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Burns: The Saga of Billy the Kid - Legends of the West

Currency:USD Category:Books / Nonfiction Books Start Price:5.00 USD Estimated At:15.00 - 20.00 USD
Burns: The Saga of Billy the Kid - Legends of the West
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Books: Lots 1 to 733

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Burns, Walter Noble. THE SAGA OF BILLY THE KID - LEGENDS OF THE WEST. Longmeadow Press, Stamford. 1992. 8vo. xxvi, (2), 322, (2) pages. original russet leatherette, gilt, jacket. Facsimile reprint of the 1926 edition. B&w photo. English text. The David Baker Library. Fine. The brief career of William Bonney, better known as Billy the Kid, was set against the backdrop of the cattle boom that transformed the West after the Civil War. As a child Billy moved from the East to New Mexico, where he was to 'paint his name in flaming colors with a six-shooter across the sky.' He was said to have killed one man for every year of his short life. He was twenty-one when Pat Garrett shot him and killed him.
It is very difficult to disentangle fact from fiction when dealing with Billy. Almost immediately after his death he became enshrined in dime novels where he was portrayed alternately as hero and villain. Walter Noble Burns set out to put the record straight. He traveled extensively in New Mexico where he interviewed Billy's contemporaries and witnesses to the events of his life. Burns captures all the flavor of the period and describes the historical conditions against which Billy played out his brief life's drama. The portrait that emerges shaped a generation's perception of the Western outlaw and his place in society.
Billy had been friends with the man who would finally bring him down. In fact, he had been a guest at Pat Garrett's wedding. Perhaps if things had turned out differently they might have ended up as lawmen together. But if that had happened his legend would not be as great as it is today. Billy's appeal lies in the fact that he fought the law and the forces of civilization and conformity. Pat Garrett surrendered to these forces. Billy wanted to remain free. Lot weight: 1 lbs 5oz. Subject(s): American Western Biographical History.