The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid (Western Frontier Library) [Paperback]

Pat F. Garrett (Author), J. C. Dykes (Introduction)

Book Description

Series: Western Frontier Library | Publication Date: September 15, 1974

Of all firsthand accounts of lawlessness in the old Southwest, none is more fascinating than Pat F. Garrett’s The Authentic Life of Billy, the Kid. First published in 1882, a year after Sheriff Garrett killed the Kid, "the bravest and most feared’ gunman of the Lincoln County, New Mexico, cattle war, it is at once the most authoritative biography of William H. Bonney and the foundation of the Billy the Kid legend.

 

 

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Every story of consequence on the Kid has been based on...Garrett's book." --New York Times --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

About the Author

Pat F. Garrett, the Southwest's most celebrated sheriff, is best known for his killing of Billy the Kid and for this book, which was written in collaboration with his friend, frontier newspaperman Ashmun Upson.

J. C. Dykes is the author of Billy the Kid: The Bibliography of a Legend (Albuquerque, 1952). He is also co-author (with O.C. Fisher) of King Fisher: His Life and Times (University of Oklahoma Press, 1966).

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press (September 15, 1974)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080611195X
• ISBN-13: 978-0806111957
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 4.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,175,944 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and generally underrated book, February 14, 2010

By 

Juan de Onate (Ormonde Beach, FL) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid (Dodo Press) (Paperback)

Although I enjoyed the book very much, I won't write a thousand-word rehash. I lived in BTK country in New Mexico and have been to all the locales mentioned in the book. I could almost smell the dry cottonwoods and taste the dust. It's still hard for me to imagine how much inhospitable territory those folks covered on horseback. The book is a good addition to others I have even though the publisher chose a cover that shows BTK incorrectly as "left-handed" from the old mirror-imaged ferrotype.

Some previous review(s) were right on: it IS much more interesting for me to read historical accounts by someone who was actually there - in this case, right in the very middle of the history. I found the vernacular language appropriate and interesting in itself. Readers that complained about the grammar, style, or rhythm of the book revealed their ignorance of those writing characteristics common in 1800's. Rather than reading this book, perhaps they would have preferred a modern movie with shorter, more simplistic lines and copious computer graphics explosions.

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sometimes the best history is written by those who make it., October 8, 2000

By 

Johnny S Geddes "OC" (Enlgand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid (Western Frontier Library) (Paperback)

This is quite a work. A quasi-biography, a documentary and an adventure tale all rolled into one is the best I can do to try and classify it as something. Essentially, Garrett's book is generic - an oddity which caan only ever be a `one off' due entirely to the nature of the writers' relation to their subject.

Garrett and, to a lesser degree, Upson, write as technicians of fact-conveyance rather than writers. I found that this actually served to whet my appetite to learn more as I read. When you're hearing about a legend straight from the mouth of the horse that was chasing him, the awe you feel overrides your contempt for shoddy writing style.

Having said that, the book is just the right length and so is nowhere near as boring as the claims I had heard here and elsewhere prior to my buying and reading it. The writing, although nonchalantly functional most of the time, is kept tight which is necessary. To have imbued it with imaginative streaks and cosmetic touch-ups would have certainly destroyed the flow of what is, you'll soon find if you pick it up, a fast river of intrigue. Anyway, Upson has done quite a good job at injecting artistry in his sections so there is no really terrible lack of good writing here.

Of course, Garrett's leaden, subdued delivery do deaden the thrills a little. It's interesting how he balances his attitude toward `The Kid' throughout the book. At times, he seems to speak admirably of him (allbeit apparently with a false tone sometimes); at others, he seems genuinely distanced from him, almost indifferent to whether or not their paths will actually cross.

Biased? Of course it is. What do you expect? Even so, `The Authentic Life of Billy, the Kid' is made the definitive work on the topic because it, like the legend it examines, is a product of the same time. The best way to read it is with an analytical mind. By all means, challenge Garrett on his words when you feel he's deviating from his function as a chronicler - that is the point of reading this book a hundred and twenty years later. Unlike more recent biographers who would do exhaustive research based on documents, wide-sweeping second-hand information and historical `givens', it's best to go straight to those `givens' yourself and get to grips with them. Sheriff Garrett's book is a remarkable fountain of first generation facts and factoids and it commands the respect of academics and casual readers alike because of its durability. After all, just how many accounts of book length from the Old West survive today, especially those that receive serious scrutiny from a variety of disciplines.

My only peeve lies in Garrett and Upson's ardent declarations regarding the aftermath of `The Kid's slaying. Why did they repeat themselves so many times that `The Kid' was dead and buried and `that was that'. It seems that Garrett was a little insecure in case he was challenged over the fate of his quarry. Whatever the case, the insecure tone he adopts in the last pages seems to somehow lend strength to the camp of `Flat Earthers' who claim that Billy the Kid survived into the next century....cue Brushy Bill Roberts......

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars An interesting book of sorts, February 19, 2006

By 

Andrew (RET USAF) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid (Western Frontier Library) (Paperback)

This book starts out slow and dry. It didn't get exciting until Pat Garrett started to take over the story. This doesn't occur until about midway through the book. Don't expect this to be a screenplay for the movies Young Guns and Young Guns II. The book isn't that exciting but it does introduce you to an interesting character profile of Billy the Kid. Personally I feel that the first half of the book is fiction that is read for pure entertainment and the second half covers the real story of the Kid. I would recommend this book if you are interested in the Kids story and you want to read every angle of his story.