The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford: A Novel (Digital Original) (P. S. Ser.)

By: Ron Hansen

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Synopsis: A powerful novel of the infamous Western outlaw and his killer: &“The best blend of fiction and history I&’ve read in a long while&” (John Irving). By age thirty-four, Jesse James was already one of the most notorious and admired men in America. Bank robber, train bandit, gang leader, killer, and beloved son of Missouri— James&’s many epithets live on in newspapers and novels alike. As his celebrity was reaching its apex, James met Robert Ford, the brother of a James gang member—an awkward, antihero-worshipping twenty-year-old with stars in his eyes. The young man&’s fascination with the legend borders on jealous obsession: While Ford wants to ride alongside James as his most-trusted confidant, sharing his spotlight is not enough. As a bond forms between the two men, Ford realizes that the only way he&’ll ever be as powerful as his idol is to become him; he must kill James and take his mantle. In the striking novel that inspired the film of the same name starring Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck, bestselling author Ron Hansen retells a classic Wild West story that has long captured the nation&’s imagination, and breathes new life into the final days and ignoble death of an iconic American man.