High Noon in Lincoln: Violence on the Western Frontier

by Robert M. Utley

Here is the most detailed and most engagingly narrated history to date of the legendary two-year facedown and shootout in Lincoln. Until now, New Mexico's late nineteenth-century Lincoln County War has served primarily as the backdrop for a succession of mythical renderings of Billy the Kid in American popular culture. "In research, writing, and interpretation, High Noon in Lincoln is a superb book. It is one of the best books (maybe the best) ever written on a violent episode in the West."--Richard Maxwell Brown author of Strain of Historical Studies of American Violence and Vigilantism "A masterful account of the actual facts of the gory Lincoln County War and the role of Billy the Kid. . . . Utley separates the truth from legend without detracting from the gripping suspense and human interest of the story."--Alvin M. Josephy, Jr.

Genres: History, American History, Nonfiction, Westerns, Biography Memoir, American

279 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

A specialist in Native American history and the history of the American West, Robert Marshall Utley was a former chief historian of the National Park Service. He earned a Bachelor of Science in history from Purdue University in 1951, and an Master of Arts in history from Indiana University in 1952. Utley served as Regional Historian of the Southwest Region of the NPS in Santa Fe from 1957 to 1964, and as Chief Historian in Washington, D.C. from 1964 until his retirement in 1980.

Reviews

[Patrick Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here is the thing about the Lincoln County Wars. Not one single pulp novel or movie seems to have been able to accurately portray what actually happened. William H. Bonney has been idolized, vilified, heroized and mythized in so many incantations no one seems to realize the actual chronology of events was much more interesting and amazing than any fictionalized version. Now that I have put ‘ize’ in as many words as I can fantasize . . . “High Noon in Lincoln” is one of the best Westerns you will read. And it isn’t a Western. The author avoids proselytizing (damn, there’s another one) or soaring into forays of literary fancy. From the assassination of John Tunstall, which begins the book, the serpentine labyrinth of social, economic, military, and political machinations are so unbelievable, it seems like fiction. This telling of the oft-told tale is as lucid as it is going to get. There is no doubt this is the best book to be written about Billy, Pat and the entire cast of characters so complicated and eccentric they couldn’t be made up. Step by step, sometimes minute by minute, nothing is left out and the sum of these parts makes for great fiction . . . uh . . . I mean history.

[Corey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reads like a scene by scene movie script -- almost questioning how so much detail was available about the Lincoln County war -- so much of this subject has been fictionalized and made into movies you have to wonder which story is accurate.

[Joe Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook version of this. I really enjoyed it. It covers all of the different phases of the "war" in Lincoln County. The author didn't spend a lot of time on William H. Bonney as he really focused on everyone, but especially the leaders of both sides as well as the US Army. At times, there seems to be too much names flying around to keep up with while listening to the book, but there were a lot of people involved in the "war".

The author comes out right at the beginning a tells you that there are no "good guys" in this war. He deliberately avoids trying to "pick a side" to support. He is more than welling to show the bad as well as the good by the individuals.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

B: High Noon in Lincoln: Violence on the Western Frontier by Robert M. Utley—I bought this book at the New Mexico History Museum in Santa Fe. I recommend the Museum which shows the multi-ethnic nature of this beautiful Southwest state. I first read of the Lincoln County War while in high school in a brief 2-3 pages in a much larger government study on violence in America which was commissioned as a result of the rioting of the late 1960s. Otherwise, I only saw it through the distorted lens of Westerns most notably John Wayne’s “Chisum.” I like Utley’s statement “the Lincoln County High Noon boasts not a single hero. Readers who must have a sympathetic character to identify with may put this book down now.” Many of the issues of the Lincoln County War still afflict America today.

[Randi Samuelson-Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meticulously researched, this was an interesting account of a brief era of violence in New Mexico. As the author says (and I agree) there were no heroes in this tale. This is not a Bill the Kid book per se, although he does figure into it. This is a study of what led up to the violence - and Utley is right. No one comes across looking all that good.

[Ernest J. Valfre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read on could occur when two opposite sides invoke law and order against each other. I like how the author started with the comment "there are no heroes here". Both sides committed murder for the sake of greed.

[Jason Sanders · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful read!

What a great capture of a territorial conflict, as important and enduring (if not more) as the legend of Billy the Kid!

[Mike Harmon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fine book, but you could just as well watch Young Guns and Young Guns II

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Utley explains it all with great photos and maps. He says there were no heroes and the war solved nothing except perhaps launching Billy the Kids into mythical status. Just a very interesting and readable book about all the participants. Utley plays no favorites as there were none. When I asked an expert on the subject the best book about the Lincoln War he recommended Utley's and as I start my research I'd have to agree with him.

[MTW · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic and well-researched account of the Lincoln County War. The author goes into immense detail about all of the players, circumstances, and outcomes surrounding the conflict. However, if you've come to this book looking for an in-depth biographical account of Billy the Kid you've come to the wrong spot. As history shows, The Kid was only one of dozens of players in this drama and the book treats him as such (rightly so). Still, a very enjoyable piece of non-fiction.