, Florida John T. Waters, Jr. has worked in law enforcement and for the Internal Revenue Service and is currently employed as a counselor in Ocala, Florida