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| Wild Bill Hickok: The Man and His Myth | 
 enlarge | Author: Joseph G. Rosa
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
Category: Book
List Price: $17.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  (3 reviews)
Sales Rank: 755779
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 276
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6 x 1
ISBN: 0700615237
Dewey Decimal Number: 920
EAN: 9780700615230
ASIN: 0700615237
Publication Date: May 10, 2007
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Eulogized and ostracized, 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, wagon master, 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. Aggrandized in an 1867 Harper's New Monthly Magazine article, Hickok reluctantly embraced his exaggerated role in a far-fetched but exciting story that has inspired writers, folklorists, and movie moguls. Dime novelists sensationalized him. Biographers praised and criticized. Gary Cooper portrayed him sensitively, Douglas Kennedy villainously, and Charles Bronson laconically. Howard Keel played him romantically (albeit historically incorrectly) against Doris Day's Calamity Jane. Culminating four decades of research by one of the top authorities on Wild West legends, Wild Bill Hickok is a highly readable, fun, and accurate account of the larger-than-life character whose reported accomplishments-both real and imaginary-in Kansas, Missouri, and the surrounding territory 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 fact, Rosa shows, the number of men he killed is probably a lot closer to ten than to the more than 100 he is often credited with. Establishing the role an overzealous press and fortune-seeking dime novelists played in immortalizing Wild Bill, Rosa reveals a great deal about how myths were initiated and perpetuated to glorify the nineteenth-century frontier. He also illuminates why imaginative accounts of unorthodox heroes continue to skew our understanding of this important era in American history.
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| Customer Reviews:
 updated information-- December 3, 1999
25 out of 25 found this review helpful
Makes this an interesting read. However, I would recommend reading Rosas THEY CALLED HIM WILD BILL before undertaking this biography. Much of the prior information in Hickoks life is not dealt with in great detail here. But the new information is well worth it. Rosa is a meticulous researcher who writes with great passion on this subject.
Informative story that changed my views November 3, 1999
13 out of 13 found this review helpful
Having only legend and folklore to base my opinion on, I have always had one thought concerning Wild Bill. After reading this book I have opened my mind to new ideas with regards to him. The author's use of eyewitness accounts of what his life and times really were like, I found to be credible. After finishing this book I now have a new respect for Mr. Hickok and what he stood for.
 Very dry and disjointed but interesting October 3, 1999
11 out of 19 found this review helpful
About the only reason I finished this book was to learn more of the fascinating life Hickok led. I had given up on finishing it up twice. It was really hard to follow as Jospeh G Rosa would jump around in time to much. You'd would lose of when things happened and what order they happened in. The sense of time and place was missing. It was more organized in terms of themes rather then a straight forward chronological account of Wild Bill's life. Nothing wrong with this if your already familiar with Wild Bill's life, but very confusing to somebody that doesn't know anything about it.
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