Synopses & Reviews
He was a larger-than-life figure of the frontier whose legendary exploits inspired hero worship among people of all ages. We may remember him as a buffalo hunter, a U.S. Army scout, an Indian fighter, a Pony Express rider, and, finally, a master showman who conceived and starred in the world-famous "Wild West" show. But who was the real William "Buffalo Bill" Cody?
Now, in the first full-scale biography in over thirty years, Robert Carter scrupulously penetrates the true story of Buffalo Bills extraordinary life. Spanning the settlement of the Great Plains and the violent Indian Wars, the Gold Rush, the Pony Express, and the building of the first transcontinental railroad, Buffalo Bills life offers illuminating insight into the enduring romance and adventure of the American frontierespecially the Great Plains.
This sweeping biography gives us a compelling look at the flamboyant, generous man theIndians called "Long Hair" and the rest of America called the "P. T. Barnum of the AmericanWest." For nearly two generations, from the 1880s to his death in 1917, his traveling show brought the Wild West to life for millions here and abroad, making Buffalo Billa complicated man with a colorful personalitya commanding presence in American history, a man who helped shape our modern perspective on our past.
Based on exhaustive research drawn from extensive records, letters, and reminiscences of contemporaries, Buffalo Bill Cody conveys the illuminating saga of life in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries while it presents the fascinating story of the dashing cavalier of the Plains. Here, too, are shimmering portraits of the most famous and important characters of the frontier era, including Wild Bill Hickok, George Armstrong Custer, Sitting Bull, Annie Oakley, Philip Henry Sheridan, and Ned Buntline.
Written simply and with great eloquence, Buffalo Bill Cody separates fact from myth and resurrects the remarkable man behind the legend, revealing how an authentic Westerner, a real-life hero, became the arch-purveyor of the romanticized, mythical Wild West that lives on to the present day, in all its adventure, violence, and romance. Buffalo Bill Cody not only gives us a sense of who we were, it provides rich insight into how we have become what we are today.
Review
Historical judgments of Buffalo Bill have varied wildly over the years, in large measure according to the political winds of the time. In the 1950s, he was portrayed onscreen by Charlton Heston as a founding hero of the Old West; as depicted in a 1976 Robert Alt- man film, he's a "hopeless drunk" and a "flamboyant fake." Contemporaries called him "the most renowned of men"; recent historians have likened his actions to those of the Ku Klux Klan. Carter's project in this sharply written biography is to set aside myth and agenda and simply to describe the life, which was wild enough in fact to eliminate the need for fiction. As a teenager, William Cody herded cattle and rode vast distances for the Pony Express. As an adult, he scouted for the Union during the Civil War, fought in the Indian Wars, and killed buffalo by the thousands. But even with all this, Carter posts, what really secured Buffalo Bill's fame was his turn to showmanship and his invention of the world-famous traveling Wild West show. Part theater, part exhibition, part circus, the Wild West show was Buffalo Bill's "infotainment" version of the taming of the frontier and of his own (somewhat exaggerated) role in history. It was seen by an estimated 50 million people, including Queen Victoria, and turned Buffalo Bill into "America's first media hero." Carter is a novelist by trade, but his work as historian in this comprehensive biography is astute and well balanced; he succeeds in his larger goal of teasing apart the life from the legend. There's a large audience for American, and in particular western, history, and those readers will not want to miss this genial account. (Publishers Weekly, October 2, 2000)
A comprehensive, sharply rendered life of showman William "Buffalo Bill" Cody that pries frontier realities away from legend. Carter (Final Edit, 1994, etc.) examines Cody's life against a background of western expansionism, showing how such figures as Wild Bill Hickock, Kit Carson, and General Custer influenced the young Cody's sense of himself and the American West. By turns a farmboy, stagecoach driver, Pony Express rider, and pro-Union vigilante in "Bleeding Kansas," Cody first distinguished himself as an Army scout on the Great Plains, fighting in at least 14 Indian War engagements and thereby earning the favor of a then-obscure army officer named William Tecumseh Sherman. He later guided eastern tourists on a grotesque series of "hunts" that decimated the population to near- extinction by 1880, A chance encounter between Cody and "dime novelist" Ned Buntline led their collaboration on a series of crude, semi-improvised pulp stories that began the tradition of much of the "blood and thunder" melodrama associated with the modem Western. These evolved into Cody's signature Wild West Show-an elaborate traveling exhibition that ran for years, establishing a familiar, sentimental, and glorified representation of the West. While maintaining a sharp focus on Cody, Carter frankly addresses prickly issues of the historical milieu, taking due note of the brutality visited by Sherman's army upon the Indians and the profligacy embodied by the buffalo hunts. Many incidents lend a humorous tone, however, in depicting both the ribald innocence of frontier mores and the omnipresent violence, which men like Hickock and Cody regarded lightly. A splendid portrait of Cody's life and times, at once poignant, boisterous, and disturbing. (Kirkus Reviews, October 1, 2000)
"This larger than life figure's daring exploits make irresistible reading."(The Good Book Guide, January 2001)
Synopsis
The first full biography in over thirty years of William "Buffalo Bill" Cody (1846-1917), the buffalo hunter, U.S. Army scout, Indian fighter, and, finally, the showman who created the world famous "Wild West Exhibitions" traveling show.
Synopsis
"This is the remarkable story of an amazing life. Cody not only lived the adventure of the frontier, he helped create the American West of the imagination. A fascinating story and a must-read for anyone interested in the evolution of the Western myth." Casey Tefertiller, Author, Wyatt Earp:The Life Behind the Legend
Who was the real Buffalo Bill?
This engrossing biography brings to thrilling life the frontier hero who is responsible for creating the lasting legend of the Wild West. Author Robert Carter takes us back to the Great Plains, where William "Buffalo Bill" Cody emerges in his many incarnations:as a buffalo hunter, a Civil War cavalry scout, an Indian fighter, a Pony Express rider, until, finally, he conceives of the show that made him famous throughout the worldthe Wild West Exhibitions.
In Buffalo Bill Cody, the first full biography in over thirty years, we are given an intimate glimpse into the exhilarating life of this one-of-a-kind frontiersman and enormously popular showman, from his famous exploits to the lesser-known dramas surrounding his life. We gain fresh insights about many of the mysteries of Buffalo Bills life, including whether he indeed killed Yellow Handthe "first scalp for Custer." Elegantly written, Buffalo Bill Cody is a spellbinding achievement that not only reveals the truth behind this legendary subject, but also explores the myths of the Wild West that he created, which live on to this day.
Synopsis
"An excellent book based on exhaustive research and written with fresh insight. It is a spellbinding accomplishment and brings both the man and his era to life. . . . It is an extraordinary achievement."
-Arizona Daily Star
"Carter presents this astounding tale in a very balanced fashion, providing both the nineteenth-century rationale and his repug-nance at acts today considered shocking. . . . Through Carter's writing, the heroic and ultimately sad life of a remarkable human being makes a deep impact."
-Richmond Times Dispatch
"A comprehensive, sharply rendered life of showman William 'Buffalo Bill' Cody pries realities away from legend. . . . A splendid portrait of Cody's life and times, at once poignant, boisterous, and disturbing."
-Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"There's a large audience for American, and particularly Western, history, and those readers will not want to miss this genial account."
-Publishers Weekly
"This is the remarkable story of an amazing life. Cody not only lived the adventure of the frontier, he helped create the American West of the imagination. A fascinating story and a must-read for anyone interested in the evolution of the Western myth."
-Casey Tefertiller
author, Wyatt Earp: The Life Behind the Legend
About the Author
Robert A. Carter is a widely published and versatile writer of both fiction and nonfiction, with a strong interest in Western history. He is currently completing a novel set in 1882 in Colorado. A native midwesterner, he now lives in Richmond, Virginia.
Table of Contents
Preface.
Acknowledgments.
Introduction: "Where Council Fires Gleamed".
1. The Cody (or Was It Coady?) Family Tree.
2. "The Youngest Indian Slayer on the Plains".
3. The Dark Side of "Manifest Destiny".
4. "The Swift Phantom of the Desert".
5. From Horse Thief to Cavalry Scout.
6. Cody Takes a Shot at Domestic Life.
7. Scouting with Sheridan.
8. The Battle of Summit Springs.
9. "Buffalo Bill, The King of Border Men".
10. More Fame—and the Medal of Honor.
11. Triumph—and Tragedy.
12. "More Like Fiction than Reality".
13. "The Vastly Enlarged and Reorganized Wild West".
14. "Purely and Distinctively American".
15. Crossing the "Big Water".
16. The Last of the Indian Wars.
17. "A Congress of Rough Riders".
18. "On the Threshold of 1900".
19. The Old Scout on "His Native Heath".
20. "The Man Who Broke My Heart".
Epilogue: The Legacy.
Source Notes.
Bibliography.
Index.