Everyone knows the name Buffalo Bill, but few these days know what he did or, in some cases, didn't do. Was he a Pony Express rider? Did he serve Custer at the Battle of Little Big Horn? Did he scalp countless Native Americans, or did he defend their rights? This, the first significant biography of Buffalo Bill Cody for younger readers in many years, explains it all. With copious archival illustrations and a handsome design, Presenting Buffalo Bill makes the great showman come alive for new generations. Extensive back matter, bibliography, and source notes complete the package. This title has Common Core connections.

William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody was the most famous American of his age. He claimed to have worked for the Pony Express when only a boy and to have scouted for General George Custer. But what was his real story? And how did a frontiersman become a worldwide celebrity? In this prize-winning biography, acclaimed author Louis S. Warren explains not only how Cody exaggerated his real experience as an army scout and buffalo hunter, but also how that experience inspired him to create the gigantic, traveling spectacle known as Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. A dazzling mix of Indians, cowboys, and vaqueros, they performed on two continents for three decades, offering a surprisingly modern view of the United States and a remarkably democratic version of its history. This definitive biography reveals the genius of America’s greatest showman, and the startling history of the American West that drove him and his performers to the world stage.

Attempts to discern the truths behind the legends built up around his career.

For more than thirty years, William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody entertained audiences across the United States and Europe with his Wild West show. Scores of books have been written about Cody’s fabled career as a showman, but his involvement in the film industry—following the dissolution of his traveling show—is less well known. In Buffalo Bill on the Silver Screen, Sandra K. Sagala chronicles the fascinating story of Cody’s venture into filmmaking during the early cinema period. In 1894 Thomas Edison invited Cody to bring some of the Wild West performers to the inventor’s kinetoscope studio. From then on, as Sagala reveals, Cody was frequently in the camera’s eye, eager to participate in the newest and most popular phenomenon of the era: the motion picture. In 1910, promoter Pliny Craft produced The Life of Buffalo Bill, a film in which Cody played his own persona. After his Wild West show disbanded, Cody fully embraced the film business, seeing the technology as a way to recoup his financial losses and as a new vehicle for preserving America’s history and his own legacy for future generations. Because he had participated as a scout in some of the battles and skirmishes between the U.S. Army and Plains Indians, Cody wanted to make a film that captured these historical events. Unfortunately for Cody, The Indian Wars (1913) was not a financial success, and only three minutes of footage have survived. Long after his death, Cody’s legacy lives on through the many movies that have featured his character. Sagala provides a useful appendix listing all of these films, as well as those for which Cody himself took an active role as director, producer, or actor. Published on the eve of the centennial anniversary of The Indian Wars, this engaging book offers readers new insights into the legendary figure’s life and career and explores his lasting image in film.

"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

Beautiful full color litho cover, stagecoach under attack from Indians, cameo portrait of W.F. Cody.

Explores how the man who became the most famous entertainer of his time and a legend of the -Wild West- grew up amid a violent regional conflict that would soon tear apart the nation.

"Explores Buffalo Bill Cody, including his childhood; working as a scout, buffalo hunter, and Pony Express rider; the creation and performances of his Wild West Show and his legacy in American history"--Provided by publisher.