My Life With Bonnie & ClydeBy Blanche Caldwell BarrowEdited by John Neal PhillipsApril 4, 2014“Bonnie and Clyde were responsible for multiple murders and countless robberies. But they did not act alone. In 1933, during their infamous run from the law, Bonnie and Clyde were joined by Clyde’s brother, Buck Barrow and his wife, Blanche; of these four accomplices, only one-Blanche Caldwell Barrow-lived beyond early adulthood and she was the only one that left behind a written account of their escapades.” “Blanche wrote her memoir between 1933 and 1939, while serving time at the Missouri State Penitentiary. Following her death, Blanche’s good friend and the executor of her will, Esther L. Weiser, found the memoir wrapped in a large unused Christmas card. Later she entrusted it to Phillips, who had interviewed Blanche several times before her death. Drawing from these interviews, and for extensive research into Depression-era outlaw history, Phillips supplements the memoir with helpful notes and with biographical information about Blanche and her accomplices.”I found the book totally intriguing. My mother was raised in central Wisconsin thick with farmland. It was here, according to her recollection that gangsters would come and hide out for rest and relaxation. This conceived an interest in the Depression-era gangster and so I sought out this book to give me some profile on fictional gangster characters for my current novel. Her verbiage was authentic and raw with words like “walls”; depicting prison; “hot”; where police were on the lookout; and “tourist camps”; where criminals as well as the down and out family could reside for a time. This made the memoir authentic as well as personal. Blanche’s account mostly dealt with her relationship with Buck, which was die-heart love, as well Buck’s relationship with his brother Clyde and her relationship with Bonnie. It all was feasible as well as slow but made a great memoir far from what Hollywood as well as the mythical legends of their lifestyle was made out to be a sort of “steal from the rich give to the poor” Robin Hood type of drama which was totally false. When the facts of their exploits were laid out it was obvious that they were cold bloodied killers who bungled many a robbery job and quarreled often amongst themselves; especially the brothers. I loved the part in her memoir where she elaborated on the fact that the brothers constantly argued over just about everything. It was plain the siblings did not get along. What got me was the brothers did not get along about the overall scheme of robbing. Clyde preferred the rob for a day idea while Buck, the obvious smarter one of the gang, insisted on robbing banks for the big haul that could last for a long, long time. Memoirs by non-authors can be boring and difficult to read; however this one is so full of raw information and life that it is worth the effort. What a life Blanche led before, during, and after her days of crime that it is simply a worthwhile educational experience to read. I highly recommend it to anyone that is interested in criminal history as well as Depression-era history.
Bonnie and Clyde terrorised a huge swathe of Southern United States during the early thirties until their violent deaths in an ambush in Louisiana. For a certain length of time they had an almost legendary status as outlaws who fought the system. The publication of Bonnie's verses in particular gave them the aura of doomed lovers. By the time they were killed public opinion had turned against them largely owing to several violent murders. Still, Thousands turned out at their funerals. (You can see clips of them on You tube} In the 12 months following their deaths four of the major criminal gangs met violent ends: Pretty Boy Floyd, John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, and the "Ma Barker" gang. What we have in this book is a memoir of the time Clyde's sister-in-law rode with the gang.In effect she takes the reader right into the car and gives a first hand account of what the lives of the two criminals were like. It soon becomes clear that it was a really awful existence. They weren't particularly good bank robbers and tended to live in their stolen Ford V8 automobiles. Blanche's husband, Buck, was clearly implicated in the crimes despite Blanche's futile attempts to make him seem an unwilling participant. Bonnie was an alcoholic with a wicked temper who at one point came close to killing Clyde. However, there is no indication that she ever shot any person during the crimes. Clyde, on the other hand, is clearly the individual who controlled events. He was obsessed with gaining revenge for the utter horror of his first and only prison experience in Texas. He described Eastham Farm Prison as a "Hell Hole. He was sexually abused and another convict said that he saw Clyde Barrow turn from an ordinary kid into a "rattlesnake" before his eyes. Unlike the other criminal gangs of the time, he was not really motivated by money--rather he was fuelled by anger. As bad as he was, and it must be stressed that he was fully culpable for some terrible crimes . . . he was partly created by the times.The actual memoir of Blanche which was written in longhand in prison only takes up a bit more than a third of thr book. The rest of the volume includes a foreword by Esther L Weiser who received the manuscript from Blanche and excellent notes by John Neal Phillips who also describes Blanche Barrow's life during and after prison. Phillips provides good background notes to the events occurring at the time thus putting the memoir in a contextual perspective. The result is an excellent piece of social history of life during the depression that is quite fascinating to read.
Do You like book My Life With Bonnie And Clyde (2005)?
I just couldn't continue reading the book. The book would be more bearable if the editor's notes were within the body of the text instead of in the back of the book. It's an easy read, if you can tolerate going back and forth, trying to remember where on the page you left off to read the notes in the back. I couldn't take it anymore. I don't want to waste my time reading something that seems to be someone's faulty memory of history, then reading the contradictions to her statements in the notes. So, I just gave up. Additionally, I have a difficult time sympathizing with someone who loses all sense of morality and sensibility in the name of "love." I call BS.
—Suzanna
Life on the road with Bonnie and Clyde was no picnic. Here is a first hand account of someone who was riding with them for 4 months. Killing, robbing, running and driving all night after most incidents. These were cold-blooded killers for the most part. Blanche Barrow tells her story and more during her time with Clyde, Bonnie and her husband Buck. The book also gives a glimpse of her life after prison and how she stayed out of the lime-light for the most part trying to rebuild her life and reputation...
—Andy Anderson
I loved this book simply because it is a firsthand story of how her life was with Bonnie and Clyde. Blanche was very detailed about the pain and suffering she experienced during her short life with the outlaws, as it was also very vividly heartbreaking to read what such a young girl went through purely for the sake of following and being with her husband. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to know a true piece of experience as to what life was like with Bonnie and Clyde...this definitely satisfied my curiosity as to what Blanche Barrow was going through at the time, in which movies seem to portray her as a foolish little girl.
—Denise Emily
