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Robert Marshall Utley
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Wanted: The Outlaw Lives of Billy the Kid & Ned Kelly (The Lamar Series in Western History) Kindle Edition

by Robert M. Utley (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 27 ratings
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Two famous 19th century outlaws from opposite sides of the world are brought to rollicking life in the acclaimed historian’s “marvelous dual biography” (Douglas Brinkley, author of The Wilderness Warrior).
 
The legendary exploits of Billy the Kid and Ned Kelly live on in the public imaginations of their respective countries, the United States and Australia. But the outlaws’ reputations are so mythologized, the truth of their lives has become obscure. In Wanted, Robert M. Utley reveals the true stories and parallel courses of the two notorious contemporaries who lived by the gun, were executed while still in their twenties, and remain compelling figures in the folklore of their homelands.

Utley draws sharp portraits of both young men, offering insightful comparisons of their lives and legacies. Billy was a fun-loving sharpshooter who excelled at escape and lived on the run after indictment for his role in the Lincoln Country War. While Ned, raised in the bush by his Irish convict father, was driven by outrage against British colonial authority to steal cattle and sheep, kill three policemen, and rob banks for the benefit of impoverished Irish sympathizers. Recounting their exploits, differences, and shared fates, Utley illuminates the worlds in which they lived on opposite sides of the globe.
 
“Robert M. Utley displays the gifts that have made him a storied interpreter of the nineteenth-century west.”—T. J. Stiles, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The First Tycoon
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  1. Part of series
    The Lamar Series in Western History
  2. Print length
    256 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publisher
    Yale University Press
  6. Publication date
    November 17, 2015
  7. File size
    10682 KB
  8. Page Flip
    Enabled
  9. Word Wise
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  10. Enhanced typesetting
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  11. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A classic study for the ages." ---Douglas Brinkley, author of The Wilderness Warrior

About the Author

Robert M. Utley is the award-winning author of more than twenty books on western American history, including Sitting Bull and Lone Star Lawmen. He made his career in the National Park Service, rising to the position of chief historian and assistant director of the service. He lives in Scottsdale, Arizona.

An award-winning audio engineer for over forty years, Tom Perkins has expanded his skills to narrating and has more than sixty titles to his credit. He learned by working with the world's best voice talent during his career, and he continues to engineer a variety of projects.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B017DNAIA8
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Yale University Press (November 17, 2015)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 17, 2015
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 10682 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 27 ratings

About the author

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Robert Marshall Utley

Robert Marshall Utley

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Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5
27 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent telling of billy the kid & Ned Kelly.
Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2019
Verified Purchase
I liked it all. Good read, not too pedantic. I would recommend it.
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ceebee19
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, but comparison doesn't quite do it for me!
Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2023
I was eager to read this book. Utley writes well, and as an American I knew next to nothing about Ned Kelly. Now that I've finished, though, I find myself scratching my head.

Utley describes each individual's life reasonably well but devotes far more attention to Ned Kelly than to Billy the Kid. As another reviewer notes, this may stem from a greater wealth of Kelly documentation. However, Utley offers little more than a bare-bones factual account of the Kid, briskly dismissing ongoing legends like Brushy Bill's claims as falsehoods and misinformation. This seems quite odd given the play he affords Kelly lore and his own claimed effort to portray these as comparable icons.

Yet it's in the very repetitive comparison section that Utley truly disappoints. Sure, these were both violent young men who emerged as outlaw leaders. But the similarities mostly end there. By the time I had made it halfway through Kelly's biography, I questioned if/how/when Utley could meaningfully unite the two men's stories. He definitely tries, especially with his discussion of the Kelly and the Kid as products (or perhaps reflections) of Australian and American West growing pains. And yet...and yet. In the end, Utley seemingly sympathizes with Australian admirers of Kelly as a murderer who nevertheless strove for a greater national good. By contrast, he all but paints American Kid admirers as stubborn (perhaps ignorant) fans who disregard brutal truths about an immature and "unimaginative" thug.

While I don't necessarily disagree with Utley's assessments of Kelly and the Kid as human beings, he hasn't convinced me that he considers them truly similar. Therefore, I wonder why he undertook this comparison at all! "Both were both famous outlaws whose legends still attract national interest and admiration" falls short of a solid rationale for this reader.
2 people found this helpful
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C. carter
4.0 out of 5 stars Very Interesting
Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2016
Verified Purchase
Interesting comparison of two contemporaries who led lives of crime but with different personalities.
One person found this helpful
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Hemingwayfan
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2017
Verified Purchase
Any history by Utley is great especially about Billy. Interesting comparison with Ned Kelly.
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Norman E. Todd
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2016
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Great book, by a prolific and accomplished author. Price, delivery, condition all excellent
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The Maestro
3.0 out of 5 stars Starting Point
Reviewed in the United States on July 1, 2016
This was an interesting read but not one that totally grabbed me. I'm unsure why Billy the Kid has the name he has whereas with Ned Kelly it stands out that he was a real rebel and regardless of your point of view, courageous to the end. This book is one to take you on a journey to other readings or research. It is concisely written; other authors would take you deeper into each man's life. For me Kelly was the more interesting and his suit of armour to protect him against the bullets of the police made him unique in bandit history.
One person found this helpful
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Ed I. Day
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2016
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Informing
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Alan
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on March 16, 2017
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As promised and quick delivery.
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Top reviews from other countries

Christopher R. Siddle
1.0 out of 5 stars Utley disappoints!
Reviewed in Canada on December 25, 2020
Verified Purchase
I have read other books by Mr. Utley, and have enjoyed them, so I am mystified about the dull repetitive nature of his comparative study of Billy the Kid and Ned Kelly. The Billy the Kid section is based upon a few suppositions repeated over and over again. The Ned Kelly section is better because his life was better documented originally. However, the comparative section is just material restated that had already been presented in the first two thirds of the book. Save your money and do not buy this book.
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