BELLE STARR

In the ``Outlaws and Lawmen of the Wild West'' series, a brief biography that satisfactorily sorts out the facts and fictions about the ``Bandit Queen'' for reluctant readers. Following a glimpse of Belle during her Dallas heyday, the authors go back to present a largely chronological account: Born into a prosperous Missouri farming and business family in 1848, Belle was given a better education than most. But despite her mother's aspirations for her to be a lady, Belle was in and out of trouble from the time she became a spy for Quantrill's Raiders at age 14. After her family moved to Texas, she was involved with members of the James Gang and other crooks of lesser fame. Though she herself never killed anyone, she was no stranger to murder, nor to gambling, drinking, robbery, horse stealing, and eventually prison. For long periods she was estranged from her two children; her first two husbands were shot dead—as was Belle, in an ironic twist of fate. A straightforward, nonjudgmental account that still leaves a sense of the tragic waste of a life. B&w photos, maps (not seen), glossary, further reading, index. (Biography. 9-15)