Tom Clavin is the author of Blood and Treasure: Daniel Boone and the Fight for America’s First Frontier, which is one of the best nonfiction galleys I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading, and so when I saw his new book, The Last Outlaws: The Desperate Final Days of the Dalton Gang, I jumped at the chance. My thanks go to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the review copy. This book is for sale now.

Sadly, I didn’t find the same level of fascination this time around. Outlaws! The Dalton Gang! How could this not be absorbing? And yet.

It is possible that had I read it rather than listened to it, I might have thought better of it. The narrator speaks in a clipped voice that at times approaches a monotone. I recall having an older male relative fast-reading some sort of legal agreement out loud. He obviously didn’t want to read it but had been told he must read every word before signing, and so he rushed through it, out loud, without pausing between the sentences, just to get through it. This seemed a little like that, as if the voice actor was bored to tears and wanted to be done. There is a place about a quarter of the way in where both he and the narrative perked up some, and I thought, Ah, here we go.

But we didn’t.

On the plus side, Tom Clavin gets his information straight before he writes anything, ever, so whereas those looking for entertainment should look elsewhere, those that genuinely want the information should get this book, either digitally or as a bound copy, and read it. Those doing research for a history essay or the like could do a lot worse than this.

So there you have it. Clavin is a capable author, and I am not done with him, but this narrator and I are finished.

I listened to this book. I am a big fan of the history of the Wild West. I enjoyed it and thought it was four stars. I received a copy to listen to thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press.

Before starting The Last Outlaws, I was unfamiliar with the story of the Dalton Gang but boy was I in for a treat. Tom Clavin's book lays out the story of a heist that sets in motion events that became American legend. In the vein of so much American fiction, in novels and film, here is the true story that inspired those grand images.

Perfect for history buffs and casual history fans alike. This story is told in a great narrative fashion and was extremely easy to read. I tore through it so quickly, I wished there was more to keep going at the end.

I would like to thank to NetGalley, Tom Clavin, George Newbern —Narrator, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for giving the opportunity to listen to this amazingly narrated audiobook ARC's in exchange for an honest review.

Being a person who was raised in Arizona near Tombstone Wild West stories are always fun to read and the history behind it all is always fascinating to learn about. This story about the Dalton Gang was well researched was a great story of greed, crime, punishment, lawlessness, loss, and of course the consequences of it all. The back and forth of this book was hard to keep up with especially listening to the audiobook while working but I didn’t mind it to much I didn’t mind going back a little and listening to what I missed again just so I didn’t miss a thing.

The narrator did a great job narrating this book brought it to life.

Again thank you

"The Last Outlaws" by Tom Clavin chronicles the gripping and tumultuous tale of the Dalton Gang, offering a definitive account of their notorious escapades. From their humble beginnings as horse thieves to their audacious transition into robbing banks and trains, Clavin vividly brings to life the lives of the three Dalton brothers and their eclectic band of cohorts.

The pinnacle of their audacity and demise came on October 5, 1892, in Coffeyville, Kansas, where they undertook a daring heist, aiming to rob two banks simultaneously. However, their notoriety led to a showdown with armed townspeople, resulting in a chaotic and fatal gun battle that left a trail of eight dead men, including four members of the doomed Dalton Gang.

Clavin skillfully paints a vivid picture of the Wild West's violent era, detailing the Dalton Gang's criminal exploits and the climactic event that marked their tragic end. With meticulous research and engaging narrative prowess, "The Last Outlaws" offers readers an enthralling journey through a significant chapter of American outlaw history, delivering a compelling and comprehensive portrayal of one of the most daring gangs in the Wild West. This audiobook version was easy to listen to, it was narrated very well.

I really didn't know what to expect with this book as I know very little about the "wild west" and the outlaws that ruled it [except what I learned in the movie Young Bloods and its sequel and we ALL know how accurate THOSE were ;-) ], so I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this and how much I learned and how I now want to do a deep dive into this time frame.

Excellently researched and told, this is a great story of greed, loss, lawlessness and the consequences of all of it. Anyone who has ANY interest in the wild west period of time will absolutely love this book. Well done.

I was so grateful to receive an audiobook ARC for this book; the narrator, George Newbern, is one of my absolute favorites, and listening to him tell this amazing story was just fantastic and really brought the story to life for me. I highly recommend both this audiobook and the narrator!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Tom Clavin, George Newbern - Narrator, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for providing both the eBook and audiobook ARC's in exchange for an honest review.

The Last Outlaws

I Enjoyed this Book! I feel like the author took time in researching and it made for a great read!

I enjoyed learning about the daltons , their gang and more in this! This book covers a big timeline and expands past just the daltons.

I would recommend for any Wild West fans or anyone just looking to learn (myself).

I had the audiobook and thought the narrator did a great job!

Thanks net galley and Macmillan Audio for this audiobook

The last days of the Dalton Gang were anything but restful. These were not men who lived into older years, dying peacefully in their beds. They were bank robbers, and their demise would come from a bullet.

I have to say, I think this is one of my favorite reads of the year. I was hooked from the start, and listened to the entire book in one day. As the history of the Dalton Gang unfolded, you could almost see the line of how they went from stealing horses to robbing banks. A series of unfortunate events, and a lot of bad decisions led these brothers into a life of crime.

Absolutely a must read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillian Audio for the ALC.

For readers who love stories of “old West outlaws” here is your book. This is well researched and exhaustive in the areas Clavin has chosen to follow. The action especially in the heists are engaging, especially with the narrator.

While a solid history it isn’t a great read. The downsides are two fold, one is the extremely broad range of characters and events create a complicated and almost chaotic read. I’m pretty good at following complex structures and I spent a lot of time having to back up the recording and figure out which Bill or Bob we were talking about. The second is the surface level feel of the discussion of women in this history. While all feel pretty factually accurate, there is a flippancy when women show up that limits the impact these women had on the events that occurred. Not problematic, just feels like a missed opportunity.

One the America's old west most darling and notorious gang of bandits, The Dalton Gang, is the subject of Tom Clavin's latest masterpiece. Clavin does an excellent job of separating fact from fiction, which can be a challenge when examining these often mythologized figures. While the Daltons had many friends that protected them, they were no Robin Hoods, and the author explores when and why they became dangerous outlaws.

The father of Frank and Jesse James was a minister, and for a time, the Daltons were on the right side of the law. In fact, brother Frank Dalton became an U.S. Deputy Marshall under the hanging Judge, Isaac Parker. Grat and Bob both became deputies, and Bob hired Emmett under him to guard prisoners. However, in 1891, they turned to train robbery. The first train robbery didn't quite go as planned, but they would learn from it.

After a couple of successful heists, the gang was focused on one more lucrative hit, and then escape to South America. As Clavin explains in "The Last Outlaws," the law was closing in, in fact, they nearly had the gang at Red Rock. However, it was a trap the gang snuffed out, and they robbed the next passing train. Clavin details the brave lawmen that remained in hot pursuit of the outlaws, such as distinguished lawman Heck Thomas.

Finally, the Dalton's attempted something their Younger cousins never tried, two simultaneous robberies in Coffeyville, Kansas, however, it would be their last raid. Four of the five robbers would die in a furious gun battle, leaving only Emmett to survive, but was badly wounded. Emmett would be sent to prison, but paroled after serving fourteen years of his ninety nine year sentence. As Clavin notes, Emmett was responsible for creating much of the mythology that surrounds the gang, even today.

In the remaining chapters, Clavin follows the trails of the newly formed, but short lived Doolin-Dalton gang (or the Wild Bunch). Clavin's storytelling here is top notch, and as always, George Newbern provides captivating narration.

My thanks to Net Galley, St. Martin's Press and Macmillian Audio for advanced copies of this e-book and audiobook.

This well-researched book on the history of the Dalton gang, along with mentions of the James gang, the lawmen of the day and the people of the expanding west in this country.

The beginning of the book was a bit dry like a history text book but the stories got better as the book progressed. I enjoyed the humorous parts of these gang members who came in and out of the gang to be actors and even law men! So many places mentioned brought me back to Laura Ingalls Wilder or the Osage region or the James gang or even Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and to places I've traveled in OK and TX. It was an interesting book at times and a little slow at times, but glad I read it.

The audio was well done and enhanced this book as I read and listened to it.

This was a nice look at the legendary Dalton Gang. The Wild West was winding down, but these criminals were determined to keep it going. As told in the book, the number of outlaws was dwindling and the number of lawmen was increasing. It was inevitable that the Dalton Gang was not going to last. The amazing thing is that some of the members lived into the early 20th century.

The author does a decent job of laying out the facts and telling a compelling story. This is something I look for in nonfiction selections.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for an ARC audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

A fun read, Tom Clavin tells a great story and this is no exception. His histories of the old west read like you and he were there and often include side observations about the character's family and future events. He even comments on related books and movies about his subjects.

All in all an easy-to-absorb volume, a picture of the history of the West.