True West - July-August 2025

In this issue

The Traveling Wake of Billy The Kid:
Buckeye Blake’s Bronze Vision Rides Into History at Fort Sumner
The Ultimate Summer Guide to the Best Western Books
PLUS:
Who Was The Real Hero of The Lincoln County War?
Is Young Guns III Going to Happen?
Pancho & Billy?
Rapid City “True Western Town”
Ride Into History On Our Favorite Heritage Railroads

The Toll of the Bell

Billy the Kid's jailer had a sordid past.

2 mins

Cowboy Al's Wild West Museum

One man's collection brings the Wild West East.

2 mins

Springtime in the West

Storms, sunsets and art auctions.

2 mins

The $6 Million Shot

They say history is written by the victors, but sometimes it's pawned, litigated, forgotten—and eventually sold for over $6 million at auction.

4 mins

THE RESURRECTION OF BILLY THE KID

It all starts with that only known photo of Billy the Kid. He is standing there with a rifle, right? That's what everyone's seen from the start—old newspaper clippings, whatever. But even when that photo was first taken, they doctored it. Tried to fix it right out of the gate. They botched it. It was badly done. So instead of seeing this smart little Irish kid, America saw a moron.

6 mins

BILLY BEFORE BURNS

BEFORE THE MYTH WAS PENNED, THE KID HAD ALREADY BECOME A LEGEND IN THEATERS, TABLOIDS AND THE AMERICAN IMAGINATION.

10+ mins

MARTÍN CHÁVEZ

•FORGOTTEN HOMBRE OF THE LINCOLN COUNTY WAR•

10+ mins

Brushy Billy

\"What people choose to believe is a fact in itself.\" -Leon Metz

4 mins

On the New Mexico Trail of Billy the Kid

A Kid Road Trip is the best thing for your soul.

4 mins

Will Rogers, the Chili Lover

He called it the cowboys' caviar and a bowl of blessedness.

3 mins

Heroes and Heroines of the West

New biographies by James B. Mills and Chris Enss, plus a rollicking volume of Western short stories, a history of Fort Worth, and insightful bios of Pancho Villa and Billy the Kid.

6 mins

The Way West

Western historians and novelists are the trailblazers who inspire our curiosity and passion for America's legendary lands and people.

3 mins

Val Kilmer's ‘Billy'

Billy himself would have approved.

7 mins

The Gateway to Mount Rushmore

Visit Rapid City, the “city of presidents,” on the way to the iconic monument.

3 mins

RELIVE THE GOLDEN AGE OF WESTERN RAILROADS

A True Westerner's guide to America's most historic train rides—where frontier lore, breathtaking landscapes and iron-horse grit meet on the tracks

10+ mins

Cavalcade of Ask The Marshall

Lessons I have learned during more than a quarter century of “Ask the Marshall.”

3 mins

Read all stories from {{magazineName}}

True West Magazine Description:

TRUE WEST captures the history of the American frontier through authentic and provocative literary nonfiction and heritage travel narratives that keep the spirit of the West alive.