Having spent a summer in Lincoln County, New Mexico, I’ve always been fascinated by the legends of Billy The Kid, The Lincoln County War, The Regulators, and Sheriff Pat Garrett.
The romance, the mystery, the violence of the era all hold a mystic about it that continues to fascinate people today, as evidenced with the books, movies and songs that continue to celebrate the Old West and the characters who played major roles in it’s establishment.
Author and historical expert on the American West, Mark Lee Gardner’s book, “To Hell On A Fast Horse: Billy The Kid, Pat Garrett, and The Epic Chase To Justice in The Old West” is one of the most complete and freshest looks at the lives of these fabled men available today.
Gardner includes his years of research and plus volumes upon volumes of sources and citations to retell the story of the lives of Billy The Kid and Pat Garrett, two men whose deeds and actions will be forever linked together in history. From Billy’s childhood upbringing that took him from Indiana to New York to Kansas to the badlands of New Mexico in his short, but violent life to Alabama-born Pat Garrett’s pampered life as the son of a plantation owner and the loss of the family fortune that drove him to the West. Accountings of some of the most famous events in both men’s lives are told in a fresh new light as Gardner includes information from eyewitnesses, family members, and other sources he painstakingly unearthed.
Gardner also includes photos of some of the main players of this era, including the famous slouchily-posed Billy the Kid portrait, photos of some of his lady loves, as well as photos of Garrett’s family and cohorts.
You know a book is fascinating when even the appendix and notes are interesting to read, and you can almost feel the winds of Lincoln County breeze across your face and taste the sand of the streets that Billy and Pat walked in your mouth as you experience their lives and times through Gardner’s words.
“To Hell On A Fast Horse” is perfect to satisfy anyone’s interest in the Legendary Kid and the man who would bring him to Western justice.
Check out this video of Mark Lee Gardner discussing his book.
My thanks to Seale Ballenger and Dee Dee DeBartlo for the review copy of "To Tell On A Fast Horse." I received the review copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair review. I was not compensanted for my opinion.
