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Billy the Kid: A Captivating Guide to a Notorious Gunfighter of the American Old West and His Feud with Pat Garrett
Do you want to know more about the Old West’s most legendary outlaw? Then keep reading…
Billy the Kid once said that he killed twenty-one men—one for each year that he lived. While it’s more likely that he only killed eight or nine, this young outlaw was clearly deadly. But his brief and brutal life reveals how his tragic existence led him into a life of crime.
After growing up in poverty as an Irish immigrant in New York City and losing his father at a young age, Billy the Kid had to endure losing his mother when he was only fifteen. His stepfather walked out on him, and he was left with absolutely nothing. He turned to stealing, which started him out on a slippery slope that led him to murder after murder.
Billy the Kid has been lauded time and time again as a folk hero, even though he was a murderer. Yet, it’s easy to empathize with this young outlaw with a baby face and big blue eyes. His story is filled with jailbreaks, treachery, gangs, and bloodthirsty Old West feuds. He was vulnerable, naive, murderous, bloodthirsty, loyal, and charming, and all this made Billy the Kid the stuff of legend. But his story is entirely true…
In this book, you’ll learn more about the Kid’s escapades,
Scroll up and click the “add to cart” button to learn more about Billy the Kid!
Billy the Kid once said that he killed twenty-one men—one for each year that he lived. While it’s more likely that he only killed eight or nine, this young outlaw was clearly deadly. But his brief and brutal life reveals how his tragic existence led him into a life of crime.
After growing up in poverty as an Irish immigrant in New York City and losing his father at a young age, Billy the Kid had to endure losing his mother when he was only fifteen. His stepfather walked out on him, and he was left with absolutely nothing. He turned to stealing, which started him out on a slippery slope that led him to murder after murder.
Billy the Kid has been lauded time and time again as a folk hero, even though he was a murderer. Yet, it’s easy to empathize with this young outlaw with a baby face and big blue eyes. His story is filled with jailbreaks, treachery, gangs, and bloodthirsty Old West feuds. He was vulnerable, naive, murderous, bloodthirsty, loyal, and charming, and all this made Billy the Kid the stuff of legend. But his story is entirely true…
In this book, you’ll learn more about the Kid’s escapades,
Scroll up and click the “add to cart” button to learn more about Billy the Kid!
60 pages, Paperback
Published March 27, 2021
65 people are currently reading
81 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
October 19, 2023
Billy the Kid: A Captivating Guide
By Captivating History
I was watching the series on Billy the Kid on paid streaming and thought I would read up on him. I have forgotten everything I have read before.
It was pretty close to the show. I thought the movie was just trying to make Billy out to be just a guy bad by circumstances but it does seem he did kill people but only those that tried to kill him. The only one questionable one was the sheriff but he was really bad guy and Billy was riding with the Marshall.
By Captivating History
I was watching the series on Billy the Kid on paid streaming and thought I would read up on him. I have forgotten everything I have read before.
It was pretty close to the show. I thought the movie was just trying to make Billy out to be just a guy bad by circumstances but it does seem he did kill people but only those that tried to kill him. The only one questionable one was the sheriff but he was really bad guy and Billy was riding with the Marshall.
December 16, 2021
I must say that the title is correct, it definitely was a captivating non fiction about Billy the kid. It was successful in that it never went dull and dusty as some non fiction can be. Made me realize that I read rar too little books about the time period and need to change it in the future
October 11, 2021
Fascinating Read.
I’ve always been interested in the history of the USA’s ‘Wild West’ and the outlaws who resided there at the time.
This recounted story of the life and death of Billy the Kid’ reveals information about his tragic upbringing and subsequent fail from grace.
A fascinating read, well worth the time in doing so.
I’ve always been interested in the history of the USA’s ‘Wild West’ and the outlaws who resided there at the time.
This recounted story of the life and death of Billy the Kid’ reveals information about his tragic upbringing and subsequent fail from grace.
A fascinating read, well worth the time in doing so.
April 29, 2021
There is sort of a philosophical/scientific disagreement over which of two things has the most influence on how a person's personality develops. One idea that of nature. We are all born with certain genes which have certain effects on our bodies.
These will determine the potential we have physically but here is where nurture comes in. Taking this example of what type of body we will theoretically have, if we have very poor nutrition growing up and have other problems then we will never achieve our theoretical potential physically.
The same kind of thing can determine a lot of different how-close-do-we-get-to-our-potential for physical, mental and emotional things.
Billy the Kid is a really good example of this. The book notes that he was a very nice young boy. He had the potential to become a regular good, upstanding citizen. Because, though, of various people and things that happened to him he became a robber and a cold-blooded killer.
This, his nature was to be a nice person but his upbringing, his nurture, failed for various reasons and he turned to violence and crime.
The book goes into his birth, his parents, problems with religion, how his parents kept moving further and further west, the death of his mother, Indian attacks in the area he ended up in, and the very, very bad influence of various men he met and associated with.
The book goes into the types of crimes he committed, the Lincoln County Wars and a lawman that was determined to stop his killing spree which is exactly what happened.
The book is interesting from both a historical viewpoint and from a psychological viewpoint.
These will determine the potential we have physically but here is where nurture comes in. Taking this example of what type of body we will theoretically have, if we have very poor nutrition growing up and have other problems then we will never achieve our theoretical potential physically.
The same kind of thing can determine a lot of different how-close-do-we-get-to-our-potential for physical, mental and emotional things.
Billy the Kid is a really good example of this. The book notes that he was a very nice young boy. He had the potential to become a regular good, upstanding citizen. Because, though, of various people and things that happened to him he became a robber and a cold-blooded killer.
This, his nature was to be a nice person but his upbringing, his nurture, failed for various reasons and he turned to violence and crime.
The book goes into his birth, his parents, problems with religion, how his parents kept moving further and further west, the death of his mother, Indian attacks in the area he ended up in, and the very, very bad influence of various men he met and associated with.
The book goes into the types of crimes he committed, the Lincoln County Wars and a lawman that was determined to stop his killing spree which is exactly what happened.
The book is interesting from both a historical viewpoint and from a psychological viewpoint.
April 1, 2021
A very well-written and brief account of the life and times of one of Americas most infamous outlaws. The book succeeds in portraying Billy's tragic childhood and lack of male role models that ultimately resulted in him pursuing an ill-fated life of crime. The reader ends up empathising with this unlucky man and left with the realisation that the combination of a bad hand in life and bad choices can result in a promising life brought to ruin.
October 22, 2023
A PIECE OF HISTORY THAT READS AS A NOVEL INSTEAD OF A TEXTBOOK
Cold blooded killer, a folk hero, or a person that was placed into the circumstances and hardships that turned a well liked, intelligent, loyal, and polite young child/man into a man set on a life of rustling cattle and horses, drinking, gambling, whoring around, and committing murder. It's a sad tell of a life lived under hard times and wrong choices that ended in a violent life and a violent death. This book was well written and really surprised me at how it caught my interest and continued to hold it from the first page to the last.
Cold blooded killer, a folk hero, or a person that was placed into the circumstances and hardships that turned a well liked, intelligent, loyal, and polite young child/man into a man set on a life of rustling cattle and horses, drinking, gambling, whoring around, and committing murder. It's a sad tell of a life lived under hard times and wrong choices that ended in a violent life and a violent death. This book was well written and really surprised me at how it caught my interest and continued to hold it from the first page to the last.
March 29, 2021
Although short, it is very thorough!
I have previously read a much longer autobiography of Billy the Kid, yet it wasn’t as thorough as the captivating book about Billy the kid. I get kudos the captivating history for the stellar job they do on every topic, but this one I think was amazing and a book I have to have in my library. I highly recommend it!
I have previously read a much longer autobiography of Billy the Kid, yet it wasn’t as thorough as the captivating book about Billy the kid. I get kudos the captivating history for the stellar job they do on every topic, but this one I think was amazing and a book I have to have in my library. I highly recommend it!
May 17, 2021
Great informative couple hours reading.
Full of interesting facts with names and dates put together in an interesting and entertaining manner .
Great book for research material for historical fiction projects of your own. Allowing readers to view the characters from a different perspective, often of the characters themselves.
Looking forward to reading more of their work.
Full of interesting facts with names and dates put together in an interesting and entertaining manner .
Great book for research material for historical fiction projects of your own. Allowing readers to view the characters from a different perspective, often of the characters themselves.
Looking forward to reading more of their work.
April 1, 2021
Must tell I´ve been interested in many subjects, but never ever in Billy the Kid.. till now.
Learnt lots of facts in such an enjoyable way. Really good for both the ones willing to learn about the Wild West and those looking for new facts, in a brief book
Learnt lots of facts in such an enjoyable way. Really good for both the ones willing to learn about the Wild West and those looking for new facts, in a brief book
April 11, 2021
Well worth the read
I'm a huge fan of Billy the Kid. I'm writing a historical western romance book series circling the notorious outlaw. I've done tons of research and this book was just what I needed.
If you are a fan of the Kid, I highly recommend this read.
I'm a huge fan of Billy the Kid. I'm writing a historical western romance book series circling the notorious outlaw. I've done tons of research and this book was just what I needed.
If you are a fan of the Kid, I highly recommend this read.
March 29, 2021
The book is a brief history of this tumultuous life. It is written for those who do not want or do not have enough time to study history or historical events.
May 6, 2021
Short concise story of a young outlaw
A very disturbed and abused kid who could never figure himself out. It led him down roads he had no business going down
A very disturbed and abused kid who could never figure himself out. It led him down roads he had no business going down
July 12, 2021
Very interesting!
Much more information about his youth and growing up than I've ever heard or read of in the past. Great information!
Much more information about his youth and growing up than I've ever heard or read of in the past. Great information!
Read
August 25, 2021Great book
If you are curious about billy the kid gives you a good bit of information without being long winded. Really enjoyed the book.
If you are curious about billy the kid gives you a good bit of information without being long winded. Really enjoyed the book.
February 13, 2022
Short but sweet
Always been intrigued by Billy The Kid but didn’t know a lot about him. Love these Captivating History books. Get so much learning so fast!
Always been intrigued by Billy The Kid but didn’t know a lot about him. Love these Captivating History books. Get so much learning so fast!
June 7, 2022
Nicr
Good story lot of things that are disputed come to be not true.
Sad boy but he did kill 7-8 men. Poker by today's standards.
Good story lot of things that are disputed come to be not true.
Sad boy but he did kill 7-8 men. Poker by today's standards.
April 4, 2021
When I got this book from Captivating History's ARC, I had no idea who Billy the Kid was. So I decided to read it for getting new information. I'm happy that I took that decision.
This book is just a brief history of Billy the Kid, a poor boy who became a notorious killer. Another reason why I liked the book is because the author used different quotes which made the book interesting. One quote is - "he didn't choose crime, crime chose him", which is a good one. This book also has images, which makes us understand the book better.
This book is just a brief history of Billy the Kid, a poor boy who became a notorious killer. Another reason why I liked the book is because the author used different quotes which made the book interesting. One quote is - "he didn't choose crime, crime chose him", which is a good one. This book also has images, which makes us understand the book better.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews