Jesse James vs. The Pinkertons

The Pinkertons were hired guns for the Union during the Civil War. They shot and killed a 15-year-old coal war strike worker in 1877. Now they are spying on meetings or pointing out the Pinkertons. This culminates in the homestead strike, which is this giant confrontation between steel workers and forces of Andrew Carnegie and Henry Frick. Inventing the Pinkerton: The Untold Story of America's Hired Gun Men by Michael Connelly (Simon & Schuster), $16.99 ($14.95)