Whether seen as a common criminal or Robin Hood with a six-shooter, the
Missouri outlaw left an indelible mark on American culture. In the
nineteenth century, Missouri was known as the Outlaw State and offered a
list of lawbreakers like Jesse James, Bloody Bill Anderson, Belle Starr
and Cole Younger. These notorious criminals became folk legends in
countless books, movies and television shows. Author Paul Kirkman traces
the succession of Missouri's first few generations and how each
contributed to the making of some of the most notorious outlaws and
lawmen in American history.