Don't Call Us Molls: Women of the John Dillinger Gang

I must say that in all the recent books about gangsters and their molls from the 1930s, this book is one of the best ever, period! Full of new information on the Dillinger gang and Ma Barker and her brood of killers. Also, many photographs, which have never before been published. If you don't purchase this one, you are missing out on an important part of researching any gangster from this time period, which will include the woman who ran with these bandits.

Ellen Poulsen's "Don't Call Us Molls" is one of the best Dillinger books I've ever read--and I've read 'em all! A long overdue, well written, and amazingly researched study of the women of the gang. Feminist writing? Maybe it's just told from the feminine viewpoint by a woman author. Is that too hard to understand? As for the reviewer who claims Poulsen misrepresents Sheriff Lillian Holley as an unfairly treated scapegoat in the Crown Point affair, well he makes an adequate point that Lillian was in charge and the responsibility was hers but that point is pretty much nullified by the fact that Sheriff Holley and District Attorney Robert Estill (who also unjustly received much of the blame for Dillinger's escape) were among the few at Crown Point who weren't paid off. This is history at its best, folks! Read for yourself and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Ellen Poulsen has done a terrific job generating new material and a fresh angle on the Dillinger story. This is a great book, very readable. Her passion for the subject matter comes through on every page.

It's been rare that the female element in the Prohibition and Outlaw era underworlds has been given more than a cursory examination. (Well, Bonnie Parker and Arizona 'Kate' Barker might have been the only exceptions, but what are two out of hundreds?) Ellen Poulson's excellent work gives the women of the Dillinger gang their long overdue place in the historical spotlight, without canonizing them as long-suffering martyrs or making excuses for them. Poulson made good use of solid research and personal interviews in order to describe the private lives of Mary Kinder, Evelyn Frechette, Pat Cherrington, Opal Long, and their contemporaries; fascinating detail and previously unknown facts make this book a must for any crime library.

I have to say this is one of the best books on the "30's Outlaw ERA" I've read. I found more photos I haven't seen before and learned a ton of new facts. It was very refreshing to read about the women who loved these bad guys. This is a book that was way overdue. Ellen Poulsen did her homework and then some. I highly recomend this book. It is in important addition to any crime library. I know it is for mine.