Billy the Kid: A Short and Violent Life

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Summary: The outlaw Billy the Kid
Review: Although he was killed by Pat Garrett when he was only 21, Billy the Kid by now has probably superseded Jesse James as the most famous outlaw of the West. This is all the more surprising considering his meteoric rise to fame; his name was only really plastering the New Mexico newspapers in the final few months of his life, and he only became nationally infamous after his Lincoln jailbreak when he killed Bell and Ollinger, just a couple short months before he died.

Utley's biography is excellent. Not only is it well-written, but it also provides a convincing portrait of the Kid. Although he would not hesitate to kill in self-defense or vengeance, he was not a bloodthirsty serial killer as he has occasionally been portrayed. Popular and outgoing, he was also self-righteous, and callous towards the sufferings of others. While he might regret his part in the killing of Bell, or Carlyle, he does not appear to have been very bothered by it. Undeniably, though, the Kid had his good qualities, and he befriended or charmed many literate men who would help spread and preserve his fame in the years to come.

For all the destruction he left behind him, as I closed the book I felt that he had perversely lived a life that had meaning. In an age of slimy politics and double-dealing, Billy at least stood for something - himself. Good or bad, bandit-hero or symbol of violent anarchy, Billy the Kid made an impact on America which Utley makes it impossible for us to ignore.

Rating:
Summary: OUTSTANDING!
Review: Fast moving, action packed, superbly researched and easy to read. A standard bearer for all future books based upon the life of Billy the Kid. Robert M. Utley has been uncomprimising in his efforts to convey the true exploits of the 'Kid'. The author displays an extensive knowledge in this field, and it is hard to fault the texts contents. Plenty of other sources are cited and scrutinized by the author, for further reading and information in closely related topics ie. the Lincoln County War.

Clearly, one of Robert M. Utley's strengths is how well he argues the evidence, an ability he exerts throughout this truly enthralling biography. This only adds to the enjoyment of the book. To be fair there are several areas that could be expanded upon, such as 'the Kid's' earlier relationship with Pat Garrett, but there is no evidence to suggest that this work was to be completely exhaustive. But certainly this book is an exceptional building block for further research and any emerging new evidence. If you are interested in the life of Billy the Kid, and you've not read this book...READ IT! You will not be disappointed.

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Summary: Good, If Slow-moving.
Review: First of all, let me say that this is one of the only Billie The Kid/Lincoln County books I have found that actually explain the confusing circumstances around the Lincoln County War understandably. That coverage is excellent, and alone makes this a great book.
Besides that, it is still a pretty good book, one of the better ones, and it gets the truth straight, not filling it up with made-up stories of Billy's heroics (See: "Authentic Life of Billie the Kid"). What it does fill up with, though, is lots of unnecessary background info, which is interesting but makes for very slow reading. Robert is good at going into Billy's mind and personality. I like espcially the way he writes seemingly without bias: you can't tell if he leans towards the Billy-as-hero side or Billy-as-killer side, which is -so- refreshing.
It's slow moving, but Robert gives you the straight story and forgets nothing, leaving no rock unturned. Great for beginning William Bonney enthusiasts.

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Summary: THE KID RIDES ON
Review: I became curious about William Bonney, AKA Billy the Kid, when I first saw the movie Young Guns starring Emilio Estevez. I loved the movie but wanted to know how much of the story was Hollywood hype and how much of it was history.

Accordingly I found Utley's book on Billy the Kid and found, to my satisfaction, that not only was much of the Young Guns story was accurate but that the life of Billy the Kid was as interesting and complex as any to be found in the annals of the Old West.

The debate rages on as to whether young Billy was a poor, misunderstood folk hero or whether he was an ignorant, bloodthirsty miscreant who needs to be vilified and forgotten. Utley's well-researched and well-written book takes a multi-faceted approach to considering the complex history of young man who, despite is very short life and his even briefer career, continue to spark the imagination over a century after his death.

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Summary: The best on "Billy the Kid!"
Review: I have been interested in the saga of Billy the Kid and the story about the Linconcounty war. I have read several books on these subjects and must say that Utley is by far the best. You will get a story full of historic facts and that in the same time is a thrill to read. You get a understanding for William the person as well as Billy the myth. A five star book if you ask me!

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Summary: rewiew for foreigners
Review: I WRITE THIS REWIEW FOR THOSE WHO TRY TO FIND A BOOK ABOUT BILLY
THE KID AND THEY DONT HAVE ENGLISH AS THEIR MOTHER LANGUADGE.
THIS BOOK IS EXCACTLY WHAT YOU LOOK FOR.ITS EASY TO READ,SIMPLY
WRITING AND UNDERSTANDABLE BY SOMEONE WHO KNOWS STANDAR ENGLISH.
UTLEY KNOWS VERY WELL NOT ONLY THE STORY BUT AND HOW T0 TELL IT
AND MAKE US UNDERSTAND HOW THE LIFE AND THE ATTITUDES WERE AT
OLD WEST.THE BOOK IS SEPERATED IN SMALL CHAPTERS OF ABOUT 10-14
PAGES EACH AND THAT MAKES THE READING RELAXED AND EASY.THE ONLY PROBLEM IS THE MAPS.THEY NEED TO BE BIGER AND WITH MORE DETAILS.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Portrait
Review: Robert Utley has done a superb job in his factually-based portrayal of Billy The Kid. The work is replete with extensive notes and an exhaustive list of sources. He brings to life the exciting, real life drama surrounding the Lincoln County War and the Kid's role in that saga.

Although Utley is careful not to paint Billy as a mythical hero or leader of men, desparados or otherwise, I was able to conclude from the story that his life serves as a symbol for many aspects of the turn-of-the-century American west and is the stuff of legends. One of the symbols Utley suggests as disturbing is "an enduring national ambivalence toward corruption and violence."

I especially liked how Utley reconstucted the drama of Billy's daring break-out at the Lincoln County jail and the supporting material he provided to back up his account of the bloody events that transpired on that day. I agree with Utley, that although there was exciting drama surrounding his short-lived life, up until that point, Billy had not really done very much relative to others of his ilk to earn his notoreity as the most dreaded desparado of the American West.

Billy the Kid's story is in many ways a tragic one of good boy gone bad and of the difficulties that arise when one finds oneself caught ill-prepared and unsponsored in the transition from frontier to civilization. As Utley concludes, "Despite superior qualities....the Kid met failure at most every turn. He failed because he lacked powerful friends and because he did not shed the wartime habits of open rebellion." This proved to be Billy's tragic undoing at a time when the movers and shakers of the west wanted to rely less on violence and place a mantle of respectability in front of their quest for power and wealth.

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Summary: A Civil War in the West and Billy the Kid
Review: Robert Utley writes an excellent history of a young man virtually parentless (a surviving but perhaps neglectful father) that becomes involved with petty crimes and eventually winds up with a gang of semi-outlaws in Lincoln County, New Mexico. Fascinating descriptive of life in this county where cattle rustling and other related crimes did not seem to have the mark of a criminal as they would in our day. Utley documents how young William graduates to a member of one of two cowboy armies in Lincoln, each supporting rival businessman in the Lincoln County war where control of rival business interests involve murder, gun battles and massaging of the legal authorities in the State. Billy earns his nickname the Kid during his benefators losing battle with the other business rival resulting in the death of his benefactors plus Billy's involvement of the killings of several men including a well liked Sheriff. Utley chronicles the story of the Civil War, the causes, the Armies feigned attempt at neutrality that actually defeated the Kids forces, Billy's testimony at a trial, chance for a pardon from Governor Lew Wallace, his continued participation in crime, arrest and bloody jail break and his refusal to leave the State after being declared an outlaw. Utley tells an amazing story of an apparently likable young, man who was popular with the senioritis and in spite of the legal authorities attempts to apprehend him he continued to live almost openly in a neighboring town only to be caught by Pat Garrett an acquaintance of his. Utley writes a real story of the west where a not so innocent youth gets caught in a social Civil War and with an opportunity to leave it all behind, stubbornly or playfully decides to continue to live in his home neighborhood which cost him his life. Utley's book leaves you thinking that at 21 years of age, the Kid was truly too immature to know when it was time to move on and actually grow up. Utley's description makes you wonder if with the right mentor other than gunman, the likeable kid would have been a popular citizen with a family if he every developed something of an honest vocation.

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Summary: A Good Boy Gone Bad
Review: This may be the definitive life of "the Kid", as far as anyone can write it after a century. His sources list numerous manuscripts, interviews, newspapers, and published materials. It is highly readable, too.

(William) Henry McCarty/Antrim/Bonney was a "scrawny little fellow with delicate hands and an artistic nature always willing to help with chores around the school house". He was fond of music, and loved to sing and dance, and read books; then "Police Gazette" with its adventures and fantasies. After his mother's TB death and his step-father's departure to a mining camp, Henry fell into bad company and turned to petty thievery. He was caught and sent to jail. He showed his cunning by escaping thru the chimney, and into a life of crime. The Kid did not smoke or drink whiskey, he loved singing and dancing, gambling, gunmanship, and horsemanship; he also charmed young women.

For nearly fifty years after his death Billy the Kid was infamous as a murdering outlaw. In 1926 Walter Noble Burns (viewers of "The Front Page" may wonder if art imitates life) wrote "The Saga of Billy the Kid" and portrayed him as the Robin Hood of the Southwest.

More than forty Hollywood films have portrayed the Kid somewhere between hero to villain, depending on the times. Many Western films from yesteryear had a standard plot: powerful, greedy rancher or merchant, crooked sheriff and mayor, pliant judge, witnesses scared to testify, a land of sudden and violent death; and a hero to lead the fight against them. Not unlike the Lincoln County War of 1878 (and others less well known) in the dramatized Hollywood version.

The above story symbolized not just the frontier, but the attitudes and values of the entire nation in the Gilded Age. Is this state of corruption unknown today? Do corporations, governments, and the law serve selfish interests and personal ambitions today? Are political, legal, and economic systems perverted for individual benefits? You can read the newspapers and judge for yourself.