Law of the Land: A Guns and Gavel Novel [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Johnny D. Boggs (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 6, 2004

A Spur Award-winning Author

By the age of twenty-one, Billy the Kid was thought to have killed a man for every year he'd been alive. He evaded the law more times than anyone could count and proved that no jail could hold him. But Sheriff Pat Garrett finally caught up to the Kid on December 23, 1880, and brought the desperado to trial for the murder of a sheriff two years prior. Now - before judge, jury and the entire country - it is time for him to answer. Billy, however, has other plans. . . .

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Boggs ... has a crisp, realistic style of narration that grabs readers and pulls them into his books." -- Larry Greenly, abqARTS, April 2004

"Boggs manages to capture the entirety of the Kid's life with just the right balance of fact and fiction." -- Robert Nott, Pasatiempo, February 6, 2004

"Boggs' unique approach to the Lincoln County War's legal skirmishing is both eye-opening and memorable." -- Bill Garwood, True West Magazine, August 2004

"If you like historically accurate, well-written Westerns, Johnny Boggs should be added to your list." -- Emil Franzi, Tucson Weekly, July 29, 2004

"This book is engaging, fun to read, and apparently a lot of it is true." -- Southwest Books of the Year -- Best Reading 2004 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Johnny D. Boggs is one of the few writers to win both the Western Heritage Wrangler Award and the Spur Award for his Western fiction. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 515 pages
• Publisher: Thorndike Press; 1 edition (October 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786269243
• ISBN-13: 978-0786269242
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,530,803 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good speculation, August 26, 2006

By 

Christina M. Vigil "Earlystar" (Northeastern CO, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Law of the Land: The Trial of Billy Kid (Guns and Gavel Novels (Paperback)) (Paperback)

There is so little details about what really happened during this trial, but Boggs is very imaginative at filling in the blank spots, to put this historical event in a tangible perspective for those of us that weren't really there to be able to see how it was. He even does a good job letting the reader know what is fact and what is pure speculation, so you come away with a good sense of what really happened, all the while having read an interesting and entertaining book. Any Kid afficionado should read this one.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More than entertainment, May 9, 2009

By 

Frank A. Rogers "Frank Allan Rogers, Storyteller" (Villa Rica, GA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Law of the Land: The Trial of Billy Kid (Guns and Gavel Novels (Paperback)) (Paperback)

More than entertainment. In the casual, easy-to-read manner of Mark Twain, Johnny D. Boggs puts the reader in the boots of one of the world's most famous outlaws. Law of the Land, The Trial of Billy the Kid, is not just another western, but a story of tragedy and betrayal that goes beyond the legend and exposes the real William Bonney.
There may be few documents to support Boggs' portrayal of Billy's trial, but the account feels authentic. The author blends his airtight research and his character-building skills with vivid scenes of life in the old west to create a trial so real it's hard to believe it could have happened any other way. An exceptional story.
Frank Allan Rogers, author Upon A Crazy Horse