The Lincoln County War: A Documentary History

by Frederick Nolan

Book by Nolan, Frederick W.

Genres: History

624 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Frederick William Nolan is an English editor and writer, mostly known as Frederick Nolan, but also using the pen names Donald Severn, Daniel Rockfern, Christine McGuire and Frederick H. Christian.

He was educated in Liverpool and Aberaeron, Wales. At the age of twenty one, he began the researches that established him as one of England's leading authorities on the American West. In 1954 he was co-founder of The English Westerners' Society.

Reviews

[Mark Warren]

Frederick Nolan has given Western historians a treasure. His work was essential for me in writing my book on Billy. Thank you Frederick! How does a man living in England become the premier authority on Lincoln County?

[Brad]

An exhaustive history of the infamous Lincoln County War of 1878-81. This book focuses primarily on John Tunstall and A.A. McSween rather than Billy the Kid. This is probably due to the fact that this book is indeed a history of the Lincoln County War, during which Billy the Kid was a somewhat minor player, his major contribution being in the ambush that killed Sherriff Brady and Deputy Hindman, much of his notoriety coming in his few remaining years after The Big Killing when McSween was killed on July 19th, 1878. In contrast, Tunstall and McSween were the principal drivers of their side of the war. It is also probably due to the fact that a lot more documentation exists for these two men than does for Billy the Kid.

A bit slow through the beginning as Frederick lays out the early lives and histories of the principal characters, it really picks up during the section where the chapters are headed, "War:...". From these chapters till the end is quite engaging.

It is interesting that of all the characters, Billy the Kid was the one who became mythologized and legendary, given his brief, largely undocumented life. The killing of Sheriff Brady and later his dramatic escape from jail and killing Deputies Bell and Ollinger cemented his legendary status.