Incredible Elfego Baca: Good Man, Bad Man of the Old West [Hardcover]

Howard Bryan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1993

"Bryan does a good job in recounting Baca's adventures, shifting from narration to first person eye-witness accounts to Baca's side of the story and back, lending an air of authenticity and immediacy to the proceedings.... One is struck in the accounts by his remarkable courage, humor and wit". (New Mexican)

"I thank Howard Bryan for putting together this very readable book on Elfego. The portrait he draws is true. Warts and all. For me Elfego has always been a hero, both the man and the myth. As a young man he stood up to injustice. So, I take his good points and excuse some of his follies". (Rudolfo Anaya)

Folk hero Elfego Baca (1865-1945) is best remembered for his single-handed standoff against an estimated 80 Texas cowboys who fired a reported 4,000 shots at him without effect. In this informative and entertaining book, Howard Bryan examines the facts and legends surrounding Baca's long and astonishing career as a gunfighter and ruffian, lawyer, sheriff, mayor, district attorney, and a perennial candidate for political office. This remarkable man was the subject of a Wait Disney television series titled "The Nine Lives of Elfego Baca".

Editorial Reviews

Review

Elfego Baca (1865-1945), long considered one of New Mexico's most colorful and controversial figures, first achieved fame in 1884 as a 19 year old deputy sheriff who single-handedly fought off an estimated 80 bloodthirsty cowboys who fired a reported four thousands shots at him without effect during a two-day siege. That reputation stayed with him for the rest of his long and eventful life. Often using his gunfighter reputation to enforce his will, Baca embarked on a long and varied career as a lawyer, private detective, sheriff, county clerk, school superintendent, mayor and district attorney. His unorthodox methods in most instances gave him the added reputation as both a good man and a bad man. Baca counted Billy the Kid and Pancho Villa among his many friends and acquaintances, although the latter reportedly offered $30,000 for his head. Three times he was tried for murder, but was acquitted each time. He was also charged and acquitted of conspiracy against the United States Government. Incredible Elfego Baca: Good Man, Bad Man Of The Old West is the stuff of which western legends are made! -- Midwest Book Review

Product Details

• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: Clear Light Pub; 1st edition (October 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0940666340
• ISBN-13: 978-0940666344
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,160,593 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Man? Bad Man? Definitely Human., August 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Incredible Elfego Baca (Paperback)

What a great read. I enjoyed the hell out of it. I wish there were more details about his adventurous life. It seems that a great deal of the story came from Mr.Baca himself and if the way he lived his life is any indication; then the "facts" he relates must be taken with many many grains of salt. That said this book is one heckuva roller coaster ride, short but action packed leaving you thirsting for more. More! please.