With eight books to his credit and numerous magazine articles, Carl W.
Breihan is destined to become as legendary as the renegades of the Wild West he
writes about. A noted author of biographies of Wild West outlaws, Breihan has
researched and chronicled the lives of many of the greats, including the
ever-famed and ever-feared Frank and Jesse James. His most recent work, Ride
the Razor's Edge, is the only biography of Cole and Jim Younger that
relies upon their own correspondence and is authorized by the family of these
nineteenth-century gunslingers.
Breihan is a councilman in St. Louis County, Missouri, where he has lived all
his life. A meticulous historical researcher, this former deputy sheriff has
pursued the story of the Younger brothers for years through in-depth research
and firsthand interviews with their relatives, as well as the families of Frank
and Jesse James. He was highly instrumental in providing evidence to dispute the
claim by J. Frank Dalton, another notorious rider of those days, that he was
actually Jesse James.
Breihan is a recognized authority on Missouri's outlaws, especially the
lives of the Youngers and the Jameses. Ride the Razor's Edge is the
ideal stage for his talents as he follows the Younger brothers from their secret
life as guerrillas in the Civil War under the leadership of the illustrious and
elusive William Quantrill, to their days alongside of Frank and Jesse James, to
their fateful capture after an unsuccessful bank robbery in Northfield,
Minnesota.
The importance of Breihan's research on Western and outlaw lore cannot be
overemphasized. He has uncovered evidence that focuses on the total historical
impact of the Youngers, describing their roles as heroes rather than
spotlighting only their criminal actions.