Are you a history nut for the American Wild West? This book is for you! It chronicles the lives and exploits of the the Maxwell Brothers - Desperadoes of the 1870's Mid-West.

This is NOT a quick read for those of you looking for a series of stories telling of the daring deeds of outlaws. What this is, is a historical and sociological reflection of the social mores in which people in that time period and place lived in.

The story of Ed and Lon Maxwell, at the time well known and chronicled outlaws, are used as the centerpiece of this book. The first third of the book explains the world these men were brought up in. Children of parents who were hard working tenant farmers, moving often in an attempt to "better" themselves so they could own their own land and "become" respectable members of society. The boys were raised in a world in which it was believed that with hard work any dream could be achieved. They saw differently and due to their status in society - a very low status - they were frustrated and willing to redefine themselves. And they did just that: they became the most famous outlaws of the day.
The book details the justice system of the time as the brothers are "brought to justice".

I was impressed with the description of the time period. Newspaper articles and interviews of people who were around at the time are presented. Pictures of the principles as well as places in which the history takes place are provided; maps help the reader to follow the movement of the brothers and their pursuers.
This is a scholarly book (309 footnotes) for a lover of the why's of history. I thought I knew about this time period but my eyes were opened as to the social hardships the people faced - which in many ways seem much more daunting than the physical.

This is recommended to anyone who would like to learn not only about a interesting couple of wild west desperadoes, but also about the world in which they were formed.

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review. ( )

This book is a well researched narrative of the Maxwell brothers who became well known in Illinois and Wisconsin for their lawless deeds. While the book wasn't exactly riveting it held my attention well and the author seems to be extremely knowledgable of the historical period and general area where they committed their crimes. My only quibble was the frequent attempts at psychoanalysis of the brothers. Using only newspaper articles and interviews (which can be historically inaccurate) can lead to faulty conclusions and don't make a good basis for psychological analysis. I understand that this may be the author's attempt to reconcile our society's change in attitude toward crime and lawbreakers, but it wasn't entirely successful. As mentioned by a earlier reviewers a straight narrative of events with an epilogue for author conclusions would have been more effective.
I did like the use of first hand articles and interviews and the pictures of characters involved in the events. ( )

I really wanted to like this book, I really did. And the first few chapters were pretty good, detailing the early life of the brothers and the family moving west. But as others have pointed out, the author devolves into too mush psychology and psychoanalysis. I enjoyed the history aspects of life on the frontier and respect the author for the amount research he accomplished. 3 Stars. ( )

"'Dime Novel Desperadoes' recovers the long-forgotten story of Ed and Lon Maxwell, the outlaw brothers from Illinois who once rivaled Jesse and Frank James in national noteriety." This blurb caught my eye, as I had never heard of the Maxwell brothers. I was hoping for an interesting historical account; and as such the book seems well researched and well written, including descriptions of small town life in Illinois after the Civil War, tenant farming, the logging industry in Wisconsin, the state prison at Joliet, and lynch law. I especially enjoyed the exerpts from period newspapers. However, I found the author's frequent insertions of speculative psychoanalysis of the Maxwell brothers distracting and annoying. He considers them to have been "creatures of fate, trapped by cultural concepts and psychological problems as well as socioeconomic circumstances." Certainly they were influenced by their circumstances, but not every person required to work hard as a child, or facing continual hard work without much monetary reward turns to a life of crime. I would have preferred a straightforward narrative, letting the intelligent reader draw his own conclusions as to the Maxwells' motives.

LibraryThing Early Reviewer Book

This book is the story of two outlaw brothers from Illinois who led a life of crime in the 1870's. Their father, David Maxwell, made his living as a tenant farmer for the majority of his life constantly moving West from his birthplace in Pennsylvania until he eventually settled in Nebraska. Ed was the oldest son born in 1853 and his brother Lon was born in 1858.
By 1860 the family was living in Illinois and beginning in 1862 David Maxwell served in the Civil War for the Union and returned in 1865. He was wounded once but continual health problems left him sickly for the rest of his life. He and his wife had eight children over a span of about fifteen years. The author emphasizes the poverty of the family and how it affected the brothers. The poverty is well documented but how it influenced the brothers to a life of crime is the author's contribution.
The book is well researched with fifty pages of notes. I enjoyed the liberal use of newspaper clippings to help tell the story. It is an interesting portrayal of life in America at this time for those with no advantages making a meager living by the sweat of their brow. Unfortunately the author loses his credibility when he says " The Maxwell brothers were both doomed by psychological forces that they could not withstand." (p. 154).
Ed as an adult was short and thin. The author emphasizes how this made Ed aggressive and violent. Being five years older than Lon he is portrayed as the dominant personality. Ed began a life of crime by petty theft at an early age. He graduated to robbery and was sentenced to prison at Joliet. Ed's life in prison is described in detail. As an attorney who has been in state prisons I found this material interesting.
After Ed is released he and Lon graduate to the life of desperadoes. I got very tired of reading the word desperadoes. Eventually they are caught and both sentenced to imprisonment at Joliet. Lon is released first and leaves his outlaw life and gets married under an alias. When Ed is released they again take up their life of crime.
At this point in the book, if not before, the constant psycho-analysis and the comparison of the Maxwells to the James brothers and other outlaws destroyed my enjoyment and interest in the book.
Eventually the brothers kill a law enforcement officer and his brother. Their story that it was self-defense is not believed by anyone. Ed is captured and lynched. Lon fades off, his eventual fate a mystery.
I can see that the author put a lot of work into this book. There is some very good material such as the story of prison life that I enjoyed. It appears that the author and his editor were grabbing for the brass ring. A story told as no one had done it before. I have read psycho-history in Erik Erikson's biography of Ghandi. This book is not even good psycho-history, it is psychobabble. There is value in the story of members of the have nots who turn to crime. The author forgets that there were many others who lived a life as bad or worse than the Maxwell brothers. They withstood the psychological forces in their life and didn't rob and kill. The Maxwell brothers were not doomed to their way of life, they chose it.
I think with some good editing this could have been an enjoyable book. The author had a good story which was well researched and wrote an awful book.
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review. ( )