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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
an interesting read. i, for one, love the "story" of Bonnie and Clyde. the movie is a favorite of mine. this book was very interesting in the telling of a familiar story that really isn't what i thought it was.
a few things i want to say...
first, the author was definately biased in his telling of the making of this criminal gang. he blames the Great Depression, the childhood circumstances, the prison system, the cards that bonnie and clyde were dealt in life, for their turning into murderous criminals. honestly, i think that's a bit of a cop out. what of all the other people in the same situation as they were? did they ALL turn out to be murders?
second, Hollywood really takes a story and turns it around, huh? i mean, the REAL bonnie and clyde were mostly unsuccessful idiots. but whatever, you gotta love a good movie yarn....and beatty and dunaway still look damn good prancing around making these two into romantized anti-heroes.
a few things i want to say...
first, the author was definately biased in his telling of the making of this criminal gang. he blames the Great Depression, the childhood circumstances, the prison system, the cards that bonnie and clyde were dealt in life, for their turning into murderous criminals. honestly, i think that's a bit of a cop out. what of all the other people in the same situation as they were? did they ALL turn out to be murders?
second, Hollywood really takes a story and turns it around, huh? i mean, the REAL bonnie and clyde were mostly unsuccessful idiots. but whatever, you gotta love a good movie yarn....and beatty and dunaway still look damn good prancing around making these two into romantized anti-heroes.
Beeldend geschreven, bijzonder goed gedocumenteerd en zowel enorm spannend als enorm pijnlijk. Jeff Guinn schijnt een fel licht op de levens van Clyde Barrow en Bonnie Parker. Guinn weerlegt het romantische beeld dat de media heeft gecreëerd van de Barrow Gang, van hun opkomst tot hun onvermijdelijke ondergang.
- Their lives were a chaotic dance on the edge of oblivion, a relentless pursuit of freedom in a world that sought to contain them.
- In the end, it wasn’t the law that brought them down; it was their own reckless ambition.
- They lived like stars, burning brightly but fleetingly, leaving behind a legacy that would haunt the American psyche.
- They weren’t just criminals; they were symbols of rebellion against a society that had failed them.
- Caught in the crossfire of fame and infamy, they became legends, but the truth of their lives was far more tragic.
- Their love story was written in blood, a testament to the passion that drove them and the violence that consumed them.
- They sought adventure in a world of monotony, but in their pursuit of freedom, they found only destruction.
- In the end, it wasn’t the law that brought them down; it was their own reckless ambition.
- They lived like stars, burning brightly but fleetingly, leaving behind a legacy that would haunt the American psyche.
- They weren’t just criminals; they were symbols of rebellion against a society that had failed them.
- Caught in the crossfire of fame and infamy, they became legends, but the truth of their lives was far more tragic.
- Their love story was written in blood, a testament to the passion that drove them and the violence that consumed them.
- They sought adventure in a world of monotony, but in their pursuit of freedom, they found only destruction.
Gets to be draggy when recounting every single one-horse town they ever robbed, but does a good job contextualizing fundamentalist share croppers and bootleggers in dust bowl West Dallas, 1930s notions of law and order and the American appetite for lurid tabloid stuff. Includes details like how mesmerized they were to blow loot on renting an apartment with a flush toilet and Clyde's need to rob in approximately a circle around the dry cleaner until his shirts were ready and he could leave town
Jeff Guinn tried finding the truth in all the fake stories about Bonnie and Clyde that have been around for ages, and he succeeded. This book is really well written, takes you back to the 1900s and tells you more about not just B&C, but also their families and people around them.
If you wanna learn more about Bonnie & Clyde’s true story, this is THE book to read.
If you wanna learn more about Bonnie & Clyde’s true story, this is THE book to read.
Just about everyone has heard of the famous criminal duo, Bonnie and Clyde. Or seen a movie about them. Or both. But what do you know about them, other than they were criminals who were gunned down in their car? This infamous pair are the subject of this book. He writes about their inauspicious upbringing in rural Texas and how they came to know each other. But he spends the greater amount of the book writing about their exploits as they traveled around the countryside robbing gas stations, grocery stores, and the occasional bank. I didn't really know anything about them other than they died in a shootout in their stolen car so that was why I read this book. This is a pretty good book; I liked it and thought it was pretty well written. It did get rather repetitive and monotonous after a while, so I am giving it four stars, but overall it is a good true-crime book about Bonnie & Clyde.
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
dark
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
Really well-researched and informative. I couldn't believe some of the stuff I was reading. Every person, criminal to law enforcement, was more incompetent than the last. It seems like every other page has a story like, "The Barrow Gang needed some breakfast, so Clyde stole 4 Ford V-8s on the way to the diner in a neighboring town. Unfortunately, he ended up in a shootout, took two police officers prisoner after killing a third, and drove 700 miles straight, passing through Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, back to Arkansas, over to Texas, to pick Bonnie back up where he had left her. He had forgotten to get breakfast, so went back to the diner, but the cops were still nearby, so he hid in a small bush for four days and evaded capture." The 1930s were a wild time.