The Lives and Times of Bonnie & Clyde

Relying on primary sources oral history interviews personal memoirs newspaper articles official records diaries and letters E. R. Milner cuts through myth and legend to create this startling portrait of the real Bonnie and Clyde. In his prologue Milner introduces Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow showing them as they drive along a rural Louisiana lane toward the ambush that would put a dramatic end to their turbulent lives of crime. Milner then traces their backgrounds noting the events that bring the two outlaws together. The ensuing adventures of Bonnie and Clyde featured gun battles narrow escapes and captures frequent moves and of necessity several shifts in personnel over a short period of time. It was a life of wild action betrayal and sometimes even gallantry. In the abstract an aura of romance surrounded this violent pair. Although the mythology surrounding Bonnie and Clyde is charged with drama and fascination Milner reveals the truth behind the bloody legend carefully gleaning materials from obscure locally published accounts previously untapped court records and archived but unpublished oral history accounts from some sixty victims neighbors relatives and police who were involved in the exploits of the infamous duo. And the truth proves to be sufficiently exciting. Romance aside the Barrow gang carved a grisly swath through Texas Arkansas Oklahoma and Missouri. The string of deaths was long and real: Akota Oklahoma sheriff severely wounded deputy killed; Sherman Texas grocery clerk killed; Temple Texas man killed as gang attempts to steal his car; Joplin Missouri two officers killed; Alma Arkansas police officer killed; Crockette Texas prison guard killed; Miami Oklahoma police officer killed. Milner traces this violent path until 23 May 1934 when Bonnie and Clyde die in an ambush. Even dead they draw crowds and are buried in a circus-like atmosphere. In death they continue to intrigue us in ways few criminals had before or have since.