Historian Wallis has spent several years re-creating the rich, anecdotal saga of Billy the Kid (1859-1881), a deeply mythologized young man who became a legend in his own time and yet remains an enigma to this day. With the Gilded Age in full swing and the Industrial Revolution reshaping the American landscape, "the Kid," who was gunned down by Sheriff Pat Garrett in the New Mexico Territory at the age of 21, became a new breed of celebrity outlaw. He arose amid the mystery and myth of the swiftly vanishing frontier and, sensationalized beyond recognition by the tabloids and dime-store romances of the day, emerged as one of the most enduring icons of the American West--not to mention one of Hollywood's most misrepresented characters. This new biography, filled with dozens of rare images and period photographs, separates myth from reality in its portrait of this brief and violent life.--From publisher description.

Map : Billy the Kid country -- Prologue. ÅQuién Es? -- 1. Once upon a time -- 2. On the trail -- 3. Wichita -- 4. Brotherhood of the gun -- 5. Contagious war -- 6. Pulp fiction -- 7. Silver threads among the gold -- 8. Land of little time -- 9. One step over the line -- 10. Gone on the scout -- 11. Saddle tramp -- 12. Kid Antrim -- 13. First blood -- 14. At large -- 15. Banditti -- 16. Seven Rivers -- 17. Billy Bonney -- 18. Eye of the storm -- 19. Dream killers -- 20. The unfortunate war spawns the myth -- 21. Endless war -- 22. Firestorm -- 23. Devil or angel -- 24. El Chivato -- Epilogue : Billy's never-ending ride.