The cover illustration is a little misleading since the caboose never figured in a train robbery.

This book is based on contemporary newspaper articles as well as a wide array of modern magazines that focus on the history of the western frontier. The author has a tendency not to specify the state or territory of a locale. He mentions that train robbery was not made a capital offense until near the close of the century and seems to treat it only as a federal matter. The book ends abruptly without a conclusion.

A recognizable studio photograph of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and three others is reproduced here. Four of the men died violent deaths. Although the author is thorough in covering the robbers' lives after the robberies, and states frankly if they disappeared without a trace, the fifth man in the photo, William Carver, was apparently forgotten by him.

One dichotomy went unexplained: many of the robbers once caught were willing to inform or testify against each other. On the other hand they all seemed mutually trusting when it came to burying the plunder with only one robber knowing the precise location.

The bibliography probably serves as a good starting point for those who wish to learn more. ( )