Pat F. Garrett's the Authentic Life of Billy, the Kid [Hardcover]

Pat F. Garrett (Author), Frederick W. Nolan (Commentary)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0806132272 | ISBN-13: 978-0806132273 | Publication Date: June 2000 | Edition: Annotated

More than twelve decades after Billy the Kid’s death in 1881, books, movies, and essays about this western outlaw are still popular. And they all go back to one source: The Authentic Life of Billy, the Kid, published in 1882 by the man who killed Billy, Sheriff Pat Garrett.

Frederick Nolan, an authority on the American Southwest, examines the legends introduced by The Authentic Life and shows how Garrett’s book is responsible for misconceptions about the Kid’s early life and his short, violent career. This edition, complete with the original text, corrects errors, amplifies Garrett’s narrative, and elucidates the causes and course of the Lincoln County War in New Mexico during the 1870s. Nolan provides an introduction that reappraises the last, fatal meeting of Garrett and Billy the Kid, as well as a postscript about the sheriff’s snakebitten life following the moment that made him famous.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Few figures are as associated with the Wild West as Billy, the Kid. As with many of those frontier figures, the myths, often created by pennydreadfuls and B movies, have overshadowed the truth. Sheriff Garrett was both Billy's friend and the man who eventually sent him to the last roundup. With the help of ghostwriter Ash Upton, Garrett published what he called the Kid's Authentic story in 1882. This annotated edition, however, shows that it wasn't quite so authentic after all, and here, Western historian Frederick Nolan includes notes and commentary correcting falsehoods written by Upton along with 19 period photos. Was Billy a true Western hero fighting for justice in New Mexico's Lincoln County War or simply a wacko who enjoyed killing? Find out here.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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.

Frederick Nolan is a leading authority on outlaws and gunfighters of the Old West. His award-winning books include The West of Billy the Kid; The Wild West: History, Myth, and the Making of America; and The Lincoln County War: A Documentary History. He resides in England.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press; Annotated edition (June 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806132272
• ISBN-13: 978-0806132273
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,655,170 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid, Revisited, October 21, 2000

By 

"beauvais2" (Lincoln, New Mexico) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pat F. Garrett's the Authentic Life of Billy, the Kid (Hardcover)

Frederick Nolan is one of the most prolific living writers on the economic strife in Lincon County, New Mexico commonly known as "the War".

The Pat Garrett version of the War was almost entirely written by Roswell postmaster, Ash Upson, and was designed to improve Garrett's lot in the eyes of history as well as to further his political fortune. Consequently, Garrett's version has always been suspect amoung serious historical scholars although it is one of the most frequently quoted sources of "facts" related to the Kid. Garrett's seemingly singlehanded resolution of the problem by killing the Kid after the two primary proponents of the Regulator faction, John Henery Tunstall and Alexander McSween, were killed by members of the Murphy, Fritz and Dolan faction, is placed into historical prespective by Dolan's meticulous research and readable language..

Nolan's writing and research tracking the actual chronology of the War based on the Garrett version not only is designed to set the record straight historically; but also demonstrates the true facts giving rise to the War are at least as fascinating as the legends.

The Lincoln County War has been referred to as the largest civil insurrection in the history of the United States, reaching right into the halls of Congress and the White House.

Readers of Dolan's annotated responses to the Garrett version will appeal to serious history buffs and the casual reader of western history about one of the true legends of the old west.

Robert Beauvais

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good mix of history and myth-busting, February 8, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Pat F. Garrett's the Authentic Life of Billy, the Kid (Hardcover)

Frederick Nolan's annonations to Pat Garrett's famous book do an excellent job of debunking many of the oft-repeated myths about Billy the Kid. I especially like the fact that Nolan occasionally ranges beyond Garrett's book itself to discuss how these Billy the Kid myths have been portrayed by later books and films. His commentary also helps fill in some of the background details about the Lincoln County war. You should note that I said "details," however; if you've never read about the Lincoln County war, this work probably isn't the ideal introduction to that messy, complicated affair. Nolan mostly seems to assume his readers are already at least mildly acquainted with the major events, places and people involved in the Lincoln County war. I also sometimes found myself wishing Nolan had annonated a bit more extensively (there are some entire chapters -- albeit very short ones -- through which he offers no commentary). The book's layout, while reasonably clear and clean, sometimes leaves a bit to be desired, with Nolan's notes often falling on different pages than the original text he's commenting upon.

5 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A hit and miss book on Billy the Kid., July 10, 2006

By 

Jim Johnson (Frisco, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pat F. Garrett's the Authentic Life of Billy, the Kid (Hardcover)

This book was written by a ghost writer for Pat Garrett and set the stage for future Billy the Kid authors. The book is fictionalized in many places in an attempt to make the book flow better and to make the book more interesting. But, since the book was co-authored by Garrett, succeeding authors used it as a reference thinking he knew the kid well. But, Garrett did not know Billy as well as he led people to believe. The really good things about the book are the areas talking about Garrett's own experiences. But, the reader needs to be careful and not believe everything they read in this book. It could hurt them when reading more factual accounts of Billy's life in the future.