Ride the Razor's Edge: The Younger Brothers Story

By Carl W. Breihan

Follow the legendary adventures of two of the Wild West's most notorious outlaws in this historical biography.

Like their partners in crime Frank and Jesse James, the Younger Brothers have been glorified in the lore of the Wild West. Famous for their daring train and bank robberies, and immortalized in the film The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid, the Younger brothers--Cole, James, John, and Bob--came to symbolize the grit and cunning of the nineteenth century frontier. Ride the Razor's Edge chronicles their adventures while placing them in their wider historical context.

From fighting in the Civil War alongside William Quantrill and his band of guerrillas to their famous raid in Lawrence, Kansas, to their first bank robbery in Liberty, Missouri, the Youngers became heroes of the people--and foes of their state. Using family archives, personal letters, and interviews with surviving family, author Carl W. Breihan presents an authoritative and captivating story from their days with the Confederacy to Cole's and James's years in a Minnesota prison, and Cole Younger's fight to adapt to life after his pardon.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0882898795
• ISBN13: 9780882898797
• Release Date: April 1992
• Publisher: Pelican Publishing Company
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.8" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

Who won the Civil War in the west and How did they do it?

My family came to nortwestern Missouri in 1854 from KY and IN. I was interested in finding out what it must have been to live during those pioneering days in that part of the Country. I was not disappointed. I have previously read "Our Appalachia" to find out about how my family must have lived in KY. I have read several books on "Jessie James" and the various other para-military groups fighting for the Confedercy against the "Jayhawks" and "Red Legs" of Kansas. As it turns out life was much more difficult than I had imagined in that political and military environment. The book also delves into the Younger Family of West Central MO. How they were supposedly mis-treated by the Union troops in the area, and it does give one reason to pause and reconsider were the "Raiders" of those days were patriots or criminals.