Customer Reviews

The Authentic Death of Hendry Jones (Western Literature Series)

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I have been meaning to read this book ever since I saw "One-Eyed Jacks", the beautiful film Marlon Brando made based on it. As far as I'm concerned, it is one of the great unsung American masterpieces on a par with "A Death in the Family" and "So Long, See You Tomorrow". It is spare, poetic and honest. The story is a fictional eye witness account based loosely on the myth of Billy the Kid told by his sidekick. Neider uses language the way a photographer uses light. His descriptions of nature and the way the characters speak are so startlingly truthful that it makes you feel as though you had actually been there. I am haunted by this novel.

Charles Neider's re-telling of the Billy the Kid myth is one of the best Westerns I've ever read, and easily the best fictionalization of the Kid's exploits out there. The names are changed and the action is moved from Lincoln County, New Mexico to the coast of Northern California, but for the most part Neider doesn't stray too far from the historical record (unlike, say, Larry McMurtry's ridiculous take on the Kid in 'Anything for Billy'). Neider's prose is lean but poetic, and his characterizations are top-notch. I highly recommend it.

Sidenote: The book later was adapted into the Marlon Brando-directed "One-Eyed Jacks," which kept the setting and the prison scenes and that's about it. Sam Peckinpah worked on the script before being fired, and chunks of his screenplay later went into his film "Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid" which I'd argue is an even more faithful adaptation, despite being unofficially so.

found that the all time favorite western "one eyed jacks" was based on this book. immediately clicked over to amazon and ordered it. a few days later I had it in my hands, and none of my buddies ,all around 70 years(middle aged) knew about the origins of the movie. great author too.

marlon