Butch Cassidy: A Biography

Rating:
Summary: Very good history. Read it.
Review: Butch Cassidy: a Biography is a well-researched and readable account of the life of the famous outlaw. Thoroughly annotated and drawn from nearly every work on the subject, Patterson's book presents the tale in an exceptionally balanced and inclusive way. Patterson is no apologist, nor does he appear to be a critic. While he points out that Butch Cassidy may have held social and political opinions that might fit the social bandit model, the author does not attempt to portray the outlaw as the Western version of Robin Hood and accomplishes the task of telling the tale using as many facts as are available, including contradictory as well as corroborative accounts.
It is not hard to understand the appeal of the Robin Hood myth of the western outlaw. The West was a place of vast geographic expanse that did not easily lend itself to rapid and efficient law enforcement. Massive corporations, particularly mining interests, railroads, and cattle companies often used vigilantism to punish thieves and to drive minor competitors out of business. The social bandit, stealing from the rich and the powerful, drew tremendous loyalty and admiration from the average citizen, even if he did not share the wealth.
Butch Cassidy is best known as a bank and train robber. He also was a cattle rustler, horse thief, and, in spite of his extensive criminal history, a very well liked man. That fact along with the fact that he apparently never killed anyone might justify his status as an American Robin Hood. Richard Patterson, however, is less than convinced and provides detailed accounts of Cassidy's exploits that lead the reader to the conclusion that while Cassidy did indeed share some of the social and political opinions of the typical social bandit, he was primarily motivated by a quest for excitement and easy money.
The first recorded criminal act committed by Cassidy, at the time still going by his real name, Robert Leroy Parker, involved his breaking into a general store near his home of Circle Valley Utah and taking a new pair of overalls. Cassidy left a note promising to return to pay for the clothing. In spite of Parkers apparent honesty, the proprietor filed a complaint with the authorities. The matter was eventually settled but it caused considerable embarrassment for the Cassidy family.
The second incident involved the alleged theft of a saddle for which young Butch Cassidy was arrested between 1879 and 1884, in Garfield county Utah. There is no record of the arrest and Patterson offers the testimony of only one person as evidence. Apparently during his time behind bars for this incident Cassidy was "mistreated by the authorities." (5) Other than these two incidents, Patterson offers no other early evidence that Cassidy was pushed into a life of crime out of resentment against the law or corporate greed.
Drawing his details mostly from secondary sources and interviews conducted by other historians with people who may have known Butch Cassidy, Patterson provides a gripping narrative account of the life and times of the famous outlaw. Sorting out all of these tales and taking into account the motives of those telling them is the strength of Patterson's book. Repeatedly using phrases like "according to" and "may have been" Patterson never makes a firm claim to have discovered the truth. He simply tells the tale.
In reading Patterson's account, it is hard not to like Butch Cassidy. While Patterson does not seem intent on portraying Cassidy in a positive light, it becomes clear that most, if not all of his sources were possessed of a certain fondness and respect for Cassidy. Patterson suggests early on that Cassidy may have had at least some measure of Robin Hood hidden in his motivations. Patterson points out that Cassidy's partner, Matt Warner, thought "Butch was angry over the big cattle barons waging war against hungry cowboys... and struggling homesteaders" (53). Patterson hedges this supposition with a qualifying statement that Matt Warner had always justified his criminal conduct with some lofty social purpose. Warner's assertions aside, it is impossible to determine if Butch Cassidy actually held those beliefs.
Adding to the Robin Hood quality of the Butch Cassidy legend is Cassidy's reputation for helping his friends and not allowing unnecessary abuse of his victims. Patterson points out that one of Cassidy's friends, an African-American ferry operator who claimed to be a regular visitor to Brown's Park, one of Cassidy's hideouts, stated that none of the whites who frequented the Park were allowed to mistreat him when Butch was around (123). Yet another story involving the generosity of Butch Cassidy involved Vic Button, then 9-years-old, who lived on a ranch where Cassidy once worked. Button related that one day he told Cassidy how much he admired Cassidy's horse and Cassidy responded with "Someday he will be yours" (166). Later while running from a posse, as he exchanged the admired horse for a fresh one at a pre-arranged relay Cassidy instructed a nearby ranch hand to see to it that the horse was delivered to "the kid at CS ranch" (168). Vic Button got his horse, and Butch Cassidy got an unapologetic admirer.
While Patterson's book does not contain many undeniable facts, it is compelling and seems to be a reasonably accurate account of the life of Butch Cassidy. It does make clear the fact that the myth of the "social bandit" or Robin Hood of the West has its roots in the minds of the small farmers, ranchers and other members of the less wealthy classes. The existence of a class struggle in the West, and the fact that the robbers stole from those who had, rather than those who had not, is not proof that the robber possessed some sort of social agenda. It proves that the robber was smart enough to know that a railroad express car would likely contain more money than the passenger car. Indeed, for the western outlaw, cultivating a pleasant and mutually beneficial relationship with normal people would have its practical value as well, especially when one was hiding from the law.
Even he was a very likeable, generous and pleasant person who never harmed any of his victims Butch Cassidy was no Robin Hood. He clearly was a criminal who kept or spent most of the money that he stole, and was motivated by misguided sense of adventure the lure of an easy dollar.

Rating:
Summary: Very good for historical research;
Review: Not so good for telling an interesting story in an interesting way. The author gives a tremendous amount of information on the life of Butch Cassidy, as well as on his sources for that information, and does an admirable job of admitting that we really don't know how that life ended; he gives a detailed account of the standard version of Butch & Sundance's deaths (shot in Bolivia) as well as detailed accounts of the various alleged sightings of Butch after that, and the pros and cons of those alleged sightings. He admits that he just isn't sure what the truth is, and leaves it at that. But if you expect a biography of as exciting a person as Butch Cassidy to be itself exciting, this book will be a disappointment; it is not told in a narrative style, but in the style of a researcher, and very little of the character of Butch comes through. It teaches facts, but does not really give much of a feel for the person it is about.

Rating:
Summary: How to ruin a good story!
Review: Well researched yes! Boring - yes! What can be more frustrating than reading a book which is so obsessed with minor, irrelevant details as to render the readability an incredible chore. Surely there must be a better, more accessible and entertaining detailed account of the lives of Butch and Sundance than this!!!