36 Bad Guys in American History

"Maybe, in the end, it is the sheer fascination with
evil that makes these individuals so compelling."

Here is another example of authors and historians including Soapy Smith as an important contributor to exciting criminal history. I'd like to think I had a big hand in making that a reality. Now the hard part is getting them to tell the true story without adding their own invented fluff. Soapy doesn't need any added help if authors would just take the time to do a little simple research, but I'm digressing, mainly because I have not read this book as of yet and for all I know he used my website as a source. i wonder if he gave me credit as a source? Oh there I go again!

36 Bad Guys in American History, by George Cantor, Barnes & Noble, 1999 and 2007. 224 pages, ISBN: 9780760790779.

The following is from the book and is not my personal opinion as I have not read or seen the book as of yet. I am very interested in the section on Soapy Smith if anyone has a copy of this book.

A total of 36 the most fascinating characters in our nation's history have always been the outlaws.

Defying authority and pursuing an underworld version of the American dream, they continue to fuel the public's interest years after their deaths. How did the most feared individuals of their day become the subjects of romanticized myths and folklore?

Bad Guys in American History provides a provocative analysis of why America's villains continue to fascinate us. And why, ironically, the states and territories that once pursued them now find that these criminals have become a steady source of revenue.

Bad Guys in American History tells the stories of some of our country's most compelling outlaws, from their first crimes to final fates. Also included are two of the most famous prisons in our history and three notorious courts of law.

Each entry includes lively background information about these celebrated bad guys and thrilling accounts of their exploits. But Bad Guys in American History goes even farther, examining the reasons behind these outlaws' enduring legends, detailing the routes and sites of their most famous adventures, and providing valuable information on the locations of their thefts, murders, and shootouts, should you wish to visit these infamous places yourself.

Soapy is in good company with the other 35 characters the author chose to write about. They include.

Salem Witchcraft Trials
Blackbeard
Benedict Arnold
Joh Bulter and Bulters's Rangers
Simon girty
Aaron Burr
Jean lafitte
The harpe Brothers
William Clark Quantrill
John Brown
John Wilkes Booth
Belle Starr
Henry Plummer
Wild Bill Hickok
Jay Gould
Billy the Kid
Hatfields and McCoys
Jesse James
Black Bart
The Dalton Gang
Judge Roy Bean
Joaquin Murieta
Jacob Waltz and the Lost Dutchman Mine
Lizzie Borden
John D. Lee and the Mountain Meadows Massacre
Judge Isaac Parker
Butch Cassidy
Wyatt Earp
Yuma Territorial Prison
Pancho Villa
Al Capone
John Dillinger
Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow
Bugsy Siegel
Alcatraz Prison

Do you own a copy of this book? I would love to hear from you. Thank you.








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