num_pages: 284
description: “It’s certain to remain the authoritative biography that at last makes the Kid’s life whole and understandable.” — San Francisco Chronicle Robert M. Utley does what countless books, movies, television shows, musical compositions, and paintings have failed to he successfully strips off the veneer of legendry to expose the reality of Billy the Kid. Using previously untapped sources, he presents an engrossing story—the most complete and accurate ever—of a youthful hoodlum and sometime killer who found his calling in New Mexico’s bloody power struggle known as the Lincoln County War. In unmasking the legend Utley also tells us much about our heritage of frontier vigilantism and violence.          
language: English
title: Billy the Kid: A Short and Violent Life
titlecomplete: Billy the Kid: A Short and Violent Life
characters: Billy the Kid
genres: Biography, Westerns, Nonfiction, American History, History, True Crime
ratings_count: 330
publisher: Bison Books