false 2728337 2 A provocative and strikingly original new voice in fiction reinvents the historical novel&#8211;along with American history itself&#8211;in this wry &#8220;what if?&#8221; that merges and mashes up four of our most famous and infamous national icons.<br>Historian Otis Pease once remarked that the story of nineteenth-century America could be encompassed in the lives of the two sets of James brothers&#8211;William and Henry in the East, Frank and Jesse in the West. <i>The James Boys</i> goes further by making all four of them the fruit of the same family tree and showing how it shakes out.<br><br>In 1876, the No. 4 Missouri Pacific Express pulls out of Kansas City for Saint Louis. Among those on board is Henry James, the erudite and esteemed novelist and brother of the brilliant philosopher William James. Trying his hand at travel writing, Henry is beset, as ever, by hypochondria&#8211;in the form, this case, of dire digestive woes.<br><br>Suddenly, the train is stopped and robbed&#8211;and not by just any bandits but by the legendary James Gang. Taken hostage by the brigands, Henry realizes to his unspeakable horror that Jesse and Frank are in fact &#8220;Rob&#8221; and &#8220;Wilky,&#8221; his long-lost brothers, who had disappeared during the Civil War and been presumed dead for more than a decade.<br><br>From there the ride only gets wilder, careening through underbrush and ivory towers, throwing together America&#8217;s greatest intellectuals and most notorious outlaws in a saga of six-guns and sherry that is peopled by a fascinating roster of passengers, both historical and imagined. Most prominent among them are Elena Hite, a feisty young feminist deeply aroused by the down-and-dirty charisma of the criminal Jesse; Alice Gibbens, the eminently sensible schoolteacher engaged to the sexually inexperienced William, who tempts him to stay put rather than joining Henry out West; and William Pinkerton, the renowned detective hot on all of their trails&#8211;especially Elena&#8217;s.<br><br>Based on and incorporating actual events, <i>The James Boys</i> is a through-the-looking-glass romp that boldly blends both sides of the American character&#8211;the brilliant and the barbaric&#8211;in one unforgettable family and one seriously entertaining story. 2753971 17 6 2008 The James Boys: A Novel Account of Four Desperate Brothers total:15|5:2|4:3|3:4|2:5|1:1| 15 45 40 5 3 0 false false Fri Feb 20 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 20 08:25:51 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 20 08:28:36 -0800 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Thu Jul 10 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Jun 24 10:34:12 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 10 14:09:40 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Feb 22 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Aug 26 17:57:09 -0700 2008 Sat Mar 07 12:31:52 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Nov 07 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Mar 10 07:55:03 -0700 2009 Sat Nov 07 17:00:47 -0800 2009
]]> 3 0 false false Thu Jan 15 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Aug 14 20:09:18 -0700 2008 Thu Apr 02 16:06:59 -0700 2009 NoBSBookReviews]]> 2 0 false false Thu Jul 09 16:35:53 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 09 16:35:53 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Thu May 28 18:38:11 -0700 2009 Thu May 28 18:38:11 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Fri May 08 13:40:31 -0700 2009 Fri May 08 13:40:31 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Fri Apr 03 12:16:50 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 03 12:16:50 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Mon Mar 30 12:29:37 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 30 12:29:37 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Sat Mar 21 07:25:36 -0700 2009 Sat Mar 21 07:25:48 -0700 2009 1 0 false false Sun Mar 22 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Mar 19 13:46:06 -0700 2009 Sun Mar 22 16:27:24 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed Mar 04 19:35:43 -0800 2009 Wed Mar 04 19:35:47 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Wed Mar 04 09:17:34 -0800 2009 Wed Mar 04 09:17:34 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Thu Feb 26 14:51:28 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 26 14:51:28 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Thu Feb 05 09:56:17 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 05 09:56:17 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Thu Jan 29 09:18:37 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 29 09:18:37 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Tue Jul 28 08:00:48 -0700 2009 Tue Jan 27 10:27:15 -0800 2009 Tue Jul 28 08:00:48 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Tue Dec 02 18:33:10 -0800 2008 Tue Dec 02 18:33:13 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Thu Dec 18 05:51:58 -0800 2008 Thu Nov 27 18:47:57 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 18 05:51:58 -0800 2008 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=2728337