Billy the Kid: El Bandido Simpático

by James B Mills

In the annals of American western history, few people have left behind such lasting and far-reaching fame as Billy the Kid. Some have suggested that his legend began with his death at the end of Pat Garrett’s revolver on the night of July 14, 1881, in Fort Sumner. Others believe that the legend began with his unforgettable jailbreak in Lincoln, New Mexico, several months prior on April 28, 1881. Others still insist his legend began with the publication in 1926 of Walter Noble Burns’s book, The Saga of Billy the Kid . James B. Mills has left no stone unturned in his twenty-year quest to tell the complete story of Billy the Kid. He explores the Kid’s disputable origins, his family’s migration from New York into the Southwest, and how he became an orphan, as well as his involvement in the Lincoln County War, his outlaw exploits, and his dealings with Governor Lew Wallace. Mills illuminates the Kid’s relationships with his enemies, lovers, and numerous friends to contextualize the man’s character beyond his death and legacy. Most importantly, Mills is the first historian to fully detail the Kid’s relations with New Mexicans of Spanish descent.     So, the question remains, who really was the person the world knows as Billy the Kid? Was he more than a young reprobate committed to a life of crime, who relished becoming the famous outlaw and cold-blooded, self-absorbed “sociopath” or “thug” that some still prefer him—need him—to be? Or was he in fact the generally good-hearted, generous, courteous, young vigilante that so many remembered with considerable fondness, who ultimately preferred the company of the more peaceable Hispanic population than his own Anglo people? In this groundbreaking biography, Mills takes the reader closer to the flesh-and-blood human being named Henry McCarty, alias William H. Bonney, than ever before.

Genres: Biography, History, Westerns

736 pages, Hardcover

Published June 27, 2022

About the author

James B. Mills was born in 1983 and resides in Australia. He has studied the American frontier and numerous other areas of history since childhood. He has published numerous articles for True West and Wild West magazines.

Reviews

[Richard West · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! 574 pages devoted to someone who only lived 21 years - does that make this book the ultimate biography of William Bonney/William Antrim/Billy The Kid or not? According to the blurbs on the dust jacket it is, and it is heavily researched - perhaps too much so - it even gets into biographical information about anyone The Kid came into contact with. Do we really need to know that a minor character in his life was born in 1840, was raised in Ohio and was a cow puncher starting at the age of 12?
But, make no mistake about it - minor characters getting too much play or not - the author is obviously very sympathetic towards young Mr. Bonney, yet at the same time manages to stay objective in presenting the life of the Old West's most famous outlaw who apparently did not kill as many people as popular fiction
has had him killing and was quite obviously a nice young man who was misunderstood, and who, if just a couple of other events in his life had gone differently would not have achieved the notoriety he did.
Billy was quite fluent in Spanish and was perhaps more comfortable around the Mexican population of New Mexico than he was around the white population which would explain why his reported last words were in Spanish as opposed to English. He was hiding among the Mexican population and was more than just a little bit enamored of a young lady......it's obvious they should have gone to Mexico and settled down there and Billy could have lived out his life there. But such was not the case and he paid the ultimate price.
Given little more than a passing mention was the claim by one Brushy Bill Roberts who died in 1950, claiming he was Billy and had not been shot by Pat Garrett. Considering all the evidence Roberts presented to prove he was Billy, perhaps more could have been devoted to debunking those claims than just mentioning it in one sentence. If you haven't read the Roberts book, you have to wonder. And if true, this is a nice biography of Billy, culminating in the shooting that killed someone else.
However, for someone who is interested in the Old West, Billy The Kid and the myths and truths surrounding his life, this book by Mills is highly recommended. And here's a kicker for you - the author is from Australia! Amazing that the definitive biography about one of the most famous people of America's Old West is from Down Under. Well done Mr. Mills.

[Taylor Hensel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book I’ve ever read on the subject. Ever. Engagingly written featuring stellar research and. This deserves to be the standard biography for decades to come. I flat out, unreservedly, unabashedly, fucking love this book. Outstanding.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I live in Lincoln County, New Mexico. I live here because of Billy the Kid. I was hired by the Lincoln Historical Site in 2014 to conduct oral history interviews with octogenarians one of whom was Frederick Nolan, the English author whose book did much to rehabilitate the Kid's image. I had read the Nolan and Utley books on BTK in preparation for my two week stay. I ended up buying a house 20 miles south of Lincoln during those two weeks.

So in 2024 I reacted with a headshake when I heard yet another book on the Kid was out. What was left to say? Evidently a lot. This is probably the most comprehensive book on him and it tells the story with an emphasis on his connection to our state's Spanish speaking peoples. It's thorough and not a quick read. I asked a local scholar his opinion of the book and he was critical of it for having lots of errors. I don't know what these errors were but I detected some professional jealousy. The author is a young Australian with a passion for his subject. He is not a hagiographer. I found his account very objective but maybe too in the weeds at times. The book won the 2023 Will Rogers Gold Medallion in Western Non-Fiction. It's the book to own on the Kid. Lots of pictures.

[Kat Karalis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Billy my favourite outlaw, they could **never**, make me hate you. When I first heard of this guy, I remember my first thought was “he’s an outlaw, how could anyone ever sympathize or like him?” But the various types of media I’ve consumed about him have completely changed my perspective on him. Billy was nothing but an ode to his alias, a kid, forced to make the decisions of an adult, having no one but a six shooter on his hip and his wits. Now I’m not saying he’s completely off the hook, he did bad shit, duh. But I can say this, in my heart he’ll always be someone who was an unfortunate victim of circumstances. I mean seriously, this book gave me the chance to put myself in his shoes and go through everything he went through and see what I would’ve done. I can guarantee I would not have made it to 21. Billy you’ll always have a special place in my heart , and anyone who’s got a hankering for Wild West retellings about outlaw, read. This.

[Calli Barton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great biography and documentation of Billy the Kids life through facts. There are so many books on Billy the kid that are pure literature. It was a good historical read. If you want to get to know the famous outlaw based on facts and others memoir, read this. The author Mills suggested some other good reads under this category, Billy the Kid that I'm going to check out.

[Mark Makowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mr. Mills gives an honest account of a young criminal who lived outside the confines of social restraint. I read “Billy the Kid” noting that he did not mature into manhood, as he lacked the ability to be a mature man.

He stole and killed without remorse. A sociopath whose actions were his own judge and jury and executioner. While he bemoaned to others his being a victim. Many a thug in today’s world acts the same. What amazes me is that he was a mere youth and that no one seems to be able to hold a candle to his mythic stature.

We can speculate on his fixations with his inner demons. He appears to have reacted to life’s events and not been thoughtful and planning. The most telling is that in his months of incarceration, his focus was how to escape and not what would change after said freedom.

[Monty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read over two dozen Billy the Kid biographies and Lincoln County War histories and this is by far the most comprehensive and best researched book ever written on this subject. This book will stay close to me as a reference guide for any other American Western books in the future. Well done and thank you James B. Mills.

[William L Nausley · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent book

Very long read but a lot of information that I had never heard about before. Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Would recommend it to anyone interested in New Mexico history.

[Mark Warren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Impressively researched. The Kid's world has been expanded for us by James Mills. Thank you, James!

[Brian Laslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want read a bio of Billy…this is what you’re looking for. Removing myth and legend, this is the definitive bio. Deeply researched, compellingly written.

[Keegan Cool · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the new definitive book on New Mexico's most famous son....Billy the Kid!

Don't let the length of it deter you, Mills delivers a masterclass in both literature and research that reads smooth as a novel. The history or Billy the Kid comes alive in the pages of "El Bandido Simpatico" and it showcases how intimate the Lincoln County War really was. Also a positive for this book is it feels like your actually reading about Billy, and not some overly romanticized or demonized version...but a real human being! To me this a must read, and has now overthrown "The Endless Ride" as my favorite Billy book!

Overall - 9.5 / 10.0