The nation's greatest manhunt began the morning of January 3, 1951, with the routine investigation of an abandoned car, mired in the mud near Tulsa, Oklahoma.

A quick glance into the interior of the car revealed evidence of one of the most shocking crimes in U.S. history-the brutal, senseless murder of an entire family.

In the twelve days that followed, 2,000 peace officers trailed a gun-crazy, mad-dog terrorist through fourteen states and Mexico, uncovering in his wake six murders and as many kidnappings,

This is the true story of William (Billy) E. Cook, whose orgy of violence overshadowed anything in the John Dillinger - Pretty Boy Floyd era.

Glenn Shirley, an award-winning author, is an authority on the American West, especially law and order in the Oklahoma and Indian territories. He has written hundreds of short stories, novelettes, and articles for magazines, journals, and anthologies, and more than two dozen books, including "Hello Sucker! The Story of Texas Guinan" and "Guardian of the Law: The Life and Times of William Matthew Tilghman." "The Fourth Guardsman: James Franklin "Bud" Ledbetter, 1882-1937," is the first and only detailed biography of one of the Old West's long neglected lawmen. All three are published by Eakin Press.