The Sundance Kid: The Life of Harry Alonzo Longabaugh

This is a well-written story about the life of Harry Longabaugh, based on family history and research. Obviously, there are going to be holes, and the author has tried to fill as many as she can through others who were there. I was impressed with the facts and research and little speculation, except where it's noted as such. This is the most detailed book I've read, to date, about their time in South America. Were Butch and Sundance killed in South America? The family says "yes" based on the fact that no one in the family heard from him after that date, and he'd been in contact with them. Since the Pinkerton's really got on their trail in SA because of paying off postal agents, the smart thing to do would be to NOT contact family. But outlaws don't always do the smart thing. I doubt that question will ever have a definitive answer. But this was a very interesting read, well written and well researched. Kudos.

I liked it because of the detail, both from the family as well as the criminal side. Even though a family member wrote it, there was no effort made to glamorize or justify wrongdoing. If you want to get a feel for the real Sundance Kid, this is the book for you.

Sundance is a cousin of mine, therefore, Donna Ernst would be related, too. I read her other book, SUNDANCE, MY UNCLE. I loved it. Donna supports everything she states. There has been so much research done by her and others she has recognized. I’m about 1/2 way through this book and already don’t want it to end. My thanks to Donna for her hard work and wonderful books.

I enjoyed the book except for the statements on pages 173 & 174 where she tries to 'prove' that Butch and Sundance died in South America. She writes: "In recent years, researchers Dan Buck and Anne Meadows have discovered many documents and local histories in South America that verify both the San Vicente shootout and the deaths of Butch and Sundance. In addition to the mound of evidence found by Buck and Meadows in South America, this author (Donna B. Ernst) believes in the only statement ever made about Sundance by William H. Longabough, who was Sundance's nephew and this author's grandfather by marriage. Grandpop once said, I had an uncle who died in South America; he robbed banks and trains for a living and died in South America. (!) That's it??!! That's the "proof"??!! If you read the book, "Finding Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid, Solving The "Wild Bunch" Mystery With That "Darn" DNA, by Marilyn Grace and John McCullough, Ph.D., they have some pretty convincing evidence consisting of DNA, photographs, letters and visits from Butch and Sundance to family members and friends attesting to the fact that they did not die in South America, but returned to the United States and lived longlives.

Very interesting book. Ms. Donna Ernst the author obviously did her research. Sheds interesting light on The Sundance Kid and the other interesting characters in his story.

I've read both "Sundance, My Uncle", and "The Sundance Kid:The Life of Harry Alonzo Longabaugh" by Donna Ernst. I'm very impressed by Mrs. Ernst's in depth research of a man whose name is famous, but who as a person, not very much had been known. The author explained the era of the outlaw, and how society sometimes shaped that lifestyle. Donna Ernst was able to coordinate facts to make a very interesting story about a long-forgotten family member.Good reading for the history and old west book fan!

great look into who the sundance kid,actually was,,the man not the legend..I think there is little doubt that he was killed in bolivia,whether it was cassidy with him or not..who knows.....It was disappointing,but not too surprizing,to learn that he killed far less,than legend and dime novels,would one believe.....

This book is like a cake made with all the right ingrediants but no recipe by a amatuer cook. Donna Ernst seems to have done her research, and have access to her husband's family records that should give us a great read on a famous western figure that little is commonly know about. But all her hard work researching and collecting of records left me feeling I was listening to an older aunt just rambling on about a dead relative. I wish we could have a combination of her research with a affluent non fiction writter with western history experience. This book does not do justice to the work she seems to have put into researching and it makes for an ametuer book that you find written and handed out at family reunions. I hope she considers trying again writting a book on the Sundance Kid, with the contribution of a seasoned non fiction writter helping her tell us this fancinating and true story.

Donna Ernst is (by marriage) a great grand niece of Harry Alonzo Longabaugh,or as most people will know him, The Sundance Kid.This is the definitive biography and the bench-mark book on Sundance. I used Donna's careful research to assist me in tracking Sundance when riding the Outlaw Trail in 1999. A fast, enjoyable read, chock full of interesting information for anyone mildly interested in Butch Cassidy, The Sundance Kid, The Wild Bunch.

A very interesting read

Highly recommend