The Last Outlaws

February 11, 2013
While not the first or likely the last book to chronicle the colorful lives of outlaws Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Hatch (Black Kettle) has potentially written the most authoritative. Drawing from an impressive number of sources, Hatch's multidimensional study of two of the Wild West's most famous criminals and their compatriots strives for accuracy without sacrificing entertainment value. He covers the duo's evolution from ranch hands to robbers with a reporter's eye and a novelist's sense of drama, recounting colorful anecdotes without letting the story get the best of him; each robbery, tryst, and outlaw with whom Butch and Sundance crossed paths is noted here, often with footnotes. Some escapades, like the story behind the infamous photo of the Wild Bunch, a boneheaded error that forced the group to abandon their criminal ways due to their newfound notoriety, have been told before, but Hatch's enthusiasm for the material and empathy for his subjects makes them seem new. Photos, maps, and a litany of sources that offer supplemental reading material should give armchair sheriffs plenty of material to work with in this immersive and entertaining study.