Billy the Kid: The Endless Ride

Billy the Kid is a name we all know from the days of the Wild West. But what do we know about the young man himself? Was he a psychopathic killer? A misunderstood Robin Hood-like gunslinger? Where was he born? What was his real name? Henry McCarty? William Bonney? And did Pat Garrett shoot him down in cold blood? The truth is that there is scant evidence - for instance just the one picture of him, seen above - but much legend - most of it untrue - surrounding this fabled young man. The author does an excellent job separating fact from fiction in this book while providing a very engaging read. Using a biographical technique that's becoming popular, Michael Wallis starts with what we do know about the times Billy lived in and then fits his subject into this context. This opposed to writing a "life" by trying to fit conjecture, legend and questionable first-hand accounts into documented history. It is difficult to track Billy's early life but it appears he was born in New York and his real name was not Billy but rather Henry McCarty. He and his family's move west is sketchy but Billy finally ended up in New Mexico - a territory then, not a state. As he drifted in and out of the public eye and the arm of the law's grasp - Billy was a horse thief and cattle rustler - the historical evidence firms up. His final days as a participant in the Lincoln County War in New Mexico - which reads like a Chicago gangster turf war complete with daylight ambushes and crooked politicians - were documented by both the newspapers of the time and the multiple law enforcement personnel involved in trying to stem the violence. Billy also pulled off a jail-break near the end of his life that is worthy of a Hollywood movie or a western pulp fiction novel. He was an out-law and he did kill at least three men but that was not extraordinary for the times - so why the infamy? The author also does a very good job in explaining how and why this young man has become a legendary Wild West figure with men like Pat Garrett, who shot and killed Billy, instrumental in propagating the The Kid's story. If this time and locale - and its subject - are of interest then you can't do much better than this book, it's a very good read.

"This is the west, sir," the newspaperman tells Jimmy Stewart in _The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance_. "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend." And for over a hundred years, that is just what has happened to Billy the Kid, starting in countless dime novels and then historical reviews, a ballet by Aaron Copland, and scores of movies. Obviously the legend has a life of its own. The attraction of _Billy the Kid: The Endless Ride_ (Norton) by Michael Wallis is that the legend is fully appreciated. Wallis mentions but does not detail the many media representations the legend has presented after the Kid's death, but does show much of what the papers had to say about him during his life, and also what people who knew him said years after his death, and how unreliable it all is. There are certainly enough facts within the biography, but it is also a realistic look at the Kid's status as a legend in his own time. There were not only many false reports and representations of the Kid, but there are also voids of his life that no one can do anything but guess at. Wallis presents an enjoyable summary of what we can know as accurate and what is pure myth. The Kid grew up in a changing masculine culture often known as "The Code of the West", which was a new way of dealing with threats. The tradition from British common law was that a man under threat was obligated to retreat until his back was against the wall and there was no alternative but to use deadly force against his opponent. The Code of the West, often celebrated as part of frontier self-reliance and integrity, merely signified that no such restraint under threat had to be shown; the courts even found that a "true man" did not have to back away from a fight, and it was a given that a man could pursue an adversary even once the threat had been lifted. The Kid was certainly one to stand his ground, and probably was on the offensive more than most, but his homicidal actions have been exaggerated. He has four confirmed killings to his name, some completely in self defense, but even before the end of his short life, the tally was being exaggerated. His enemies had good reason to do so. The Kid was caught up in what is called the Lincoln County War, a complex conflict that Wallis says "had been spawned long before in Ireland and England, in boardrooms and court chambers, in saloons and places of worship." It featured private armies of hired killers attempting to settle the conflict of two competing commercial property interests, with governmental corruption and ethnic clashes thrown in. Neither side represented "The Good Guys", and the Kid as a hired shootist was as culpable as any of the other members of the "banditti", but his opposition used him as a targeted bad boy. His own side didn't lack for corruption or malevolence, but the other side could mask its own corruption and malevolence by deliberately playing up the Kid's outlaw role and making him (despite a limited number of cr

I like a book with focus, and this book truly has focus. The author gives enough western history so that you can understand the circumstances of the story and doesn't take the reader down side angles (and there are plenty of possibilities for this.) The writer separates fact from fiction explaining the conflicting information and crediting the reliability of the sources. Billy is an exceptional yet troubled teen. Today we'd call him a youth at risk. He was born into difficult times and taken into a violent environment where he had to fend for himself. Wallis cites the compelling nature of his character, surprisingly literate, fluently bilingual and physically agile. For his young years he made a difference in his small world and should have taken the advice to flee to Mexico or South America. The book is very nicely laid out. The paper and type that were selected are easy on the eyes. The pictures that introduce each chapter give a feel for the landscape which forms the backdrop of the story. It is not only a violent culture, but a harsh and dry country. Their was a lot new to me and of interest in this book. Most surprising was the passing mention of a meeting of 50 Billy the Kid historians. Henry Antrim (or whatever his name was) would have been totally astounded!

I became interested in this book after seeing Michael Wallis interviewed on BookTV. Wallis struck me as an engaging, articulate, and thoughtful scholar, and he clearly had had great fun doing his research on Billy the Kid. So I hoped these characteristics would show through in the reading of his book -- and indeed they did. Most readers should find this a very satisfying experience. Wallis has done his homework, and although his approach is scholarly (well documented, complete with footnotes), it is not dull. It is rare to find scholars who can write so well. But I am not especially interested in Billy the Kid per se. What I was seeking was the historical context, because my knowledge of Western history is relatively weak. Wallis did not disappoint me. Experts in this field may find nothing new; that depends on how knowledgeable they are. But for casual readers like me, who want a good overview of this period and locale, I highly recommend this book.

As someone who was born in Southeastern New Mexico and raised in Texas I have been enthralled with Billy the Kid and the events that gave rise to his fame since my earliest memories. I don't consider myself a Billy the Kid scholar, but I have read a dozen or so books, seen most Billy the Kid sites and have spent many hours over the years contemplating the young outlaw's life. Michael Wallis effectively works off the proven facts (which are few)of one Henry McCarty alias Henry Antrim, alias Kid Antrim alias William H. Bonney alias Billy the Kid, to give us a great working backbone with which to study The Kid. When Wallis fills in the holes between the facts, he doesn't lead us on and uses logic and reason to create plausible scenarios based on Billy's time and location to create a fluid line from Billy's youth to his death and beyond. Mr. Wallis substantiates much of what is said in this book by quotes from people that knew and rode with The Kid, newspapers of the time and notes taken from other credible Billy the Kid researchers such as Robert Utley. Michael Wallis really brings to life the mostly likely childhood The Kid experienced. The author does a superb job of taking the reader back to the Western Frontier of the 1870's. We get an idea of how the times Billy grew up in influenced him and the pivotal events in the young man's life that propelled him down his path, that in retrospect, appears to almost be destiny. The only part of The Endless Ride that perplexed me to a degree is how Wallis manages to only touch on a surface level the events The Kid is most famous for. However, I don't think Wallis' intention was to give an indepth portrayal of The Kid's deeds as an outlaw on the lamb, but rather, approach the story of The Kid, with less study on his events an 'outlaw' and more focus on the creation of Billy in the mind's of people then... and now. Simply, this is one of, if not the best, Billy the Kid books I have ever read. Wallis' reserach is impeccable and his writing style sophisticated and fluid. Without a doubt, The Endless Ride is the best read yet to give great and accurate insight into Billy before he was 'Billy The Kid', where more than half of the book is focused. This book is a must read for any fan of Billy the Kid and an excellent starting point for any individuals wishing to get swept away in the legend that is The Kid.