The Journal of San Diego History
SAN DIEGO HISTORICAL SOCIETY QUARTERLY
Fall 1992, Volume 38, Number 4
Richard W. Crawford, Editor

Book Notes

Richard Griswold del Castillo, Book Review Editor

Billy the Kid: A Short and Violent Life.
By Robert M. Utley. Lincoln and London: University of Nebraska Press, 1989. 302 pages.

A magnificent biography and social history by an award-winning Western historian. Utley examines the legend and the reality of this famous outlaw using some new sources and his engaging style of writing. Experts who have studied “The Kid” believe that this history is the “most complete and accurate ever.” This volume provides good background for understanding the Lincoln County War as well as our heritage of frontier violence.