John Wesley Hardin, In All His Bloody, Ugly GloryJohn Wesley Hardin was not, by any stretch of the imagination, a 'good person'. As part of a generation of young southern males who were too young to join the Confederate Army, but old enough to strap on a gun when the insults and injustices of Reconstruction became too much to bear. Jesse James was another one of these Rebels-born-too-late; for many of them, guilt over missing the War - while older brothers, cousins, fathers, and friends fought and died, while entire cities were put to the torch - had to be channeled into hatred, redirecting outward the flames that threatened to consume them. In the early years after Lee's formal surrender to Grant at Appomattox in 1965, many bad decisions were made concerning 'Reconstruction'; the use of black soldiers, some of them former slaves, was one of them. Most southerners, even though only a small percentage were slaveholders before the war, saw the presence of black men carrying guns and issuing orders as an unforgivable insult. Belief that blacks were inferior to whites was something taken for granted; on the other side, many of the black soldiers stationed in the former CSA rightfully and understandably despised the whites who would see them dead or back in chains. In such an environment, violence was an inevitability. The Ku Klux Klan was born in this time and place, and so was John Wesley Hardin's career as a killer. James Carlos Blake views the life and legend of America's most notorious anti-hero through the eyes of the people who knew him, structuring his novel like a series of anecdotes told by the many friends, lovers and enemies who passed into and out of his life. He was a complicated man, extremely well read, even becoming a lawyer during a prison stint. Blake refuses to pass judgement, on either Hardin or the fictional/semi-fictional narrators, presenting the ugliest beliefs of the time as honestly as possible. This makes for a powerful and disturbing novel, violent and ugly, but also fascinating; the roots of hatred and violence are never easy things to look upon, but attempting to understand them makes us better for it.
James Carlos Blake's first book, published first in large paper back format, appeared to be a semi-historical Western novel. After being read, it began to be recognized as a cunningly told biography of John Wesley Hardin and the times he lived through, mostly in Texas. From my perspective the only major flaw is technical: the many chapters are 'written' by different people---friends, enemies, kin, lovers and so forth---but the tone and style are, with little exception, uniform. To do this type of thing well, one needs to write in different voices, an exceedingly difficult task.Putting that aside, Hardin makes a fascinating study of violence and Southern 'honor', while Blake can explore the forces shaping Texas society post-war and into today. A violent, occasionally graphically sexual, story, Blake's first work presages his more polished and mature efforts while entertaining and informing in its own right. Recommended
Do You like book The Pistoleer (1996)?
I have to admit, I did really enjoy reading this story. I gave it 4, instead of 5 stars because, well, it's a great story, but after reading a very good book: 'Wyatt Earp: The Life Behind the Legend', this book just didn't come up to the same level.Still, it was a very entertaining read and I would recommend it for it's fun story line and very interesting story line. I had never read a fictional biography before, so this one has shown me a new genre, which can be a lot of fun, but can muddy the waters of fact even more around this Western legend.
—Debbie Bridge
Excellent. If you like Cormac McCarthy, or Peter Matthiesen's Killing Mister Watson (which this book resembles, since Hardin's story is told through a variety of voices), you should enjoy The Pistoleer. Similar to Jesse James, Hardin was a product of the violent post Civl War era in Texas. But unlike James, Hardin was no robber. He could however shoot -- and with extreme accuracy (often right into an enemy's forehead or eye). The Hardin that emerges from Blake's version is young and prideful, but also loyal to friends and family. Still, Hardin's luck only lasted so long. Prison, and loss of a family he dearly loved, would turn the gunfighter into a lonely man out of touch with a rapidly changing world. His end, despite an admirable attempt at self reform (he became a lawyer), is totally bound up in the way he lived his life.
—Steve
The description for this book actually describes the book written by Blake about those who fought with Pancho Villa not "The Pistoleer" which is a historical novel about John Wesley Hardin.I liked the use of different narrators and how each told of their personal interaction with Hardin. In this way Blake allows the reader to finish the novel having learned something about the life of John Wesley Hardin yet he leaves the mystique of the gunslinger intact. For those who are interested in Texas history I recommend they put James Carlos Blake on their list of authors to follow.
—Joni
