Kansas Charley

Most Americans regard "kids who kill" as a bane of modern society, but the tragic tale of "Kansas Charley" reminds us that it is a long-standing issue. Charles Miller was a fifteen- year-old killer who was hanged in 1892 for the murders of two young men. Kansas Charleyvividly brings to life a thought-provoking chapter in American history and in the history of the juvenile justice system, shedding light on our contemporary predicament and encouraging us to think about what it means to continue to uphold the juvenile death penalty in the twenty-first century.

Originally published: 2011. With new addendum.

This selection of twelve stories from Kansas's past explores some of the Sunflower State's most compelling mysteries and debunks some of its most famous myths.

An action-packed series from the creators of Longarm, featuring the rousing adventures of the most brutal gang of cutthroats ever assembled—Quantrill’s Raiders. When Kansas Charley Beckett massacres a Bushwhacker's family on the Fourth of July, the only red, white, and blue Win and Joe want to see are the red of his blood, the white of his eyes, and the blue of his body as it hangs from the gallows.

Forgotten Reformer traces criminal justice practice and reform developments in late nineteenth-century America through the life and career of Robert McClaughry, a leading reformer. As a warden of one of America's toughest prisons, as a chief of police of Chicago, as a superintendent of two different reformatories, and as one of the first wardens of the federal prison system, McClaughry developed and led a reform movement that resonates today. As a founding member of the reformatory movement that sought to "save" young first offenders, McClaughry advocated new sentencing structures, probation, parole, and rehabilitative regimes within new institutions for young first offenders called reformatories. McClaughry then successfully got these reformatory ideals placed into adult prisons. In addition, McClaughry became American's main advocate for a criminal identification method called the Bertillon system. He set up the first identification bureaus at the Illinois State Penitentiary, the Chicago police department, and the federal prison at Leavenworth, Kansas and these became models for others across the country. Finally, as a founding member of the National Association of Chiefs of Police (today the International Association of Chiefs of Police) and the National Prison Assocation (today American Corrections Association), McClaughry sought to professionalize police and prison administrators.

DEADWOOD, DAKOTA TERRITORIES, 1876: Legendary gunman Wild Bill Hickcock and his friend Charlie Utter have come to the Black Hills town of Deadwood fresh from Cheyenne, fleeing an ungrateful populace. Bill, aging and sick but still able to best any man in a fair gunfight, just wants to be left alone to drink and play cards. But in this town of played-out miners, bounty hunters, upstairs girls, Chinese immigrants, and various other entrepeneurs and miscreants, he finds himself pursued by a vicious sheriff, a perverse whore man bent on revenge, and a besotted Calamity Jane. Fueled by liquor, sex, and violence, this is the real wild west, unlike anything portrayed in the dime novels that first told its story.

Tales of New York State history from the pages of the award-winning New York Archives. For readers interested in uncovering the history of the Empire State, The Best of New York Archives highlights some of the most popular articles of the unique, award-winning publication—as told through the records of the men and women who made it. Home to some of the United States’ most important historical treasures, the New York State Archives serves as steward for more than two hundred million records of New York’s colonial and state governments from 1630 to the present. Contributions from Pulitzer Prize winners to best-selling authors mine this wealth of information to tell lively and engaging stories of New York State’s rich history. From the pages of The Best of New York Archives, nearly four hundred years of history comes alive. “By evoking the Flushing Remonstrance, Evacuation Day, the women’s suffrage movement, and other pivotal episodes in the state’s history, The Best of New York Archives reminds readers that, as Columbia’s Ken Jackson likes to say, ‘America begins in New York. ’” — Sam Roberts, New York Times “The New York State Archives is full of rich documents that serve as gems—they reflect and reveal transformations in national and world history. You’ll find many of those gems presented here, and New York’s vibrant history comes to life through the eyes of those who lived through it.” — Kimberly Gilmore, Senior Historian, History Channel/A+E Networks “The Best of New York Archives is a treasure trove of compelling essays that inform and expand understanding. The selected narratives reflect the essential role the New York State Archives plays in the preservation of the fascinating and wide-ranging particulars of New York State’s history. As a bonus, the sampler is a storehouse of golden nuggets useful to deflate any annoying know-it-all whose behavior cries out for it.” — Harry Rosenfeld, author of From Kristallnacht to Watergate: Memoirs of a Newspaperman “An original, authoritative, and entertaining walk through Empire State history—provided by a who’s who of leading historians and all inspired by the unparalleled treasures in the New York State Archives.” — Harold Holzer, Jonathan F. Fanton Director, Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College

Bestselling author Stephen Coonts took fans by surprise with the phenomenal and heart-pounding tale of Saucer. Now Rip Cantrell and Charley Pine are back for seconds with Saucer: The Conquest. Rip Cantrell is brought back to give the saucer one last flight. Charley Pine has started flying for a rich French tycoon, and there is believed to be another downed saucer somewhere in the area. Rip can't quite get over the fact that Charley has dumped him. But when push comes to shove Rip and the United States Government are going to go head to head with this crazy Frenchman in trying to be the first to the saucer. As Stephen Coonts proved in his last outing, there is a great deal of high-flying adventure to be found in the Saucer series. And this one not only promises all the excitement of the last one, but it delivers with much, much more.