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Billy the Kid: A Short and Violent Life
Robert M. Utley Book Review

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Plot Summary of Billy the Kid: A Short and Violent Life
"This is the life of Billy the Kid. It focuses on how his outlaw career started, how he grew up a little during the Lincoln County War, and on outside forces that shaped him. He wanted to go straight, but broken promises and other things eventually prevented him."
Ann, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of Billy the Kid: A Short and Violent Life
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
job/profession: - criminal (killer)
Job/profession/poverty story Yes
Period of greatest activity? - 1800's

Subject of Biography
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - killer
Age: - a teen
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
Biography of famous person? Yes
Ethnicity - White
Nationality - American (!)
How sensitive is this person? - hard edged
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - very athletic

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 9 ()
Mountains/Cliffs Yes
Mountains: - climbing on trails
Farm/Ranch? Yes
Farm/Ranch: - ranch
Small town? Yes
Small town people: - hostile, like Gomer Pyle on steroids
Misc setting - prison - fort/military installation
Century: - 19th century

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
Book makes you feel? - thoughtful
Commentary on society? Yes
Commentary on - war - justice system - dying
Writer's slant towards subject: - neutral
Story of entire life, or part? - story of nearly entire life
How much dialogue in bio? - significantly more descript than dialog
How much of bio focuses on most famous period of life? - 76%-100% of book
How much is philosophy rather than life story? - 0-25% of book
Most similar books to Billy the Kid: A Short and Violent Life
Billy the Kid: Beyond the Grave by W.C. Jameson
Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper Case Closed by Patricia Cornwell
The Innocent Man by John Grisham
The Mad Trapper by Helena Katz
Another City, Not My Own by Dominick Dunne


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