Audiobook9 hours
Billy the Kid: The Endless Ride
Written by Michael Wallis
Narrated by Todd McLaren
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
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About this audiobook
From the bestselling author of Route 66 comes this long-awaited biography of one of America's most legendary folk heroes.
Award-winning historian Michael Wallis has spent several years re-creating the rich, anecdotal saga of Billy the Kid (1859-1881), a deeply mythologized young man who became a legend in his own time and yet remains an enigma to this day. With the Gilded Age in full swing and the Industrial Revolution reshaping the American landscape, "the Kid," who was gunned down by Sheriff Pat Garrett in the New Mexico Territory at the age of twenty-one, became a new breed of celebrity outlaw. He arose amid the mystery and myth of the swiftly vanishing frontier and, sensationalized beyond recognition by the tabloids and dime-store romances of the day, emerged as one of the most enduring icons of the American West-not to mention one of Hollywood's most misrepresented characters.
This new biography separates myth from reality and presents an unforgettable portrait of this brief and violent life.
Award-winning historian Michael Wallis has spent several years re-creating the rich, anecdotal saga of Billy the Kid (1859-1881), a deeply mythologized young man who became a legend in his own time and yet remains an enigma to this day. With the Gilded Age in full swing and the Industrial Revolution reshaping the American landscape, "the Kid," who was gunned down by Sheriff Pat Garrett in the New Mexico Territory at the age of twenty-one, became a new breed of celebrity outlaw. He arose amid the mystery and myth of the swiftly vanishing frontier and, sensationalized beyond recognition by the tabloids and dime-store romances of the day, emerged as one of the most enduring icons of the American West-not to mention one of Hollywood's most misrepresented characters.
This new biography separates myth from reality and presents an unforgettable portrait of this brief and violent life.
Author
Michael Wallis
Michael Wallis is an award-winning historian of the Old West and author of Route 66: The Mother Road and several other books, and the co-author of Mankiller: A Chief and Her People. He lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Sante Fe, New Mexico.
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Reviews for Billy the Kid
Rating: 3.7916666354166666 out of 5 stars
4/5
48 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Not exactly a page turner, but interesting enough. Best parts of this book were the extensive bibliography, the detailed endnotes, and the collection of historic photos.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wallis worked very hard to dispel myths surrounding the Kid. So much of his early life is unverifiable, sources are called into question. What was interesting was that Wallis very casually mentions near the end of the book that Paulita Maxwell may have been pregnant with Billy's child, which is why he stuck around Old Fort Sumner instead of skinning out for Old Mexico like any smart person would have done after he escaped from prison. No one seems to know for sure, though, I went online and the birthdate given for her first daughter was 1884, so clearly not his, since he died in 1881. Ah, history's mysteries.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5The first problem with writing a book about Billy the Kid is that most of what is known about Billy is myth. The second problem is that what *is* known about Billy (myth included) can barely fill a hundred pages, much less close to 300. In the beginning the author acknowledges that facts about Billy are sparse and so he spends most of the book presenting many of the possibilities surrounding Billy's life in an effort to debunk myths about the man. His father could have been this guy, or that guy. His mother could have come from New York or Ireland. The early chapters are slowed by the presentation of all the "possibilities" concerning Billy's early life. And under the guise of 'context', the book presents a lot of inconsequential information about the time of Billy the kid, spending pages on topics such as the New York gang wars and P.T. Barnum's role in romanticizing the Wild West. Combined, these two factors make for a slow read.The book helped me realize that perhaps what I love about the Billy the Kid story is that it is all a myth and the facts (or possibilities) aren't terribly interesting. Since most of Billy's story is myth anyway, I'd recommend skipping the history books and tracking down a copy of Elizabeth Fackler's novel, Billy the Kid: the Legend of El Chivato.