The Newton Boys: Portrait of an Outlaw Gang

by Willis Newton, Joe Newton, Claude I. Stanush (With), David Middleton (With)

Overview

Portrays the misdeeds of the notorious early twentieth-century bank and train robbers. The Newtons' story was made into a movie starring Matthew McConaughey, Ethan Hawke, and Julianna Margulies.

"Bonnie and Clyde was just silly kids bound to get themselves killed. We wasn't at all like them. We wasn't thugs. All we wanted was the money, just like doctors, lawyers and other businessmen. Robbing banks and trains was our way of getting it. That was our business."

Willis Newton (from the book)

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781880510162
Publisher:	State House/McWhiney Foundation Press
Publication date:	01/01/1994
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	860,987
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.08(d)
Age Range:	10 - 18 Years

About the Author

Claude Stanush is the author of "All Honest Men, ""The Balanced Rock, The Newton Boys, "and" The World in My Head" and the co-screenwriter of "The Newton Boys," He is a former "Life" magazine staffer, Hollywood correspondent, science writer, and religion editor, and the recipient of numerous awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the World Council of Churches. He lives in San Antonio, Texas. 

Read an Excerpt

From the book: "Bonnie and Clyde was just silly kids bound to get themselves killed. We wasn't at all like them. We wasn't thugs. All we wanted was the money, just like doctors, lawyers and other businessmen. Robbing banks and trains was our way of getting it. That was our business." (Willis Newton)

What People are Saying About This

Austin American Statesman

"a fascinating look into the minds of two early 20th century outlaws . . . an entertaining read and compelling social document."

Editorial Reviews

". . . fascinating social history . . . the publisher deserves praise for allowing "social outcasts" to recount their lives and perceptions in their own words."
— Southwestern Historical Quarterly

"The book is a rollicking read and even more quirky than the film version of the Newtons' story."

Texas Monthly

"Some of the richest Western history in existence has come from the books of State House Press . . . I'd like to add The Newton Boys to that long and splendid list."
—The Book World

Brock Sledge

". . . this book would make a nice addition to public and academic libraries and to collections focusing on oral history, sociology, and criminology."-

Review of Texas Books

". . . history and autobiography in a compelling format."

Midwest Book Review

". . . lively narrative enhanced by photos . . . solid oral history."

Texas Books in Review

"A good book. More than that. A fine book."

Neshoba Democrat

"Compelling, sometimes hilarious, reading."

Books of the Southwest

"Oral history at its best."-

The Dallas Morning News

Roaring '20s-era bank robbers Willis and Joe Newton were the subject of a 1976 documentary film by Stanush and Middleton; this oral history--based, they say, on the same interviews--offers an unusual portrait of Texas and the Southwest, especially because of the brothers' belief in the essential corruption of business and government institutions. The book, dominated by older brother Willis, is unwieldly, but should interest Texas history buffs. ``We wasn't thugs like Bonnie and Clyde . . . we was just quiet businessmen,'' declares Willis of the four-brother gang; he goes on to explain how his initial false imprisonment on a theft charge led him to disregard the law. Joe, on the other hand, ``was kind of following the leader.'' In 1924, after many successes, the gang's $3 million Illinois train robbery led to their capture. Amid the book's wealth of detail about their movements and tactics emerges some homespun wisdom; Willis declares that prisons are more schools for crime than for reform. Willis died in 1979 at 90, and Joe died in 1989 at 88; the informative epilogue indicates that some more authorial interpolation might have made for a smoother read. Photos not seen by PW. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly