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Buffalo Bill: Scout, Showman, Visionary <\/strong>(2010, by Steve Friesen) Wild Bill Hickok & Buffalo Bill Cody: Plainsmen of the Legendary West<\/strong> (2022, by Bill Markley) Buffalo Bill\u2019s America: William Cody & the Wild West Show<\/strong> (2005, by Louis S. Warren) The Life of Hon. William F. Cody, Known as Buffalo Bill, the Famous Hunter, Scout and Guide: An Autobiography<\/strong> (1879) Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair That Changed America<\/strong> (2004, by Erik Larson) The Life of Buffalo Bill<\/strong> (1912, on YouTube) \n
This is my biography of William Frederick \u201cBuffalo Bill\u201d Cody, written when I was the director of the Buffalo Bill Museum & Grave. What sets it apart is a wealth of original photographs and images of artifacts and documents associated with the showman\u2019s life, making it equally at home on a reference bookshelf or coffee table. <\/p>\n
Buffalo Bill Cody and friend James Butler \u201cWild Bill\u201d Hickok were, and still are, often confused with one another. Author Bill Markley does an excellent job of distinguishing their life paths and exploring the relationship between them. Two biographies in one, the book is a well-researched and highly readable analysis of two legendary Westerners. <\/p>\n
The thickest tome among these picks, Louis Warren\u2019s book is chock-full of information about the famed showman, all carefully documented with extensive footnotes. My only problem with the book is the author\u2019s emphasis on Cody\u2019s \u201cimposture.\u201d Merriam-Webster defines that word as \u201cthe act or practice of deceiving by means of an assumed character or name.\u201d While Buffalo Bill may have been Cody\u2019s show business persona, it was not a deception and indeed based on real-life exploits. <\/p>\n
Cody\u2019s autobiography has been reprinted many times since 1879. Some historians regard it as largely a work of fiction. I am not one of them. Written in an era dominated by dime novels, it has its exaggerations. But it is useful as a primary source, since it is his autobiography. All in all, it is an educational and entertaining read. <\/p>\n
This is the only book in this list that does not devote itself primarily to Buffalo Bill. But author Erik Larson has carefully woven Cody into the central narrative of Chicago\u2019s 1893 World\u2019s Columbian Exposition and the deadly deeds of one of the nation\u2019s first mass murderers. It is a nonfiction book that reads as entertainingly as a novel. <\/p>\nMovies<\/h2>\n
Produced on three reels by the Buffalo Bill & Pawnee Bill Film Co., this silent film was the first feature about Cody and included both real and fictional scenes from his life. Though an actor portrays Buffalo Bill through most of the film, it opens and closes with appearances by the aging showman himself and is worth watching for that alone. <\/p>\n