The Life and Death of Pretty Boy Floyd

Charles Arthur Floyd, aka Pretty Boy Floyd (1904-1934) was one of the last of the so-called Robin Hood outlaws. He engaged in numerous bank-robbing exploits across the Midwest until federal agents and local police shot him down near East Liverpool, Ohio, on October 22, 1934. This detailed account of his life, crimes, and death makes extensive use of FBI reports, government records, local newspapers, and contemporary journalistic accounts.In this biography, Jeffery S. King addresses many of the questions still surrounding Floyd, such as whether he had contact with other notorious outlaws of the period, including Dillinger, Alvin Karpis, and Bonnie and Clyde, and whether he was executed by the FBI. He also links Floyd to the infamous Kansas City Massacre. Notable are King's assessments of the effectiveness of the FBI and of J. Edgar Hoover's talent for self-promotion.