In the Shadow of Billy the Kid - by Kathleen P Chamberlain (Paperback)

About the Book

"Chamberlain argues that the focus on Billy the Kid has discouraged broader interpretations of the Lincoln County War; she provides a woman's perspective of the historic event and places Susan McSween's life and legacy into the larger context of New Mexico history and of women's experiences in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century Southwest"--Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

The events of July 19, 1878, marked the beginning of what became known as the Lincoln County War and catapulted Susan McSween and a young cowboy named Henry McCarty, alias Billy the Kid, into the history books. The so-called war, a fight for control of the mercantile economy of southeastern New Mexico, is one of the most documented conflicts in the history of the American West, but it is an event that up to now has been interpreted through the eyes of men. As a woman in a man's story, Susan McSween has been all but ignored. This is the first book to place her in a larger context. Clearly, the Lincoln County War was not her finest hour, just her best known. For decades afterward, she ran a successful cattle ranch. She watched New Mexico modernize and become a state. And she lived to tell the tales of the anarchistic territorial period many times.

From the Back Cover

The Lincoln County War catapulted Susan McSween and a young cowboy named Henry McCarty, alias Billy the Kid, into the history books. As a woman in a man's story, Susan McSween has been all but ignored. This is the first book to place her in a larger context.

About the Author

Kathleen P. Chamberlain is professor of history at Eastern Michigan University. She is the author of Victorio: Apache Leader and Warrior (2007) and Under Sacred Ground: A History of Navajo Oil, 1922-1982 (UNM Press, 2000) and coauthor of Power and Promise: The Changing American West with Gary C. Anderson (2008).