My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advance copy of this history book that looks back at the dying days of the fabled outlaw west, as time, technology, and a changing country did more to stop rustlers and robbers than badges and detectives ever could have.

America loves to talk about being for law and order, loves to talk about backing the blue but most of the people who live here love their outlaws. I can think of one Bruce Springsteen song about a Highway Patrolman, but I can think of a lot of songs about being the bad guy. Even Billy Joel had a song entitled Billy the Kid. Songs about Pinkertons are mostly about that group being puppets for the powerful and strikebreakers, not about bravely searching for train robbers. Maybe the song Rappin Duke about John Wayne could fit? Paul Newman even named his program for helping seriously ill children the Hole in Wall Gang, a homage to his most famous role, but still a comment on the effect that outlaws have had on our society. However as with much of western history, the tendency is to print the legend and not the facts. Which is why the works of Tom Clavin are so important. Clavin's books are known for their facts, sometimes new facts, the seriousness of his research, Clavin's clear writing, and maybe even a wistfulness for once was. This work might be his best, in a long line of great works. Bandit Heaven: The Hole-in-the-Wall Gangs and the Final Chapter of the Wild West is a look at the rise of rustlers, robbers and rail robbers, and how the changing world caught up to this outlaws, far worse than the law ever did.

The book opens with a thrilling midnight raid on a moving train, full of derring-do, dynamite and dastardly villains. Everything a good Hollywood movie would want. From there we learn about the areas in the states of Wyoming and Utah that offered sanctuary, safety and succor to many men and a few women, who might be running from or to something, usually with property that might not be their own. Clavin describes the ranch system, how small ranches were considered annoyances by larger ranch holders who felt that their wealth meant they could put their cattle anywhere they wanted. This led to clashes with outside forces brought into get rid of small ranch owners, and other neighbors who by day might help put up a fence, but at night rip down that same fence to help themselves to some horses or cattle. Safe areas were needed for people who suddenly found themselves with a lot of animals, or even large amounts of money from bank vaults, which gave rise to the outlaw trail, and places to hide. Readers learn about the rise, and fall of many different gangs, and how the Telegraph and even horseless carriages were starting to make the West a tough place to do crimes. Clavin covers the big names Butch Cassidy and Sundance, along with the lesser known detectives who tried to hunt them down, or in the case of Tom Horn, set out to kill them.

Tom Clavin has a real understanding and feeling for the West and it shows in his writing. There is a mix of real fact, a bit of ennui for a time that has gone past, and a determination to get to the truth. Every page has something interesting, a fact about cattle, land, people, or a story about familiar characters that one has not heard before. Clavin does a lot of research, and works hard at not printing the legend. When he can't be sure, he tells the reader. Clavin as a nice writing style, an almost sitting at a fire way of sharing history that doesn't seem like one is being talked to, but one is part of big conversation. As one reads one finds that while few outlaws end in bad ways, one literally loses their head, many of the read bad guys, land barons, murderers with badges, live long lives, sometimes being still appreciated by the community who either knows what they did, or cares not at all. Very much like life in these United States.

Much of this book deals with the activities of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and if one only knows them from the movies, one will learn a lot. One will learn a lot in general. This book is a good start for new readers of Clavin, and boy do they have a lot of rich reading ahead. Fans like myself will enjoy the almost ending feeling, though I am sure that there is a lot more for Clavin to cover, and I can't wait.

3.5 stars

An informative and mostly entertaining account of the mythical Hole in the Wall hideouts and gangs. Lots of colorful characters although it seems like Butch and Sundance are the main ones. Well-researched with a multitude of facts, along with debunking of some old legends.

But the author also confirmed some accounts, like some of the elements of the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. He interviewed descendants and we find out some of the movie scenes are true, like Butch and Sundance and Etta on vacation in New York City and their time in Bolivia.

There is a certain wistfulness as this deals with the fading of the last days of the Wild West. Some mysteries will never be solved, but this account answers a lot of questions. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Popular history written by one of the current masters. Will definitely be ordering for my library. Our readers will love it.

This was an interesting story about the Wild Bunch and other gangs of thrives and rustlers that frequented the outlaw trail at the turn of the last century. I have read other books on the topic including some of the books the author used for source material, but there were still stories and details I had not heard before.

I enjoyed the detail about a lot of the less known historical figures that were mentioned in the book. However, some that were just tertiary characters that are just mentioned incidentally really don’t deserve a full biography.in the main text. I think these would be more appropriately included in the notes so that the main narrative is not slowed down or confused by going off on long tangents.

There were a lot of omitted word or extra “the”s, misspellings, etc that I assume will be cleaned up in he final edit, but were distracting. There were other things that a spell check may not pick up, such as when a citizen was “perched on the second floor of a flower mill.” I assume “flour” was intended.

Another time, it says, a “holiday turkey shoot was also planned to take place being their saloon.” which makes no sense unless perhaps “being” was meant to be “behind.”

The writing many times is klunky and does not flow, as in “such useful skills as riding, roping, and how to brand cattle.” This violates parallelism where the same form of verb should be used in each of a list of actions, so the sentence would read, “riding, roping, and branding cattle.”

Another passage says”…if this had actually happened, then neither would the Wilcox job.” For this to make any sense, “had” would need to be negative (hadn’t), but from context, that does not seem to be the intent, so the intended meaning is unclear.

Then there are a lot of odd sentences with a sort of backward syntax like “.. not waiting around to be caught had been a jumpy Lonie.” Which only Yoda could fully appreciate.

From my reading, I know that Mormon prophet Joseph Smith and his brother were actually shot by a mob, not hung as reported in this history.

Overall, this is an interesting book in need of a good editor.

This was a fun book.

I have always been curious about the history of the American West, especially the outlaws. My dad knew a lot about the Old West, so I grew up hearing about the characters and places. I and my husband have spent a lot of time watching The American Experience on PBS and other documentaries on the American West, but this book filled in a lot of the details that I didn't know.

The author wrote about well-known characters such as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Kid Curry, Kit Carson, John Wesley Powell, Jim Bridger, Fred Harvey, and Frank & Jesse James.

I also learned about characters Ive never heard of before like The Big Nose Parrot Gang led by George "Big Nose" Parrott, and the McCarty Brothers.

I discovered that Wyoming had quite the bloody history for range wars between huge cattle barons and smaller herd owners and homesteaders. Much of this book covers the history of Wyoming in the 1800's to 1900; additionally, there is some history of Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico.

The author discusses numerous outlaws, the vast majority unknown to the public in 2024. Who he does focus on is Butch Cassidy, and to a lesser extent, the Sundance Kid. As far as lawmen are concerned, the author spends a lot of time following the life of Charlie Siringo, the Pinkerton Detective, who tracked unknowns, and then Butch Cassidy around the West. The author also discusses the hybrids, like Tom Horn, an outlaw-Pinkerton detective-tracker/assassin.

I definitely recommend this book.

Thank you to author Tom Clavin, publisher St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for providing me with a pre-publication galley of this book.

My opinions are my own. I didn't receive anything for my review except the experience of writing it!

Thanks for an ARC from NetGalley.

This is a very informative book about the Wild West. This book was very well researched and is an easy read. I liked how the author gave us an in-depth view of the development of the larger than life characters that defined the Wild West. I would recommend this book for anyone who loves history.

I had enjoyed Tom Clavin wrote previously and this was a unique concept for a historical nonfiction book about the Wild West. It had that informative element that I was hoping for and thought the information was well researched. I'm glad I got to read this and am excited for more.

Tom Clavin's Bandit Heaven brought some history to life that I didn't know before. Robbers Roost, Brown's Hole, and Hole-in-the-Wall were three hideouts that collectively were known to outlaws as "Bandit Heaven." During the 1880s and '90s, these remote locations in Wyoming and Utah harbored hundreds of train and bank robbers and horse and cattle thieves. I learned some details about Butch Cassidy and his sidekick Sundance Kid, the cold-blooded Kid Curry, and "Black Jack" Ketchum, among others. However, even though I enjoyed the history Clavin imparted, I could never connect to these characters enough to care or get into the storylines. There were too many characters to keep track of and disjointed narratives, and I lost interest before finishing the book.

I read all of Tom Clavin's books and this is just another wonderful entry about the end of the Wild West. I'm not going to complicate this review because whether or not this book is for you is very simple.

When Clavin writes about the Wild West, there is going to be some guaranteed elements. First, sardonic wit. Clavin will not let a good zinger go by. If there is a dark joke to make about a guy's nickname ending up being the way he dies, then Clavin will say it.

Second, there are a lot of characters. Clavin can not and will not let a good story go by. Sure, the character may show up for a few pages and disappear forever but this is about entertainment. Clavin has gathered you around the fire to tell you stories not just a single story. Admittedly, I usually ding books for having too many characters, but when it is done well and brings more color to the book, I not only let it slide but thoroughly enjoy it.

Finally, while it may seem the narrative jumps around, there is always a larger point being made in the narrative. Yes, it seems like the end of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid are the main story, but it is really about the end of the Wild West. This book is another look at the how and why the outlaws couldn't go on forever both literally and figuratively. If you like Clavin's work, this is just another must read.

(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and St. Martin's Press.)

Just like all of the other books I’ve read by Tom Clavin, Bandit Heaven is incredibly interesting and a rip-roaring ride through the Wild West from its heyday to its gradually domesticated end. Never is this more poignant than in this book when Wild Bunch members Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid go from being on the lam in primitive places in Bandit Heaven and the Outlaw Trail out west to living it up on the leading edge of modernity in New York City. Like the preceding solo effort from Clavin, The Last Outlaws, Bandit Heaven does suffer some in my opinion of being too comprehensive. A multitude of rustlers, thieves and bandits can be summed up within a paragraph or two in almost every chapter, creating a dizzying list that is impossible to keep up with. While it is interesting, the book would be easier to follow if the majority of it was focused on the Wild Bunch core members and the law enforcement determined to catch them. The last few chapters do have this more narrowed focus, and they’re much easier to follow along with. A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I spend my reading/listening time with mysteries, biographies, and historical nonfiction. So Tom Calvin’s “Bandit Heaven” falls under the “historical nonfiction” category. And it’s quite a well-written story about the American Wild West. I learned a whole lot about the real history of the west and many of its famous (infamous!) outlaws…with a smattering about the so-called “good guys.” Most interesting, the good guys were very much like the bad guys, and in many cases the good guys were oftentimes also the bad guys. Very entertaining read for which I am grateful to NetGalley for the opportunity to read Mr. Clavin’s book.

Another fascinating book by Clavin. This author never fails to find interesting tales of our wild west past. The book is full of fascinating details about the last days of the outlaw caste that haunted the westerns towns well into the 20rh century. I have read all his books and they are all well worth reading.

If you've read any of Tom Clavin's books, you know you get a detailed history of a specific time in history, and Bandit Heaven doesn't disappoint. "Robbers Roost, Brown’s Hole, and Hole in the Wall were three hideouts that collectively were known to outlaws as “Bandit Heaven.” This book details quite a few outlaw gangs back in the 1880s and 1890s, when outlaw gangs were starting to disappear as advancements were made in transportation and communication. As usual with Tom Clavin's books, the level of detail is almost overwhelming, but he tells the old tales in such a way that you don't even realize h0w much you're taking in. If you love learning about the old west, in particular the outlaws and bandits, you are going to love Bandit Heaven. I know I did.

5/5 stars.

*** I would like to thank NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Tom Clavin for the opportunity to read and review Bandit Heaven.

This book is about the various versions of the Hole In The Wall Gangs, others who used the hideout and the lawmen who pursued them. The primary focus off and on throughout the book is on Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid as they are the most recognizable names thanks to the movie of the same name. As with the author’s other books, this is an interesting read for those who are interested in the history of the american west.

I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of Net Galley and the publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon and my nonfiction book review blog.

Tom Clavin's talents as a historian are his ability to relate factual material in a very readable anecdotal form, to tie together a sprawling subject into a cohesive narrative, and to place the the events into the broader context of history. All three of these are in display in <i>Bandit Heaven</i> as Clavin focuses on the importance of the getaways and hideouts to bandits of the Wild West, converging on the Wild Bunch led by Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. As telegraph communication and population growth reduced the ability of outlaws to flee the scene of the crime and lay low, banditry became rather unhealthy--as attested by the ends of most of the unsavory-yet-mythic bank and train robbers in this volume.

<i>Bandit Heaven</i> sprawls in geographic range, timeline, and number of personalities, which at times was difficult to keep up with as a reader, but it is necessary to convey the narrative Clavin tells. It ultimately works thanks to the author's logical divisions of the subject matter into easily consumed chapters that encapsulate one facet or advance the central threads of the narrative in easily readable fashion. This book is both entertaining and thought-provoking, both satisfying me in its coverage and whetting the appetite for more about the subject matter.

Appreciation to the author, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for providing an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Robbers Roost, Brown’s Hole, and Hole-in-the-Wall were three hideouts that collectively were known to outlaws as “Bandit Heaven.” During the 1880s and ‘90s these remote locations in Wyoming and Utah harbored hundreds of train and bank robbers, horse and cattle thieves, the occasional killer, and anyone else with a price on his head. Bandit Heaven is a thrilling read, filled with action, indelible characters, and some poignance for the true end of the Wild West outlaw.

Honestly, couldn't finish this. The narrative was just too scattered, too many minor characters running around stealing cattle. I like the author, but this book just wasn't for me.

A look at the brief 'golden age' of robbers and outlaws of the wild west. Fleeting in time, but made immortal by the countless legends and tales that would grow out the exploits. A very worthwhile read.

4.5 rounded to 5

Clavin really knows his material, and he writes so engagingly that I sometimes forgot I was reading a historical account, as he evokes the various outlaws he follows, most to their unsavory ends. I really enjoy his style.

Framing this look at the waning of the "Old West" in particular the outlaws who preyed on banks, railroads, ranchers, and everyone else. was the tale of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. I've never had any interest in those two, as I found the film dull when I saw it at twenty years old (hearing yet another maundering tweedle of "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" used to drive me right out of a room) so I was surprised to find out that as outlaws go, these two were not all that bad. There were far worse ones, some of them with whom the two joined up now and then.

Mostly I found the scant facts about "Ethel"--the woman of many names with whom the Sundance Kid partnered for a time, till she'd had enough--was surprisingly interesting. I'd found the actor in the film so dull that it had never occurred to me that this person was even more interesting than the two guys, who were mainly famous for being somewhat stylish in how they took others' belongings.

The frame mostly worked--except that it turns out that really there is nothing for certain known about what happened to the two, down in South America. If they were actually there. Another small problem in the last third was that Clavin sometimes told us the ends of some of the outlaws and the lawmen who chased them, then picked up their stories from another angle--and they were suddenly alive again, confusing me a bit as the cast was so large.

But those are small quibbles. I learned a lot, and thoroughly enjoyed the process.

Tom Clavin has done it again with another great work on the American West! This was a great book on the smaller outlaws who tried to stake their claim to fame in the closing chapters of the American West.