Billy the Kid: The Endless Ride

Wallis 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.

Some have complained about the lack of facts when it comes to this book. There simply aren't a lot of hard facts about Billy - but there are a lot of outright lies. The book addresses everything that it is capable of addressing, and puts to rest some of the worse rumors.

What I liked about this book was the thorough way it dealt with the time period in question. By the end I felt that I knew a fair deal about life in the 1860s and how that sort of environment bred outlaws such as Billy. The Wild West and the social stresses that created such an environment were quite clearly laid out.

Very readable, very informative, an all over quite a fascinating book. I'm very happy I picked it up.

The 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 show more 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. show less

Billy the Kid: The Endless Ride by Michael Wallis is a biography and an American West legend. Mr. Wallis is a best-selling author and an award winning reporter.

Billy the Kid: The Endless Ride by Michael Wallis is a project which is problematic and I command the author for taking it on. There is very little known about Billy the Kid, as the author mentions almost at the beginning, and at this time it’s difficult to distinguish the man from the legend.

Due to the fact that no only don’t we know much about Billy the Kid, but also that he died very young, it’s difficult to fill a whole book about him. The author acknowledges this and spend much of the book trying to debunk man from myth and diving into several possibilities to discover show more his true identity. The detective work, interesting as it is, really slows down the beginning of the book.

Much of the book is not really about the subject, but about ancillary information such as New York gangs and how the West became romanticized in dime novels, cinema and magazines. I found the ancillary stuff interesting, even though it had very little to do, if any, with Billy the Kid (man or myth).

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Not 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.

3.5 stars

3.5 stars