Ambush : The Real Story of Bonnie and Clyde

by Ted Hinton, Larry Grove (Editor)

The story of Bonnie and Clyde--their love, their desperate killings, and their destruction in an explosion of gun fire--has fueled an American legend for over 40 years. But it is only with this book by the last surviving officer of the six who shot Bonnie and Clyde that the full story of their capture has been told.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, True Crime

211 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1979

Reviews

[Elliot Omohundro]

Becky’s great Granddad was a deputy in Dallas alongside Ted Hinton during Bonnie & Clyde’s heyday. He recovered a pistol from one of the Barrow brothers and kept it as his sidearm, which they still have today.
Too cool.

[Eddie Taylor]

I was excited to read this book by Ted Hinton and his experiences tracking down Bonnie and Clyde, or, Clyde and Bonnie as he refers to them. I was very interested in the perspective of someone who was there and on the trail of B&C. I was disappointed with some of the inaccuracies and errors noted in the book such as Bonnie was not at the Stringtown, OK shootout. But we have the benefit of exhaustive research that has been done over the years and sure Mr. Hinton was going by news articles that were often inaccurate themselves or sensationalized. Regardless, was still a good read to get his perspective and thoroughly enjoyed.

[Diana]

Stick your "don't romaticize killers" up your ass I love them

[Sally Andrews]

Honest, up-front, and descriptive. Photos included, whether you like them or not....and you may not like some of them! My mom was a relative of Bonnie Parker, and when Mother was about five, Bonnie came to visit at their house in Martinsville, Texas. Mother remember Bonnie, barefoot and in a dress, leaning her rifle on her toe to clean it.....then getting a huge surprise when it went off and shot her in the toe!

I believe that was the last time Mother's family saw Bonnie, who soon thereafter embarked on a life of crime with Clyde Barrow.

In today's society with our technological advances and incredible ways to solve crimes, Bonnie and Clyde wouldn't have lasted long at all. But in the early 1930s, when all the police had were cars and guns, it wasn't so easy to track down criminals. Their robbing and shooting spree lasted much longer than we'd see today.

In spite of the horrors of their crimes, Bonnie and Clyde loved each other and loved their mothers.
This book, written by the last surviving law enforcement official to kill the duo, tells it like it was. It's really good. If you like this sort of thing, it's worth a read.

[Jennifer]

The only reason I read this was to confirm what I already knew - that Ted Hinton was obsessed with Bonnie since the day he laid eyes on her. He re-tells history Forest Gump-style, interjecting himself into every major plot point in Bonnie's ill-fated journey, adding lies to make himself seem the hero for being part of the posse to track her down and kill her and her man. Lucky him, being the last survivor of that posse and group to write the story his own way.

Read Blanche's story instead.

[Patrick Kinney]

Not the true story at all. Lots of misinformation that still carry to this day but interesting if you want the law enforcement perspective on the case. If you want the real story read “Fugitives” written by the actual families. If you want to know how egotistical this man and the rest of his “posse” were then read this book.

[Sowmya Askula]

I wanted to read a book where the setting would be in Texas but I didn’t expect to find that in a biography book.
Where the plot actually happened near to the place I live.

When I heard about the 1930’s most wanted criminals Bonnie and Clyde story, I got obsessed with knowing the story of them. So, here I’m reading my first biography of American criminals.

After reading this book, I feel so bad for all those people who died because of those criminals. The officers really tried very hard to capture them and they did. There was a time they could surrender but they chose death. These criminals wouldn’t last a day if these things were happening in current scenario. They could last 3 years only because there’s not much of communication available.

This is not only the story of two great lovers but also of the officers who struggled to capture them.

Overall I would say I enjoyed reading this book. And cheers to my first nonfiction read.

[Kevin]

Very interesting version of the Bonnie and Clyde saga..From the point of view of an officer who chased and ultimately killed them.