Customer Reviews

The Saga of Billy the Kid (Historians of the Frontier and American West Series)

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Billy the Kid is one of the West's most famous outlaws, yet there is little in the history books to detail his short but very violent life. In addition, most of what has been written has been written in the later part of the 20th century and relies not so much on true knowledge as on what can be found here and there.

This book, original written in 1924, is wonderful because the author actually found people still alive who had known Billy the Kid and who had lived through the Lincoln County Wars. While these people were hardly young when interviewed, they still had very good memories of Billy and his life style. This provides a look that is often missing in history.

One area that was missing was any detailed information on the early life of Billy the Kid, but, as the author points out, much was lost and may never be known.

The language in the book is, at times, difficult to process, as it was written in the style prevalent in 1924, not 2002. And it is a language that is caught between the older American English and modern American English. Generally it is a smooth read, but does have a couple of rough spots.

This is a MUST READ if you really want to know about the portion of Billy the Kids life that ocured during the Linclon County Wars!!

This, of course, is the Billy the Kid biography that all later ones have had to nod toward, either in sympathy or contempt. By modern standards it violates most rules of popular history, with its many "reconstructed" conversations and events, which had no living witnesses shortly after the fact. However, Burns did manage to conduct long, direct interviews with many still-living participants, something later historians could not hope to do.

Historians tend to be either strongly pro- or anti-Billy, and it is interesting that this 1925 narrative hews to a sort of neutral line, depicting both the positive and negative aspects of the Kid's character. The early Kid biography supposedly written by Pat Garrett himself already depicts the Kid as a dime-novel superhero; by contrast, Nelson Nye's somewhat later historical novel, A BULLET FOR BILLY THE KID, typically depicts the Kid as a cowardly, psychopathic monster without a single redeeming human feature. Historians also tend to be violently pro- or anti-Dolan-Murphy, Burns comes down very much on the anti-Dolan-Murphy side, which is the side most more recent historians have also come down on. Burns also spends more time on the background of John Chisum than most Kid historians have tended to do.

Well worth your reading time if you have any interest in the most famous "outlaw" of the Old West.

Walter Noble Burns did tremendous research under the difficulty of so many deceased witnesses. His prose of descriptive scenes and events was as interestng as were the happenings themselves. His writing in the early 1920's style adds much to the reader with historical interest. I can not imagine one with such interest not thinking the book is wonderful. For those that like to learn via Hollywood, TV, or Video, it probably will be less attractive reading.

This is the biography that set all the other western bandit biographies in motion. It's a great read, and you can really feel as if you were there. However, not all of it is even close to the truth. But so what? Whether Billy killed 4 men that can be accounted for by other witnesses, or 21, one for each day of his life. It's still a great read. To imagine a life where you are able to get on a horse and ride off and disappear. To live off the "fat" ie, other peoples cattle, of the land, drink play cards, get up and do it again. Of course it couldn't last. The money'd interests can't have every Tom, Dick and Billy stealing their cattle, but still.. One wonders why he didn't leave for California once he escaped from jail? Anyway if you are looking for a good "Western", better than any Zane Gray fiction, look no further than this book.

A 1942 version of what happened with Billy and his murders (no one knows for sure how many and the circumstances), and his involvement in the Lincoln County Wars. He was known to be a braggart and supposedly by the time he died at 21 by the hands of Sheriff Pat F. Garrett, he boasted that he had killed 21 men. Some citizens found Billy to be nice fellow and others saw him as the terrible desperado/killer of New Mexico, Arizona and Northern Mexico. Wherever the truth might lie, he has become a legend, and dozens of books and movies have covered his short life. The writing in this book was stilted and old-fashioned; then again it was written 60+ years ago...but still an enjoyable read.

I received this book in great condition and a very reasonable price. I recommend this seller 100%.

THIS IS TRULY A WORK OF ART. HE BEGINS WITH THE RIVALRY BETWEEN JOHN CHIUSUM AND MAJOR A.G. MURPHY AND THE WAR THAT ESCALETS FROM THEIR RIVALRY. IT INTRODUCES WILLIAM BONNEY AS AN INNOCENT MAN WHO'S LOVE/RESPECT FOR HIS BOSS LEADS HIM TO HIS LEGENDARY LIFE AND DEATH. WRITTEN WITH PRECISE DETAIL AND ARRESTING INTENSITY.. A MUST HAVE