<div><P>Long before Sam Peckinpah finished shooting his 1973 Western, <I>Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, </I>there was open warfare between him and the studio. In this scrupulously researched new book Paul Seydor reconstructs the riveting history of a brilliant director fighting to preserve an artistic vision while wrestling with his own self-destructive demons. Meticulously comparing the film five extant versions, Seydor documents why none is definitive, including the <I>2005 Special Edition, </I>for which he served as consultant. Viewing Peckinpah’s last Western from a variety of fresh perspectives, Seydor establishes a nearly direct line from the book Garrett wrote after he killed Billy the Kid to Peckinpah’s film ninety-one years later and shows how, even with directors as singular as this one, filmmaking is a collaborative medium. Art, business, history, genius, and ego all collide in this story of a great director navigating the treacherous waters of collaboration, compromise, and commerce to create a flawed but enduringly powerful masterpiece.</P></div><P></P>