Jesse James: Legend, Outlaw, Terrorist

Last Minute Sales & Specials

Ruthless killer or the "Robin Hood of the Old West"? Jesse James is the most famous outlaw of the Old West, but it's likely everything you think you know about the gunslinger is dead wrong. Was James an opportunistic bandit or a political terrorist? And was he gunned down by a member of his own gang or was his death the result of a far more sinister government conspiracy? "Jesse James: Legend, Outlaw, Terrorist" reveals the truth behind the controversial legend in this fascinating probe into his life...and his mysterious death. Hour One: Who Was THe Real Jesse James?" - Jesse James is the world's most famous outlaw, but he is really less of a Western hero and more of a Southern hero. He began his career fighting for the South in the years prior to the Civil War, and his biggest robberies were always in banks owned by prominent Union politicians. We will examine Jesse's life and legend - from his teenage years as a bloodthirsty guerilla fighter, to his invention of the bank robbery and the train robbery. We'll meet Jesse's family, from his quiet, soft-spoken older brother Frank, to his hell-raising, slave-owning, one-armed mother Zerelda. We'll discover the train of circumstances that led Jesse into a life of crime. We'll find out why his violent antics and increasingly professional approach to robbery made him a threat to the federal government - and a hero to his neighbors. We'll discover the beginnings of a conspiracy: a personal vendetta against Jesse James by the famous detective Alan Pinkerton. Pinkerton used government resources to try to arrest Jesse, partially because Jesse had accidentally shot and killed Pinkerton's son. Pinkerton seemed to feel that, when it came to Jesse, assassination was a perfectly legitimate law enforcement tool. Detectives, criminologists, western historians and even professional bank-robbers will investigate the mysteries of Jesse James and put them to the best tests available to forensic science.