Wild Bill Hickok
Subtitle: the man and his myth
By: Joseph G. Rosa.
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
Published: 1996
Place of publication: Lawrence
Language: eng
Number of pages: 276
Subjects: Hickok, Wild Bill, 1837-1876.; Peace officers -- West (U.S.) -- Biography.; Frontier and pioneer life -- West (U.S.)
Description: James Butler Hickok was alternately labeled courageous, affable, and self-confident; cowardly, cold-blooded, and drunken; a fine specimen of physical manhood; an overdressed dandy with perfumed hair; an unequaled marksman; a poor shot. Born in Illinois in 1837, he was shot dead in Deadwood only 39 years later. By then both famous and infamous, he was widely known as "Wild Bill.".

Excavating the reality behind the myth, Joseph Rosa delves into the exploits and ego that defined Hickok and shows how the man was overtaken by his own legend. Rosa exposes a controversial and charismatic man - army and Indian scout, wagonmaster, courier, frontiersman, gunfighter, lawman, prospector, addicted gambler, and short-time actor - who was elevated from regional fame to national notoriety by inadvertently being in the right place at the right time.

Culminating four decades of research by one of the top authorities on Wild West legends, this is a highly entertaining account of the larger-than-life character whose reported accomplishments - both real and imaginary - frequently brought him unwanted publicity. Setting the record straight, Rosa exposes some of the deliberate lies that vested Hickok with a "man-killer" reputation he didn't deserve.

In the process, Rosa reveals a great deal about how myths were initiated and perpetuated to glorify the nineteenth-century frontier.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [259]-267) and index.