Bandit Heaven: The Hole-in-the-Wall Gangs and the Final Chapter of the Wild West

Bandit Heaven tells the true story of three remote hideouts in Wyoming and Utah—Robbers Roost, Brown's Hole, and Hole-in-the-Wall—collectively known to outlaws as "Bandit Heaven." During the 1880s and '90s, these locations sheltered hundreds of train and bank robbers, horse and cattle thieves, killers, and fugitives connected by the Outlaw Trail through mountain passes and deserts. The narrative follows colorful characters including Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid, Kid Curry, and "Black Jack" Ketchum, who was decapitated during his hanging. Most of the action occurs in the mid- to late-1890s as law enforcement closed in on the dwindling outlaw population. By the early 20th century, most outlaws were dead, gunned down by an increasingly organized law-enforcement system seeking rewards and glory. Only Cassidy and Sundance escaped, eventually meeting their fate 6,000 miles away. The book chronicles the final chapter of the Wild West outlaw era through accounts of action, characters, and the end of an era.