
The 2020 Midwinter American Library Association Meeting meeting was held January 24-27 in the Philadelphia Convention Center. Over 10,000 librarians attended the Meeting. Participating through Foreword Reviews was Doc45 Publishing, the publisher of Killing Pat Garrett, The Wild West’s Most Famous Lawman – Murder Or Self-Defense? Foreword Reviews is the largest and best national organization representing Independent Publishers. The MALA Follow-Up Report on the 2020 Meeting by Foreword Reviews stated:
“…the genres that generated the most attention were the young adult fiction, fantasy fiction, multicultural picture books, and a nonfiction title about poverty. In addition, Killing Pat Garrett turned out to have local Philly connection and was the subject of many photos taken by visiting librarians to remind themselves to order when they got home.”
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Wild West Magazine – April, 2020
“Thomas… did extensive research (a dozen year’s worth) and wrote “Killing Pat Garrett“ as part of the Mesilla Valley History series….”
“Thomas had access to more than 80 letters Garrett wrote to his wife and also ‘discovered a multitude of new documents and details concerning Garrett’s killing, the events surrounding it, and the personal life of the man who was placed on trial for killing Garrett.’ The author includes a great many quotes… and supplements the text with 102 images, including four never-before published photos of Garrett and his family.”
“Not until Chapter 12 does Thomas reveal — though he drops plenty of hints earlier — what he thinks about this often-debated (in New Mexico and beyond) case…. Thomas makes a strong argument it was truly Brazel who pulled the trigger.” — Gregory Lalire, Editor, Wild West Magazine.
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Pinkerton History
Killing Pat Garrett, The Wild West’s Most Famous Lawman – Murder Or Self-Defense? Named 2020 Pasajero Del Camino Real Award Winner, honoring a significant historical publication on New Mexico history.
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Last year I wrote the play performed in the 2019 Pat Garrett Western Heritage Festival. The play was based on research I did for my “Killing Pat Garrett” book. It was satisfying seeing the words I wrote spoken on stage. But the real thrill was communal. A play is a group effort. Everyone on the team, from stagehand to actor, are critical to the success of the performance. You could feel the communal sense growing in the rehearsals, and during and following the performance, an engulfing feeling of we, we did this. We presented this to the audience. Actors in the photo, left to right: John Wood, Teddy Aspen-Sanchez, Scott Galbreath, Bob Gamboa, Rick Eldridge, Jason Wyatt, and Mozart Pierson.
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Pat Garrett Western Heritage Festival,
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Stage Play
The 2020 Pat Garrett Western Heritage Festival will be held Leap Day, February 29, 2020, at the Rio Grande Theatre in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
The Festival celebrates the Western Heritage of Southern New Mexico. The 2020 Festival begins with original Western Music at 12:00 pm. At 2 pm, author David G. Thomas will introduce the dramatic re-enactment of the Albert J. Fountain and Henry Fountain murder trial. The abduction and apparent murdering of Colonel Fountain and his eight-year-old son Henry is the most famous murder in New Mexico history. The re-enactment is based on the trial transcript of the men who were indicted and tried for the crime. At 7 pm, the rarely seen 1958 movie “The Left-Handed Gun“ will be shown. Paul Newman plays Billy the Kid in the movie.
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Stage Play

December 2019 Smithsonian Mazazine
The December 2019 issue of the Smithsonian Magazine has an excellent 10-page article on Giovanni Maria de Agostini. The article quotes extensively from author David G. Thomas’ book, “Giovanni Maria de Agostini, Wonder of the Century — The Astonishing World Traveler Who Was A Hermit.” Author Thomas was also interviewed by the editor of the magazine.
Giovanni Maria de Agostini was an Italian born in 1801 who traveled extensively in Europe, South America, Mexico, Canada, and the United States. He was murdered in 1869 in the Organ Mountains located east of Mesilla, New Mexico. Agostini was the subject of the 2019 documentary film “The Wonder of the Century,” based on Thomas’ book.
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Killing Pat Garrett, The Wild West’s Most Famous Lawman – Murder Or Self-Defense?
Named 2019 Royal Dragonfly Book Award Winner, Second Place, Historical Non-Fiction.
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Tagged as:
billy the kid,
Book Award,
History,
New Mexico Authors,
pat garrett
Tagged as:
billy the kid,
Book Award,
History,
New Mexico Authors,
pat garrett