Richard W. Etulain, "Thunder in the West: The Life and Legends of Billy the Kid" (U Oklahoma Press, 2020)

New Books in American Studies · Mar 7, 2022 · 57m

Henry McCarty, aka William H. Bonney, aka Billy the Kid, is one of the most well known figures from the American West. His short life made an outsized impact on American folklore and popular culture, and his story has been told and retold for a century and a half after his death. In Thunder in the West: The Life and Legends of Billy the Kid (U Oklahoma Press, 2020), historian Richard Etulain, emeritus professor at the University of New Mexico, tackles both the real life story and the ever-changing legend of Billy the Kid. From his largely unknown early life to the critical year of 1878 to his…