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Billy the Kid: The Endless Ride
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, filled with dozens of rare images and period photographs, separates myth from reality and presents an unforgettable portrait of this brief and violent life.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
73 people are currently reading
853 people want to read
About the author
Michael Wallis
46 books77 followersMichael Wallis is the bestselling author of Route 66, Billy the Kid, Pretty Boy, and David Crockett. He hosts the PBS series American Roads. He voiced The Sheriff in the animated Pixar feature Cars. He lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 122 reviews
January 3, 2022
Well researched, however less than a quarter of the book was about Billy the kid. There was a lot of information about the people that were tangentially connected to the Kid. Even some biographical info on people that may have been near the kid. The last couple chapters were the best. I don’t think I need to read any more books on this subject.
August 5, 2011
This book does not describe the legend of Billy the Kid. Instead it creates a portrait of Billy by revealing the details of his life: what the people who knew Billy said about him, what were his known personal tastes, what was his mother like, what was his step father like, where did he live, what was the nature of the places he lived. As I read this book an authentic portrait of Billy the Kid began to emerge in my mind, painted by each fact revealed, not a portrait build on imaginative fiction, but one drawn from the documented details of his life.
Billy the Kid, like most people, was a mixture of both good and bad. He died at an early age, and by that time he had killed several men, but Billy also was a very likable young man. He was a great dancer, popular among the women folk, loved to sing, play cards, read dime novels, tell funny stories, and he did not drink alcohol. But what stood out the most about him, the thing that most people remembered about Billy, was his politeness. Billy was polite to women, to children, to the elderly, and a well-mannered young man. This is the one thing that I take away from this book, the power of politeness. Never underestimate the power of good manners. Who knows ? Start being polite today, and maybe you too will someday become legendary.
Armed with a six-shooter or a Winchester rifle each man was empowered to enforce his own brand of justice on the American western frontier. This book's narrative acknowledges the brutality, violence, corruption, and unwholesome of the western migration. With a panorama of murder, theft, rape, bloodshed, slaughter, prostitution, alcoholism, prejudice, and pain our nation forged a uniquely American heritage, and ever since then we have been both enamored and entertained by the Old West and its wild legends. Billy the Kid had the misfortune of leading a life that would make him one of those western legends.
Billy the Kid, like most people, was a mixture of both good and bad. He died at an early age, and by that time he had killed several men, but Billy also was a very likable young man. He was a great dancer, popular among the women folk, loved to sing, play cards, read dime novels, tell funny stories, and he did not drink alcohol. But what stood out the most about him, the thing that most people remembered about Billy, was his politeness. Billy was polite to women, to children, to the elderly, and a well-mannered young man. This is the one thing that I take away from this book, the power of politeness. Never underestimate the power of good manners. Who knows ? Start being polite today, and maybe you too will someday become legendary.
Armed with a six-shooter or a Winchester rifle each man was empowered to enforce his own brand of justice on the American western frontier. This book's narrative acknowledges the brutality, violence, corruption, and unwholesome of the western migration. With a panorama of murder, theft, rape, bloodshed, slaughter, prostitution, alcoholism, prejudice, and pain our nation forged a uniquely American heritage, and ever since then we have been both enamored and entertained by the Old West and its wild legends. Billy the Kid had the misfortune of leading a life that would make him one of those western legends.
February 28, 2016
When Pat Garrett shot and killed Billy the Kid on July 14th 1881 in New Mexico Territory a legend was born.
From the corrupt streets of New York to the corrupt towns of the Wild West, Billy the Kid's 21 short years are brought vividly to life by this fascinating biography.
So few actual facts are known about him that historians do not even agree about his birthplace or even his real name. Michael Wallis has painstakingly sifted through all the exaggerated stories and outright lies that have surrounded him over the years and through a mixture of anecdotes from people who knew him, reliable sources, historical documents, and his own meticulous research, he has debunked many of the myths of his murderous ways and discovered that
"the truth of the young man was neatly covered up through sleight of hand with historical facts by a host of dime novelists, journalists, and hacks.......he was then and forever a mirage."
Until his mother's death in 1874 when Billy was only 14, he was a normal mischievous boy. Afterwards he became a young man who had to fend for himself and grow up very quickly by living on his wits and eventually turning to horse stealing and gambling to live.
This is not just a history of Billy the Kid, but also a history of the Old West during the late 19th century, of the lawlessness and corruption during his short life, including the infamous Lincoln County War.
I particularly enjoyed the photographs dotted around the book, which included many of the characters and places mentioned, and the cover of the book shows the only documented photographic image of him, taken in late 1879 or early 1880. Paulita Maxwell, one of Billy's lady friends, said in later years, "I never liked the picture, I don't think it does Billy justice". The young man's image is forever frozen in time - just like his myth.
From the corrupt streets of New York to the corrupt towns of the Wild West, Billy the Kid's 21 short years are brought vividly to life by this fascinating biography.
So few actual facts are known about him that historians do not even agree about his birthplace or even his real name. Michael Wallis has painstakingly sifted through all the exaggerated stories and outright lies that have surrounded him over the years and through a mixture of anecdotes from people who knew him, reliable sources, historical documents, and his own meticulous research, he has debunked many of the myths of his murderous ways and discovered that
"the truth of the young man was neatly covered up through sleight of hand with historical facts by a host of dime novelists, journalists, and hacks.......he was then and forever a mirage."
Until his mother's death in 1874 when Billy was only 14, he was a normal mischievous boy. Afterwards he became a young man who had to fend for himself and grow up very quickly by living on his wits and eventually turning to horse stealing and gambling to live.
This is not just a history of Billy the Kid, but also a history of the Old West during the late 19th century, of the lawlessness and corruption during his short life, including the infamous Lincoln County War.
I particularly enjoyed the photographs dotted around the book, which included many of the characters and places mentioned, and the cover of the book shows the only documented photographic image of him, taken in late 1879 or early 1880. Paulita Maxwell, one of Billy's lady friends, said in later years, "I never liked the picture, I don't think it does Billy justice". The young man's image is forever frozen in time - just like his myth.
June 8, 2015
Henry McCarty/Billy Antrim/William Bonney/Billy the Kid is biographized here, in an OK attempt to weed out the myth surrounding this very young man's very violent life.
Wallis spends much time talking about what isn't likely to be true and bemoaning the lack of verifiable information about the life and actions of his subject, and not enough time talking about those verifiable facts.
Wallis does place The Kid in the context of his place (a fluent Spanish-speaker who loved and was well loved by the Hispanics of his stomping grounds, Wallis mentions but is ambivalent about recent research that suggests that The Kid may have been part-Hispanic) and time (in the Lincoln County War in which he was just one participant of hundreds but the only one convicted, Wallis believes The Kid was--intentionally or otherwise--made the fall guy for the political and business interests who "won" the "war"). However, the last two years of The Kid's life, when Wallas says "William Bonney's activities can be documented week by week and sometimes daily," are accorded a bare 30 pages out of a 250-page book with lots of images and white space.
So, Mr. Wallis, if you can document your subject's activities on a daily basis, in a biography in which you claim to separate the fact from the myth and constantly bemoan the lack of fact, one not use the ones you have to the fullest?
Wallis spends much time talking about what isn't likely to be true and bemoaning the lack of verifiable information about the life and actions of his subject, and not enough time talking about those verifiable facts.
Wallis does place The Kid in the context of his place (a fluent Spanish-speaker who loved and was well loved by the Hispanics of his stomping grounds, Wallis mentions but is ambivalent about recent research that suggests that The Kid may have been part-Hispanic) and time (in the Lincoln County War in which he was just one participant of hundreds but the only one convicted, Wallis believes The Kid was--intentionally or otherwise--made the fall guy for the political and business interests who "won" the "war"). However, the last two years of The Kid's life, when Wallas says "William Bonney's activities can be documented week by week and sometimes daily," are accorded a bare 30 pages out of a 250-page book with lots of images and white space.
So, Mr. Wallis, if you can document your subject's activities on a daily basis, in a biography in which you claim to separate the fact from the myth and constantly bemoan the lack of fact, one not use the ones you have to the fullest?
November 29, 2011
Absolutely excellent. Very readable, and this paints the best picture of the Kid so far. Also nails done some really nice historical points for my project...
August 6, 2012
This thoroughly, even painstakingly, researched biography was very frustrating. On the one hand, Wallis provided incisive, comprehensive context, both historical and cultural, for the phenomenon of Billy the Kid. In this regard, the book was exceptional. On the other hand, the almost total lack of reliable records and contemporaneous accounts of William Bonney, aka Henry Atrim, made this biography almost worthless in offering insights into the character or motives of this folk hero. The book explained how Billy the Kid captured the American imagination, but it offered little about who he was.
I do not fault Wallis for this. It is a quixotic task to uncover facts about William Bonney. Historians have spent lifetimes pouring over census records, ships' manifests, country records offices and court transcripts attempting to discover some objective truth about an otherwise unremarkable bastard child of Irish immigrants from a time when he was merely one among millions. If nothing else, Wallis is successful in explaining just how little is reliably known about someone so familiar in American pop culture.
One thing Wallis does exceptionally well is setting the legend of Billy the Kid in the political context of Lincoln County, NW in the second decade of the post-Civil War era, where Republicans and Democrats waged a perpetual recapitulation of that conflict by proxy. Ironically, the peripheral characters of the Kid saga left a big footprint in history, so that Wallis is able to flesh out the particulars of The Lincoln County War in surprising detail. Bit players like Tunstall, McSween, Chisum and Dolan are presented in vivid, almost exhaustive detail, which makes the dearth of fact about William Bonney all the more irritating.
Finally, Wallis devotes significant time to presenting an overview of American popular culture, along with a precis of the apparatus which spawned and propagated the myth of Billy the Kid. Again, his scholarship here is first-rate but highly readable. The reader is left with an appreciation of the mechanism by which celebrities become icons in America.
Still, I wish I had closed this book feeling like I understood just a little bit more about who William Bonney, aka William McCarty, aka Henry Atrim, aka The Kid, aka Billy the Kid, actually was. As I finished the book,I could not help speculating about a similar reaction in some second century Roman as he pondered the most recent biography of a Palestianian folk hero from 120-years past whose personality lay lost in the legend.
I do not fault Wallis for this. It is a quixotic task to uncover facts about William Bonney. Historians have spent lifetimes pouring over census records, ships' manifests, country records offices and court transcripts attempting to discover some objective truth about an otherwise unremarkable bastard child of Irish immigrants from a time when he was merely one among millions. If nothing else, Wallis is successful in explaining just how little is reliably known about someone so familiar in American pop culture.
One thing Wallis does exceptionally well is setting the legend of Billy the Kid in the political context of Lincoln County, NW in the second decade of the post-Civil War era, where Republicans and Democrats waged a perpetual recapitulation of that conflict by proxy. Ironically, the peripheral characters of the Kid saga left a big footprint in history, so that Wallis is able to flesh out the particulars of The Lincoln County War in surprising detail. Bit players like Tunstall, McSween, Chisum and Dolan are presented in vivid, almost exhaustive detail, which makes the dearth of fact about William Bonney all the more irritating.
Finally, Wallis devotes significant time to presenting an overview of American popular culture, along with a precis of the apparatus which spawned and propagated the myth of Billy the Kid. Again, his scholarship here is first-rate but highly readable. The reader is left with an appreciation of the mechanism by which celebrities become icons in America.
Still, I wish I had closed this book feeling like I understood just a little bit more about who William Bonney, aka William McCarty, aka Henry Atrim, aka The Kid, aka Billy the Kid, actually was. As I finished the book,I could not help speculating about a similar reaction in some second century Roman as he pondered the most recent biography of a Palestianian folk hero from 120-years past whose personality lay lost in the legend.
December 14, 2020
Well, I just read this book, and I think I can give it a good recommendation. I have read Robert Utley's biography of Billy, and I think Wallis does him more justice, though I wouldn't speak ill of Utley's book.
What Wallis does is assemble the few facts that one can definitely put weight on in Billy's life. His birthdate is only speculation, his birthplace is only speculation, even his father is a matter of conjecture. How and when his mother came to America (there were lots of Catherine Antrim's who arrived from Ireland in the years before Billy's nativity) is unknown. Very little is known about Bill, though many claim to know this or that about him. Wallis doesn't make claims he is not sure of.
Jesse James was not an appealing character. He was a racist brutal killer and thief, and little more.
While Wild Bill Hickok led an interesting life, he too was not a person of great depth of character. Like Billy, Hickok was as much a creation of the myth-making media, the dime novels of the day, as he was the quick draw artist of received history. My uncle Gordon, who shared by fascination for the mythic characters of the old west, once said to me: "Those famous names did not get those reputations out of the thin air. The ones who had the reps earned them." I do believe that. But of all of them, I think Billy is the most complex, the most interesting, and Wallis, in his thin volume, gives you a good sense of Billy's essence.
He could kill you if you crossed him. He could kill you if you disrespected him. But most of his time he was a member of a community that took pleasure in his presence. He was at least as comfortable in among Hispanic-Americans as he was among white Americans. He spoke fluent Spanish, and a good many of his girlfriends, of which he had, 0r seems to have had, more than a few, where Hispanics. But even there, the facts are sparse. One can intuit things about the world he moved in, but of very little of
Billy's life can one be certain. He shot Windy Bill Cahill because Windy Bill was a bully who was taunting him and giving him a beating. He shot "Texas Red" Joe Grant because Texas Red was a drunk who was getting ready to shoot Billy in the back.
There were several other murders of men who had murdered, or been involved in the murder of Billy's patron, John Tunstall, And then, when Billy was in jail in Lincoln and facing the gallows, Billy killed his jailer, James Bell, and then shot Bob Olinger full in the face with a shotgun. Bell was a decent man who did not deserve to die, and Billy said as much. But Bell stood in the way of Billy's freedom. Olinger was a bully who mercilessly taunted Billy and abused him, and few of the people in Lincoln missed him when he was gone.
And then Billy, who should have, and well could have, fled New Mexico and made a life for himself elsewhere, stayed. Why? Was it women? Was it just that he could not flee his familiar haunts. One finds oneself saying "go Billy, go," and yet he stays, and meets his fate in Pete Maxwell's bedroom.
New Mexico then was the most dangerous place in America. Life was cheap, and that Billy died from a gunshot was not surprising. What is worth contemplating is that Billy the Kid has become the largest, the most substantial, the most mythic icon of some essential facet of American life. He is the Abraham Lincoln of American outlaws, and understanding a bit of why that is is well worth your time.
Michael Wallis does a good job of giving you a sense of the outlines of Billy's life, but also his place in American history. If the Wild West is your thing, or an understanding of the role of violence in our mythology is important to you, this is a book not to be missed.
What Wallis does is assemble the few facts that one can definitely put weight on in Billy's life. His birthdate is only speculation, his birthplace is only speculation, even his father is a matter of conjecture. How and when his mother came to America (there were lots of Catherine Antrim's who arrived from Ireland in the years before Billy's nativity) is unknown. Very little is known about Bill, though many claim to know this or that about him. Wallis doesn't make claims he is not sure of.
Jesse James was not an appealing character. He was a racist brutal killer and thief, and little more.
While Wild Bill Hickok led an interesting life, he too was not a person of great depth of character. Like Billy, Hickok was as much a creation of the myth-making media, the dime novels of the day, as he was the quick draw artist of received history. My uncle Gordon, who shared by fascination for the mythic characters of the old west, once said to me: "Those famous names did not get those reputations out of the thin air. The ones who had the reps earned them." I do believe that. But of all of them, I think Billy is the most complex, the most interesting, and Wallis, in his thin volume, gives you a good sense of Billy's essence.
He could kill you if you crossed him. He could kill you if you disrespected him. But most of his time he was a member of a community that took pleasure in his presence. He was at least as comfortable in among Hispanic-Americans as he was among white Americans. He spoke fluent Spanish, and a good many of his girlfriends, of which he had, 0r seems to have had, more than a few, where Hispanics. But even there, the facts are sparse. One can intuit things about the world he moved in, but of very little of
Billy's life can one be certain. He shot Windy Bill Cahill because Windy Bill was a bully who was taunting him and giving him a beating. He shot "Texas Red" Joe Grant because Texas Red was a drunk who was getting ready to shoot Billy in the back.
There were several other murders of men who had murdered, or been involved in the murder of Billy's patron, John Tunstall, And then, when Billy was in jail in Lincoln and facing the gallows, Billy killed his jailer, James Bell, and then shot Bob Olinger full in the face with a shotgun. Bell was a decent man who did not deserve to die, and Billy said as much. But Bell stood in the way of Billy's freedom. Olinger was a bully who mercilessly taunted Billy and abused him, and few of the people in Lincoln missed him when he was gone.
And then Billy, who should have, and well could have, fled New Mexico and made a life for himself elsewhere, stayed. Why? Was it women? Was it just that he could not flee his familiar haunts. One finds oneself saying "go Billy, go," and yet he stays, and meets his fate in Pete Maxwell's bedroom.
New Mexico then was the most dangerous place in America. Life was cheap, and that Billy died from a gunshot was not surprising. What is worth contemplating is that Billy the Kid has become the largest, the most substantial, the most mythic icon of some essential facet of American life. He is the Abraham Lincoln of American outlaws, and understanding a bit of why that is is well worth your time.
Michael Wallis does a good job of giving you a sense of the outlines of Billy's life, but also his place in American history. If the Wild West is your thing, or an understanding of the role of violence in our mythology is important to you, this is a book not to be missed.
July 17, 2020
Trying to find a book about notorious New Mexico outlaw Henry McCarty, alias Henry Antrim, alias William Antrim, alias Kid Antrim, alias William H. Bonney *gasps for breath*, alias Billy Bonney, alias Billy the Kid, that is entertaining but also user-friendly can be somewhat of a challenge. On one hand you've got Robert Utley's "Billy the Kid: A Short and Violent Life," which is factually stunning and well-researched but also disappointingly dry. Then you've got pretty much everything Frederick Nolan has written about the Kid, which are well-written and scholarly, but are so detailed that by the end of them you feel as though you yourself have lived through the Lincoln County War. There has to be a middle ground for the curious fledgling Kid aficionado looking for a place to start, or the battle-scarred veteran who wants to revisit a favorite story but also wants to get in and out quickly. For that reason, I'm so glad that "Billy the Kid: The Endless Ride" by Michael Wallis and "To Hell on a Fast Horse" by Mark Gardner exist.
I've already sung the praises of Gardner's book, but I enjoyed Wallis's almost as much. Like Gardner, Wallis condenses volumes upon volumes of Billy the Kid/Lincoln County War material into a well-written, entertaining yet informative package. Unlike Gardner, he goes into much more detail about the 19th century society and geography that crafted the Kid into what and who he became. For this reason, they work as great companions to each other. Gardner goes into more detail about the events and personalities, while Wallis's focus is on the setting and the culture.
For those wanting a highly detailed, exhaustively researched account of the Kid's life, check out "The West of Billy the Kid" by Frederick Nolan. For those wanting a breezy and entertaining read that also tells you pretty much everything you need to know about Billy Bonney's life story and the world in which he lived, then you can't go wrong with "The Endless Ride."
I've already sung the praises of Gardner's book, but I enjoyed Wallis's almost as much. Like Gardner, Wallis condenses volumes upon volumes of Billy the Kid/Lincoln County War material into a well-written, entertaining yet informative package. Unlike Gardner, he goes into much more detail about the 19th century society and geography that crafted the Kid into what and who he became. For this reason, they work as great companions to each other. Gardner goes into more detail about the events and personalities, while Wallis's focus is on the setting and the culture.
For those wanting a highly detailed, exhaustively researched account of the Kid's life, check out "The West of Billy the Kid" by Frederick Nolan. For those wanting a breezy and entertaining read that also tells you pretty much everything you need to know about Billy Bonney's life story and the world in which he lived, then you can't go wrong with "The Endless Ride."
January 3, 2015
“Billy the Kid” by Michael Wallis, published by W. W. Norton & Company.
Category – History/ Old West Publication Date – March 10, 2008
The exploits of Billy the Kid have been told over the years. The vast majority of these stories paint Billy as a ruthless psychopathic killer. He has been labeled with killing over twenty people, but is this the true Billy the Kid.
Michael Wallis in his book puts together a much different story of Billy the Kid. Maybe the Kid was a much maligned individual and did not deserve the negative notoriety he received. Many people believed that he was a modern day Robin Hood of his time.
Wallis, through exhaustive research is able to disclaim many of the tales attributed to Billy, in fact, Billy may have been only responsible for four killings and one could say that they were in self-defensive. It is without a doubt that atrocities took place in the New Mexico Territory that were far more horrible than what Billy is accused of that never were brought to trail or were dismissed for one reason or another.
Wallis also portrays Billy as a young vibrant fun loving individual who was no worse than any young man of the time. He also proposes that Billy may have been the scapegoat to prove that law had finally come to the New Mexico Territory.
“Billy the Kid” is not just about Billy, but a history of the Wild West, in fact, most of the book concerns itself with not only the perceived Indian problem but also the perceived Mexican problem. It also shows the transition of a totally lawless society to an almost lawful society, and one wonders how much of this was due to the total exaggeration of the life of “Billy the Kid””.
Category – History/ Old West Publication Date – March 10, 2008
The exploits of Billy the Kid have been told over the years. The vast majority of these stories paint Billy as a ruthless psychopathic killer. He has been labeled with killing over twenty people, but is this the true Billy the Kid.
Michael Wallis in his book puts together a much different story of Billy the Kid. Maybe the Kid was a much maligned individual and did not deserve the negative notoriety he received. Many people believed that he was a modern day Robin Hood of his time.
Wallis, through exhaustive research is able to disclaim many of the tales attributed to Billy, in fact, Billy may have been only responsible for four killings and one could say that they were in self-defensive. It is without a doubt that atrocities took place in the New Mexico Territory that were far more horrible than what Billy is accused of that never were brought to trail or were dismissed for one reason or another.
Wallis also portrays Billy as a young vibrant fun loving individual who was no worse than any young man of the time. He also proposes that Billy may have been the scapegoat to prove that law had finally come to the New Mexico Territory.
“Billy the Kid” is not just about Billy, but a history of the Wild West, in fact, most of the book concerns itself with not only the perceived Indian problem but also the perceived Mexican problem. It also shows the transition of a totally lawless society to an almost lawful society, and one wonders how much of this was due to the total exaggeration of the life of “Billy the Kid””.
February 21, 2012
This was definitely interesting and well done. It was more scholarly in tone than I expected, but that isn't a bad thing. I thought he did a good job of not painting him as a villain or a hero, just telling his life story, and leaving it to you to make up your mind about him.
I was listening to this, rather than reading it, and I was sometimes a bit distracted during the historical background sections, so I ended up not quite following exactly what he was doing. Anyway, that sentence wasn't a very good one. The point is, I still don't know what I think about whether he was more good or bad. Very interesting character, though, and I think a good book for anyone interested in learning more about him and this time in American History.
I was listening to this, rather than reading it, and I was sometimes a bit distracted during the historical background sections, so I ended up not quite following exactly what he was doing. Anyway, that sentence wasn't a very good one. The point is, I still don't know what I think about whether he was more good or bad. Very interesting character, though, and I think a good book for anyone interested in learning more about him and this time in American History.
Read
August 29, 2016This author attempts to piece together the life of Billy the Kid in an unbiased manner. He clearly read many of the books already out there about the Kid, interviewed anyone who might have information and then wrote this book. He also provides an historical overview of the period of history in which Billy the Kid lived so that he could be judged in light of the times. Overall it was a good book except that it could have been much shorter given that much of the information was repeated sometimes several times. The book also jumps back and forth in time which made it a little difficult to follow.
June 5, 2008
The author of this book is the voice of "Sheriff" from the movie Cars (and has some of the best lines in the movie), and apparently he has also written a very good book on the history of Route 66. He obviously loves and knows the West, and tries hard to write a good book here, but unfortunately there is just far too little real information about this elusive figure and far too much myth. He spends most of the book deconstructing the myths, but can't replace them with many hards facts because they just aren't out there to be found.
November 28, 2022
This was a fairly interesting biography of an American legend. Of course you come to realize nearly all of the legend is made up in dime novels and pulp books of the era. He was still a pretty amazing shot, to make up for his small frame. Interesting tidbits were learned here and there. Sometimes it got a little dense with other names and that just usually doesn't sink in well when I'm listening to an audio book. The narrator did a nice job, though.
January 18, 2023
Read for Wayne… not my kinda book. Skimmed alot of it
March 1, 2021
TITLE: Billy the Kid: The Endless Ride
AUTHOR: Michael Wallis
GENRE: Wild West History
PAGES: 368
FORMAT: E-book
PRICE: $17.95 paperback; $13.49 e-book
Among the wild west’s larger than life figures, Billy the Kid ranks in the top five of notable figures. Between books, movies and music, Billy the Kid remains at the forefront of our imagination. The question that is seldom asked is who was he REALLY?
Michael Wallis give us the answer in his book Billy the Kid: The Endless Ride. In this book, Wallis traces Billy the Kid’s beginnings from New York city to Silver City, Colorado. It is in Silver City that the story really starts to take shape. Up until Silver City, not much is known about Billy. There is no mention of his biological father, because he is relatively unknown. Billy the kid’s last name changes in Silver City, when his mother marries a man with the last name of Antrim, and he adopts Billy and his brother Joe. Even the step father has no impact on Billy’s life because he was gone most of the time trying to get rich. Billy’s life of crime starts shortly after the death of his mother. His first criminal act was stealing several pounds of butter. He was jailed, but escaped and started his life on the run. The rest, as they say, is history. No part of Billy’s life was spared, and Wallis did an excellent job peeling back the legend from the truth.
This book is perfect for anyone interested in the wild west, the life of Billy the Kid, or biographies in general.
I give it 4.5 stars out of 5.
AUTHOR: Michael Wallis
GENRE: Wild West History
PAGES: 368
FORMAT: E-book
PRICE: $17.95 paperback; $13.49 e-book
Among the wild west’s larger than life figures, Billy the Kid ranks in the top five of notable figures. Between books, movies and music, Billy the Kid remains at the forefront of our imagination. The question that is seldom asked is who was he REALLY?
Michael Wallis give us the answer in his book Billy the Kid: The Endless Ride. In this book, Wallis traces Billy the Kid’s beginnings from New York city to Silver City, Colorado. It is in Silver City that the story really starts to take shape. Up until Silver City, not much is known about Billy. There is no mention of his biological father, because he is relatively unknown. Billy the kid’s last name changes in Silver City, when his mother marries a man with the last name of Antrim, and he adopts Billy and his brother Joe. Even the step father has no impact on Billy’s life because he was gone most of the time trying to get rich. Billy’s life of crime starts shortly after the death of his mother. His first criminal act was stealing several pounds of butter. He was jailed, but escaped and started his life on the run. The rest, as they say, is history. No part of Billy’s life was spared, and Wallis did an excellent job peeling back the legend from the truth.
This book is perfect for anyone interested in the wild west, the life of Billy the Kid, or biographies in general.
I give it 4.5 stars out of 5.
April 30, 2016
Billy the Kid by Michael Wallis does an excellent job of sorting the myth from the man and begins to paint a clear picture of the infamous Billy the Kid. So much of the history of the west is plagued by a lack of sources and misinformation from dime novels and eastern newspapers that until the last 10 years there has not been a serious effort to sort out the facts and the fiction. In fact unless the US military was involved and the sources were better preserved an effort was barely made at all. Billy the Kid did not have many interactions with the US military and Wallis has done an excellent job of looking back at diaries, digging through county records and photos to piece together what little we know about this "outlaw". Probably the most important reminder in the book is that Billy the Kid was today's version of a troubled youth. His body count is only confirmed at four and while more is possible Wallis does an excellent job of reminding people the facts that are known. This book is a story of the legacy of Billy the Kid more than the outlaws deeds and focuses on how people portrayed him and his place in the American west. A very clearly picture of frontier life is painted. All this being said the book can be tedious especially if you do not have a passion for history so I do urge caution in that regard as this is a careful analysis of known facts and not simply speculation on his outlaw deeds.
July 13, 2013
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!
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!
July 14, 2017
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 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).
For more reviews and bookish posts please visit: http://www.ManOfLaBook.com
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 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).
For more reviews and bookish posts please visit: http://www.ManOfLaBook.com
April 16, 2019
Billy the Kid is an infamous outlaw of wild west, who is often misrepresented because of the years of myth that were created. It is often difficult to separate fact from fiction when talking about the young man that was Billy, however Billy the Kid: The endless Ride examines the Kid as honestly as can be done for someone so shrouded in myth and legend. The author also does an excellent job at looking at what was going on at the time that would have influenced Billy to be the way that he was. Throughout the book it examines the entirety of Billy’s life from beginning to end with historical context, and what is widely accepted and proven true of Billy’s life and circumstances. However the author does not shy away from some of the other theories about Billy’s life, although he does explain why they are not likely to be true. The book also talks about some of the larger influencers in Billy’s life, including the Sheriffs that tried to arrest him, and the outlaws and friends that did everything in their power to help and protect him. All in all this was a very good book that took a very honest view of a boy that became a legend. I gave this book five stars.
August 5, 2014
Author gets in the way at times. A bit too much "personality." And his otherwise well researched book appears to have at least one outstanding gap. No detail re an essential historical point which, although somewhat incidental in biographical terms, leads to a critical turning point in the life of The Kid: was there any validity to the Dolan & Murphy legal suit that McSween swindled them? This is the crux of the matter leading to the murder of Tunstall, Billy's employer and mentor, the subsequent formation of the Regulators and the escalation of violence referred to as the "Lincoln County War" that wrote Billy the Kid into history.
Overall p.o.v. seems fairly well balanced, though, and I get the impression that the author did well with the difficult task of sorting out the myth & fiction.
Overall p.o.v. seems fairly well balanced, though, and I get the impression that the author did well with the difficult task of sorting out the myth & fiction.
February 22, 2019
This narrative history tells the story of a short life clearly, carefully and as accurately as possible considering there are almost no certainties about the Kid's life. Wallis does an excellent good job of balancing biography with historiography. He does not let the mythical Kid of later years dominate the book. He touches on how popular literature mythologized the Kid without attempting a comprehensive review of the material. That task that would fill volumes and add nothing to our understanding of the Kid given that most of the material was complete fiction. I recommend this informative look at a small slice of the real West to anyone interested in the subject or the wider topic of how the real West became the 'West of the Imagination' in dime novels and motion pictures.
August 15, 2019
Not many facts are known about Billy the Kid's life. He has been known by many names and even his birthplace remains a mystery. Writing about one of the most iconic American outlaws therefore was a difficult task that Michael Wallis ends up doing pretty well in this biography. A great part of this book is about context and the author ends up assuming what Billy and his fellow outlaws probably did rather than describing facts. This is alright because the writing style is very readable and the world the Kid lived in was pretty fascinating.
The Endless Ride is very pleasant to read along and it's nice to learn about real (or close to real) events about the Kid's life rather than the whole legend that was built around him.
The Endless Ride is very pleasant to read along and it's nice to learn about real (or close to real) events about the Kid's life rather than the whole legend that was built around him.
March 30, 2015
Historically, Billy the Kid has been portrayed as either a wild west Robin Hood or a sadistic, demonic, cold-blooded killer. Mr. Wallis' research and biography of Billy the Kid aims to portray him for the young man he really was. Billy the Kid was a product of his circumstances and was really neither of the traditional portrayals. The book is well researched and written. It is engaging and informative. Though the author has a penchant for repeatedly hinting at the outcome in annoying and unnecessary ways as if to justify the background and ancillary information he gives. That data is important to and inherent in all good biographies and histories.
August 16, 2018
I enjoyed this very much. I have always had a fascination with Billy the Kid and have studied him most of my life. There were a few things in here that I didn't know, mostly about his early years before the Lincoln County War so that's pretty cool. Mr. Wallis is a good historian and researcher and I had the privilege of meeting him on one of his tours of Route 66. The gentleman was kind enough to talk to me a few minutes and sign this book. Coincidentally I had a trip already planned to travel through New Mexico and visit some of the sights of "the Kid" all some kind of fortuitous encounter. I really look forward to reading some more of his work, most notably the Donner Party book.
September 21, 2008
Mr. Wallis has written a well-researched book. Despite the fact that tere are tons of endnotes (and I mean tons -- at least 2 superscripts in most paragraphs), the superscripts do not interrupt the flow of the narrative.
Billy the Kid is shown as a human being with all the flaws that humans have. He also is shown to have loyalty, love, attractiveness. He is usually portrayed either as a hero or a villain. This portrayal shows that he may have been a bit of both, and traces those characteristics.
Billy the Kid is shown as a human being with all the flaws that humans have. He also is shown to have loyalty, love, attractiveness. He is usually portrayed either as a hero or a villain. This portrayal shows that he may have been a bit of both, and traces those characteristics.
September 30, 2015
Michael Wallis is one of the great storytellers of our time. His words evoke the era when the west was still wild. You can hear the howl of the western wind as it blows across the mesas and rattles in the sage bush. Wallis, in his compassionate and gentle way, helps the reader understand the profound loneliness of a boy caught up in circumstances which led to his shedding the blood of others in what amounted to a war to define what the western lands would become. This story will lead anyone interested in the myth of Billy the Kid into the realization that the kid was flesh and blood.
July 6, 2016
The book gave me a sense of place, of the politics, culture and socioeconomic environment in which Billy existed. This really helped me to have a better understanding of the boy as a human and not a myth. And he was just that, a young boy growing up in very difficult circumstances. I appreciated how the writer showed the chaotic politics of the Lincoln County War and the confusion of loyalties among the participants. Everyone knows of Billy the Kid, but after reading the book I have a better understanding of Billy the human.
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September 26, 2016How enigmatic is Billy the Kid! An honest biography, like this one, must admit that no one knows his birthplace, or anything for sure about his early life – even his real name. Only one photograph of him survives! Billy first historically appears in New Mexico in 1875, as if riding out of a mystic portal & manifesting in our space-time continuum.* He’s the American Joan of Arc! (Also Billy was fluent in Spanish: the language of his last words.)
*His first recorded act – stealing a basket of laundry.
*His first recorded act – stealing a basket of laundry.
February 8, 2017
A very good book as introduction to the Billy the Kid. Of course I had heard about him many times before, but never read a book about Kid Antrim. Wallis' book has a good length and is much very readable. Flaws are that some topics are very stretched and others very briefly. There seems to be even more description of the city of Denver than the actual killing of Billy the Kid in 1881. But overall I very much enjoyed the book and recommend it for reading.
February 12, 2022
I liked the way this author wrote this book. It was not only a story about Billy the Kid but the author also tried to give a history of the towns, events, people, and items that Billy came into contact with. The author also tried to show what is accurate and what is pure specualtion or fiction on Billy the Kid. This author is worth reading again.
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