William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846 - January 10, 1917), known as Buffalo Bill, was an American soldier, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the US. state of Iowa), but he lived for several years in his father's hometown in modern-day Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, before the family returned to the Midwest and settled in the Kansas Territory. Buffalo Bill started working at the age of 11, after his father's death, and became a rider for the Pony Express at age 15. During the American Civil War, he served the Union from 1863 to the end of the war in 1865. Later he served as a civilian scout for the US. Army during the Indian Wars, receiving the Medal of Honor in 1872.

He was riding as fast as his pony could go through a ravine one day when there sprang out in front of him in the narrow track a man with his rifle at his shoulder. Young Cody knew enough to know that the man had what was called the "drop" on him. There was nothing to do but pull up and await events. It was a white man-a desperado of the plains. He told the boy that he meant him no harm, but that he wanted the money in the bag.-from "The Pony Express Rider"He looms as large in the American imagination as do Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett. Buffalo Bill Cody rode for the Pony Express, served as a scout for Union Army during the Civil War, and was a champion of the rights of women and Indians. Yet his greatest legacy may be his own invention of that legacy. A tireless and wily self-promoter, Cody, already a superstar, in 1904 published this autobiography, the cheerful story of his own life, complete with suspiciously tall tales of battles with Indians, exploits with the army and the Pony Express, and more. Whether they're wholly true or somewhat exaggerated, they're totally entertaining.American frontiersman and showman WILLIAM FREDERICK CODY (1846-1917) toured Europe and North American with his "Wild West Show" in the 1880s, 1890s, and early 1900s, helping to establish the legend of the American West, and as a result may have been the first globally recognized American celebrity.

Army scout, frontiersman, and hero of the American West, William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody was also a shrewd self-promoter, showman, and entrepreneur. In 1888 he published The Story of the Wild West, a collection of biographies of four well-known American frontier figures: Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, Kit Carson, and himself. Cody contributed an abridged version of his 1879 autobiography with an addendum titled The Wild West in England, now available in this stand-alone annotated edition, including all the illustrations from the original text along with photographs of Cody and promotional materials. Here Cody describes his Wild West exhibition, the show that offered audiences a mythic experience of the American frontier. Focusing on the show’s first season of performances in England, Cody includes excerpts of numerous laudatory descriptions of his show from the English press as well as stories of his time spent with British nobility—from private performances for Queen Victoria and the Prince and Princess of Wales to dinners and teas with the elite of London society. He depicts himself as an ambassador of American culture, proclaiming that he and his Wild West show prompted the British to “know more of the mighty nation beyond the Atlantic and . . . to esteem us better than at any time within the limits of modern history.”

Army scout, buffalo hunter, Indian fighter, and impresario of the world-renowned "Wild West Show," William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody lived the real American West and also helped create the "West of the imagination." Born in 1846, he took part in the great westward migration, hunted the buffalo, and made friends among the Plains Indians, who gave him the name Pahaska (long hair). But as the frontier closed and his role in "winning the West" passed into legend, Buffalo Bill found himself becoming the symbol of the destruction of the buffalo and the American Indian. Deeply dismayed, he spent the rest of his life working to save the remaining buffalo and to preserve Plains Indian culture through his Wild West shows. This biography of William Cody focuses on his lifelong relationship with Plains Indians, a vital part of his life story that, surprisingly, has been seldom told. Bobby Bridger draws on many historical accounts and Cody's own memoirs to show how deeply intertwined Cody's life was with the Plains Indians. In particular, he demonstrates that the Lakota and Cheyenne were active cocreators of the Wild West shows, which helped them preserve the spiritual essence of their culture in the reservation era while also imparting something of it to white society in America and Europe. This dual story of Buffalo Bill and the Plains Indians clearly reveals how one West was lost, and another born, within the lifetime of one remarkable man.

William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody was the entertainment industry's first international celebrity, achieving worldwide stardom with his traveling Wild West show. For three decades he operated and appeared in various incarnations of "the western world's greatest traveling attraction," enthralling audiences around the globe. When the show reached Europe it was a sensation, igniting "Wild West fever" by offering what purported to be a genuine experience of the American frontier.

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