‘To Hell on a Fast Horse’ tells story of Billy the Kid, Pat Garrett

Having spent a summer in Lincoln County, N.M., 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 cast a mystique that still fascinates people today, as evidenced by the books, movies and songs that continue to celebrate the Old West and the characters who played major roles in its establishment.

Author Mark L. 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.

Gardner, a historical expert on the American West, includes his years of research as well as volumes upon volumes of sources and citations to retell the story of Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett, two men whose deeds and actions will be forever linked together in history.

Gardner recounts everything 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. Accounts 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 portrait of a slouchy Billy the Kid, 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 in your mouth as you experience Billy and Pat's lives 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.