n nHere is the most detailed and most engagingly narrated history to date of the legendary two-year facedown and shootout in Lincoln. Until now, New Mexicos late nineteenth-century Lincoln County War has served primarily as the backdrop for a succession of mythical renderings of Billy the Kid in American popular culture. n nIn research, writing, and interpretation, High Noon in Lincoln is a superb book. It is one of the best books (maybe the best) ever written on a violent episode in the West.--Richard Maxwell Brown author of Strain of Violence: Historical Studies of American Violence and Vigilantism n nA masterful account of the actual facts of the gory Lincoln County War and the role of Billy the Kid. . . . Utley separates the truth from legend without detracting from the gripping suspense and human interest of the story.--Alvin M. Josephy, Jr.n