The Real Bonnie and Clyde

46:19

April 01, 2009

Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow fell in love and into a life of crime. From 1932-34, in the dark days of the Great Depression, the outlaw lovers shot their way across the country — robbing banks, stealing cars, and doing a whole lot of killing.

On the lam, Bonnie wrote poetry and missed her mother. Clyde played the sax and vowed never to be taken alive.

Now, 75 years after they were gunned down by a posse on a Louisiana back road, their flesh-and-blood story is retold in a riveting new biography.

This hour, On Point: Finding the real Bonnie and Clyde.

You can join the conversation. What is it about the story of Bonnie and Clyde that we find so seductive — so gruesomely appealing? What does their story tell us about America in the Great Depression? About our fascination now?Guest:

Joining us from Tampla, Florida, is Paul Schneider, author of "Bonnie and Clyde: The Lives Behind the Legend."
You can read the first chapter here. And here's a site that has posted the poems of Bonnie Parker.

This program aired on April 1, 2009.