William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody (1846-1917) rose from humble origins in Iowa to become one of the most famous and most photographed people in the world. He became a leading scout during the American Indian Wars, winner of the Congressional Medal of Honor, and a renowned show business fixture whose traveling Wild West exhibitions played to millions of spectators the world over for 30 years. He hobnobbed with presidents, kings, queens and European heads of state, befriending many legendary individuals of the West, from General George Armstrong Custer and Sitting Bull to Wild Bill Hickok and Annie Oakley. Aside from these achievements, Cody’s most important legacy may be how he shaped the world’s enduring views of the American West through his shows, which he considered to be educational events rather than entertainment. This biography is a fresh look at the life of Buffalo Bill.

Lew Freedman is a long-time, prize-winning journalist for such newspapers as the Philadelphia Inquirer, Chicago Tribune, Anchorage Daily News and Wyoming’s Cody Enterprise. Specializing in sports and the outdoors, he has written more than 100 books. He lives in Columbus, Indiana.

Lew Freedman
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 244
Bibliographic Info: 55 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2020
pISBN: 978-0-7864-9953-3
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4006-8
Imprint: McFarland

Introduction 1
1. Becoming Buffalo Bill 5
2. The Codys of Iowa 15
3. The Pony Express 26
4. Wars 40
5. Cody and Custer 47
6. The Mrs. 62
7. The Persuasive Mr. Buntline 70
8. Medal of Honor 77
9. Rodeo and Wild West Beginnings 91
10. The Wild West Goes Wild 103
11. Sitting Bull 112
12. Annie Oakley 123
13. Love ’Em and Leave ’Em 131
14. The Wild West Is the Toast of Europe and Everywhere Else 138
15. Indians 153
16. A Congress of Rough Riders 163
17. Divorce Trials 173
18. Cody, Wyoming 180
19. The Death of the Great Showman 190
20. Buffalo Bill’s Legacy 205
Chapter Notes 219
Bibliography 227
Index 231