The Real Billy the Kid

Many books have been written about Billy the Kid and his exploits in New Mexico's Lincoln County War. Virtually all of these books, however, have relied on the same basic source of information, that being Pat Garrett's "The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid." Garrett, of course, was the man who killed Billy, and his book was written in part to justify the manner in which he had dispatched the Kid. Sadly, although based partly on the facts as Garrett understood them, his book reads more like a "penny dreadful," than a true biography, casting serious doubts on his book and those which followed. Fortunately for today's readers, Miguel Otero's book, "The Real Billy the Kid," doesn't trace its roots back to the Garrett book. Even better, it addresses Billy the Kid and the Lincoln County War from an entirely new and unique perspective. Consider the following: 1) Otero actually knew Billy the Kid, although only slightly; 2) Unlike Pat Garrett, Miguel Otero had no axe to grind in writing his biography and, therefore, didn't need to embellish the story; 3) Since most of the people living in New Mexico at the time of the Lincoln County War were Mexicans, as is Otero, this book looks at the events of that war from an entirely unbiased point of view and a particularly unique perspective; and 4) In writing this book, the author interviewed those people, still living, who actually knew or were friends with Billy the Kid and who were living in and around Lincoln County at the time of the "war." This all led to what would appear to be a factual account with a minimum of fluff; Otero simply tells it like it happened. And here are a few other things which struck me about this book and the way it is written: 1) It puts the characters involved in the "war" in proper perspective and in the setting of their times; 2) It provides personal information about some of the participants in the war which I have never seen before; 3) It went on to explain what became of some of those who survived the war. The only disappointment to me about the book was in the way it ended. The author was discussing his interviews with those who knew the Kid, the questions he asked them and their answers. I kept thinking: "Ask this. Ask that." What valuable sources. I would have liked to have known even more. Bottom line - It's a good book and makes interesting reading.