Quantrill's War: The Life and Times of William Clarke Quantrill (1837-1865)

According to Schultz (Over the Earth I Come, etc.), Quantrill was a ""career criminal"" who preyed on both pro- and anti-slavery victims. The Civil War, Schultz writes, ""merely provided an opportunity to pursue his chosen career of theft, murder, and destruction."" During the war, Quantrill's underlings included a wide array of criminals and ne'er-do-wells, Frank and Jesse James, ""Bloody Bill"" Anderson, George Todd, Dave Pool and the Younger Brothers among them. By 1864, however, Quantrill's control over these men had slipped away. Eventually, he and a few followers went to Kentucky, where he was surprised and mortally wounded by a Union anti-guerrilla force on May 10, 1865. Schultz is a novelist (Glory Enough for All, 1993) as well as a historian, and he retells Quantrill's life with dramatic flourish--his re-creation of the Lawrence, Kans., massacre and of the pursuit of Quantrill by scattered Union forces is particularly exciting. Less scholarly and complete than Leslie's book (reviewed above), Schultz's is, however, a more exciting popular read. Readers interested in the dark side of the Civil War will find much to ponder in both volumes. Photos, not seen by PW. (Oct.)