Belle Starr author in Joplin July 17-18; book on Belle Starr made available to local libraries

Pulitzer Prize nominee and author Michael Wallis will be in Joplin and Carthage on July 17 and 18. He will host a brief program and book signing to support his recent release, Belle Starr: The Truth Behind the Wild West Legend.

250 copies of Wallis’ book have been purchased through an anonymous donation and are available for public and educational libraries within the tri-state region surrounding Joplin.

The books will privately be distributed to local librarians.

The PUBLIC lecture and book signing events featuring Michael Wallis will be held:

Thursday, July 17, Joplin
6:00-7:30 Joplin History and Mineral Museum, 504 S. Schifferdecker Avenue, Joplin, MO

Friday, July 18, Carthage
6:00-7:30 The Old Time Reunion Event Center
Livery Draught House at Red Oak II, 12275 Kafir Road, Carthage, MO

These public events are free to attend, and the Joplin Historical Society will have books for purchase for $28.

Wallis’s new book offers a fresh, rigorously researched perspective on the real woman behind the legend, challenging long-standing myths and vividly bringing history to life. His program will provide guests with an engaging look at the blurred lines between myth and fact and the powerful stories that lie in between.

In the annals of legendary Wild West desperadoes, Belle Starr is remembered to this day as the Bandit Queen. Shortly after her murder in 1889, a highly romanticized, sensational book titled Bella Starr … The Bandit Queen, or the Female Jesse James, was published—the first in a series of high-profile portraits to brand Starr as a villain.

Wallis parses over a century of mythmaking to reveal the woman behind the renegade legend.

Michael Wallis  has authored 20 books, including “Route 66: The Mother Road,” which earned a Pulitzer Prize nomination. His work has explored figures like Billy the Kid, Davy Crockett, Charles “Pretty Boy” Floyd, and the Donner Party.