In the Shadow of Billy the Kid

Susan McSween and the Lincoln County War

By: Kathleen P. Chamberlain

Narrated by: Karen Commins

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.

©2013 University of New Mexico Press (P)2013 Redwood Audiobooks

Critic reviews

“At last, we have a biography of Susan McSween -- survivor of the Lincoln County War... An excellent addition to the scholarship about the Lincolon County War and women in the American West.” (Cheryl J. Foote, author of Women of the New Mexico Frontier, 1846-1912)

Old western

Very interesting to hear her life story and how the Lincoln County War molded her later years. Great for anyone interested in anything regarding that time. Only knock is the voice the narrator made when pretending to be Susan.

Very informative

The historical perspective of women's role in the Lincoln County war was refreshing. Performance very good.

Great Listen

I highly recommend this book. Well narrated and full of valuable insights into the other players in the Lincoln County War